Football in Germany

Football in Germany
Olympiastadion Berlin Sep-2015.jpg
CountryGermany
Governing bodyDFB
National team(s)Germany
First played1874; 150 years ago (1874)
Clubs31,000F
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions
Allianz Arena in Munich, home stadium of club FC Bayern Munich
Supporters choreography for the German Football Association club 1. FC Union Berlin

Football is the most popular sport in Germany[1] with 57% of the population declaring interest in watching it.[2] The German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund or DFB) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight percent of the population) organized in over 31,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga on top. The winner of the Bundesliga is crowned the German football champion. Additionally, there are national cup competitions, most notably the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and DFL-Supercup (German Supercup).[3]

The Germany national football team has won four FIFA World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), being the joint-second most successful nation in the tournament only surpassed by Brazil. It also holds three UEFA European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), behind only Spain, and won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.

The Germany women's national football team has won two FIFA Women's World Cups (2003, 2007) and a record eight UEFA European Women's Championships (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013), as well as a gold medal in the Summer Olympics in 2016. Germany was the first nation to win both the men's and women's World Cup. No country has more combined men's and women's World Cup championships, and only the United States has won more combined men's and women's regional/continental championships (United States 17 in CONCACAF, Germany 11 in UEFA). Germany was the host of the FIFA World Cup in 1974 and 2006, the UEFA European Championship in 1988 and 2024, and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005. They also hosted the 1989, 1995 and 2001 editions of the UEFA European Women's Championship, as well as the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The women's league system has the Frauen-Bundesliga, 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, and Frauen-Regionalliga. The DFB-Pokal Frauen is the main national cup competition.

  1. ^ "German football: Tor! Tor! Tor!". The Economist. 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  2. ^ "TGM Global Euro Survey 2024 | Insights in Germany". TGM Research. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  3. ^ "A wonderful history of German football clubs in Europe: 1960 til now". Anorak. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.