Bundesliga

Structure

The Bundesliga is composed of two divisions: the 1. Bundesliga (although it is rarely referred to with the First prefix), and, below that, the 2. Bundesliga (2nd Bundesliga), which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. The Bundesligen (plural) are professional leagues. Since 2008, the 3. Liga (3rd League) in Germany has also been a professional league, but may not be called Bundesliga because the league is run by the German Football Association (DFB) and not, as are the two Bundesligen, by the German Football League (DFL).

Below the level of the 3. Liga, leagues are generally subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of the Nord (North), Nordost (Northeast), Süd (South), Südwest (Southwest) and West divisions. Below this are thirteen parallel divisions, most of which are called Oberligen (upper leagues) which represent federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas. The league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany and the subsequent integration of the national league of East Germany.

Every team in the two Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be financially healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations.

As in other national leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division:

A greater share of television broadcast licence revenues goes to 1. Bundesliga sides.

1. Bundesliga teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support. Average attendance in the first league is 39,512 per game—approximately twice the average of the 2. Bundesliga.

Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps 1. Bundesliga teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships.

History

Origins

Before the formation of the Bundesliga, German football was played at an amateur level in a large number of sub-regional leagues until, in 1949, part-time (semi-) professionalism was introduced and only five regional Oberligen (Premier Leagues) remained. Regional champions played in a tournament of between eight and sixteen teams to crown a national champion. On 28 January 1900, a national association, the Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB) had been founded in Leipzig with 86 member clubs. The first recognized national championship team was VfB Leipzig, who beat DFC Prague 7–2 in a game played at Altona on 31 May 1903.

Through the 1950s, there were continued calls for the formation of a single top-tier professional league for the country. Disadvantages to the tournament system included the fact that the top teams from different regions would play only once a year at most, and that single-elimination tournament meant that a less-deserving team could win if they hit a lucky streak during the tournament. Another concern was that professional leagues in other countries were drawing Germany's best players away from the semi-professional domestic leagues. At the international level, the German game began to falter as German teams often fared poorly against professional teams from other countries. A key supporter of the central league concept was national team head coach Sepp Herberger, who doubled as a delegate to the DFB national assembly from Mannheim and wanted Germany to catch up with centralized systems of Italy, Spain, and England.

Meanwhile, in East Germany, a separate league was established with the formation of the DS-Oberliga (Deutscher Sportausschuss Oberliga) in 1950. The league was renamed the Football Oberliga DFV in 1958 and was generally referred to simply as the DDR-Liga or DDR-Oberliga. The league fielded 14 teams with two relegation spots.

Foundation

The defeat of the national team by Yugoslavia (0–1) in a 1962 World Cup quarter-final game in Chile was one impetus (of many) towards the formation of a national league. At the annual DFB convention under new DFB president Hermann Gösmann (elected that very day) the Bundesliga was created in Dortmund at the Westfalenhallen on 28 July 1962 to begin play starting with the 1963–64 season.

At the time, there were five Oberligen (premier leagues) in place representing West Germany's North, South, West, Southwest, and Berlin. East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain, maintained its separate league structure. 46 clubs applied for admission to the new league. 16 teams were selected based on their success on the field, economic criteria and representation of the various Oberligen.

From Oberliga Nord: Eintracht Braunschweig, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV

From Oberliga West: Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Meidericher SV Duisburg, Preußen Münster, Schalke 04

From Oberliga Südwest: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Saarbrücken

From Oberliga Süd: Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, 1860 Munich, VfB Stuttgart

From Oberliga Berlin: Hertha BSC

The first Bundesliga games were played on 24 August 1963. Early favorite 1. FC Köln was the first Bundesliga champion with second place clubs Meidericher SV and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Reunification

Following German reunification in 1990, the East German leagues were merged into the West German system. Dynamo Dresden and FC Hansa Rostock were seeded into the top-tier Bundesliga division ahead of the 1991–92 Bundesliga, with other clubs being sorted into lower tiers.

21st century

Gazprom became a major sponsor of Bundesliga football in 2006, with Gerhard Schröder's climb to the top of the company.

Competition format

The German football champion is decided strictly by play in the Bundesliga. Each club plays every other club once at home and once away, which makes a total of 34 matchdays per season. Originally, a victory was worth two points, with one point for a draw and none for a loss. Since the 1995–96 season, a victory has been worth three points, while a draw remains worth a single point, and zero points are given for a loss. The club with the most points at the end of the season becomes the German champion. Currently, the top four clubs in the table qualify automatically for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The two teams at the bottom of the table are relegated into the 2. Bundesliga, while the top two teams in the 2. Bundesliga are promoted. The 16th-placed team (third-last) in the 1. Bundesliga and the third-placed team in the 2. Bundesliga play a two-leg play-off match. The winner of this match plays the next season in the 1. Bundesliga, and the losing side in the 2. Bundesliga.

If teams are level on points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order:

Goal difference for the entire season

Total goals scored for the entire season

Head-to-head results (total points)

Head-to-head goals scored

Head-to-head away goals scored

Total away goals scored for the entire season

If two clubs are still tied after all of these tie-breakers have been applied, a single match is held at a neutral site to determine the placement. However, this has never been necessary in the history of the Bundesliga.

In terms of team selection, matchday squads must have no more than five non-EU representatives. Nine substitutes are permitted to be selected, from which five can be used in the duration of the game.

Changes in league structure

Number of teams:

1963–64 to 1964–65: 16

1965–66 to 1990–91: 18

1991–92: 20, while the East German league was being included after German reunification

Since 1992–93: 18

Number of teams relegated (automatic relegation except as noted):

1963–64 to 1973–74: 2

1974–75 to 1980–81: 3

1981–82 to 1990–91: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga played a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga

1991–92: 4

1992–93 to 2007–08: 3

Since 2008–09: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga playing a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga

Qualification for European competitions

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place: League phase of UEFA Champions League

5th place: League phase of UEFA Europa League

6th place: Play-off round of UEFA Conference League

Until the 2016–17 season, an additional place in the Europa League could also be granted via the UEFA Fair Play mechanism. This rule was maintained from the UEFA Cup. The last Bundesliga team to gain entry to the UEFA Cup via the fair play rule was Mainz 05 in 2005–06.

DFB-Pokal (German Cup) winner: Qualifies for the group stage of Europa League regardless of league position.

Until 2015–16, if the Cup winner qualified for the Champions League or Europa League by more than one method, the cup winner's place in the Europa League went to the losing cup finalist if it had not already qualified for European competition, entering the competition a stage earlier than if it had won the Cup. This rule was retained from the Europa League's predecessor, the UEFA Cup. From 2015–16, the runners-up no longer qualified for the Europa League, and the Europa League berth reserved for the DFB-Pokal winners is transferred to the highest finisher below the european qualification places.

Prior to 2015–16, the team that benefited from that rule did not necessarily have to be a Bundesliga member. For example, although 2. Bundesliga sides Alemannia Aachen lost to Werder Bremen in the 2004 DFB-Pokal final, Alemannia secured an entry in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, because Werder qualified for the Champions League as First Bundesliga champions.

The number of German clubs which may participate in UEFA competitions is determined by UEFA coefficients, which takes into account the results of a particular nation's clubs in UEFA competitions over the preceding five years.

History of European qualification

Clubs

Seasons in Bundesliga

There are 59 teams that have taken part in 64 Bundesliga championships that were played from the 1963–64 season until the 2026–27 season. The teams in bold compete in the Bundesliga currently. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level. No team has played Bundesliga football in every season; the closest being Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen, who have both played in 62 seasons.

Business model

In the 2009–10 season the Bundesliga's turnover was €1.7bn, broken down into match-day revenue (€424m), sponsorship receipts (€573m) and broadcast income (€594m). That year it was the only European football league where clubs collectively made a profit. Bundesliga clubs paid less than 50% of revenue in players' wages, the lowest percentage out of the European leagues. The Bundesliga has the lowest ticket prices and the highest average attendance among Europe's five major leagues.

Bundesliga clubs tend to form close associations with local firms, several of which have since grown into big global companies; in a comparison of leading Bundesliga and Premiership clubs, Bayern Munich received 55% of its revenue from company sponsorship deals, while Manchester United got 37%.

Bundesliga clubs are required to be majority-owned by German club members (known as the 50+1 rule to discourage control by a single entity) and operate under tight restrictions on the use of debt for acquisitions (a team only receives an operating licence if it has solid financials); as a result 11 of the 18 clubs were profitable after the 2008–09 season. By contrast, in the other major European leagues numerous high-profile teams have come under ownership of foreign billionaires and a significant number of clubs have high levels of debt.

Exceptions to the 50+1 rule allow Bayer Leverkusen, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, and VfL Wolfsburg to be owned by corporations or individual investors. In the cases of Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, the clubs were founded by major corporations (respectively Bayer AG and Volkswagen) as sports clubs for their employees, while Hoffenheim has long received its primary support from SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, who played in the club's youth system.

After 2000 the German Football Association and the Bundesliga required every club to run a youth academy with the aim of developing local talent for the club and the national team. As of 2010 the Bundesliga and second Bundesliga spend €75m a year on these youth academies, which train five thousand players aged 12–18. This increased the percentage of under-23-year-olds in the Bundesliga from 6% in 2000 to 15% in 2010. This in turn allows more money to be spent on the smaller number of players that are bought.

Financial regulations

For a number of years, the clubs in the Bundesliga have been subject to regulations not unlike the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations agreed upon in September 2009.

At the end of each season, clubs in the Bundesliga must apply to the German Football Federation (DFB) for a licence to participate again the following year; only when the DFB, who have access to all transfer documents and accounts, are satisfied that there is no threat of insolvency do they give approval. The DFB have a system of fines and points deductions for clubs who flout rules, and those who go into the red can only buy a player after selling one for at least the same amount. In addition, no individual is allowed to own more than 49 per cent of any Bundesliga club, the only exceptions being VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and current Regionalliga Nordost member FC Carl Zeiss Jena should they ever be promoted to the Bundesliga, as they were each founded as factory teams.

Despite the good economic governance, there have still been some instances of clubs getting into difficulties. In 2004, Borussia Dortmund reported a debt of €118.8 million (£83 million). Having won the Champions League in 1997 and a number of Bundesliga titles, Dortmund had gambled on maintaining their success with an expensive group of largely foreign players but failed, narrowly escaping liquidation in 2006. In subsequent years, the club went through extensive restructuring to return to financial health, largely with young home-grown players. In 2004 Hertha BSC reported debts of £24.7 million and were able to continue in the Bundesliga only after proving they had long term credit with their bank.

The leading German club Bayern Munich made a net profit of just €2.5 million in 2008–09 season (group accounts), while Schalke 04 made a net loss of €30.4 million in 2009 financial year. Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA, made a net loss of just €2.9 million in 2008–09 season.

Attendances

The Bundesliga is one of the highest-attended association football leagues worldwide, with an average of 38,657 spectators per game during the 2024–25 season making it the second highest attended association football league globally. Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund holds the record for the highest average attendance of any football club in the world.

Out of Europe's five major football leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A ), the Bundesliga has the lowest ticket prices and the highest average attendance. Many club stadia have large terraced areas for standing fans. Teams limit the number of season tickets to ensure everyone has a chance to see the games live, and the away club has the right to 10% of the available capacity. Match tickets often double as free rail passes which encourages supporters to travel and celebrate in a relaxed atmosphere. According to Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert, tickets are inexpensive (especially for standing room) as "It is not in the clubs' culture so much [to raise prices]. They are very fan orientated". Uli Hoeneß, president of Bayern Munich, was quoted as saying "We do not think the fans are like cows to be milked. Football has got to be for everybody."

The spectator figures for league for the last ten seasons:

Media coverage

Domestic

The Bundesliga TV, radio, internet, and mobile broadcast rights are distributed by DFL Sports Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Deutsche Fußball Liga. The Bundesliga broadcast rights are sold along with the broadcast rights to the relegation playoffs, 2. Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup.

Bundesliga matches are broadcast on TV in Germany on Sky Deutschland and DAZN. Three Friday night matches – the openers of the first and second halves of the season, and on the final matchday before the winter break – are broadcast free-to-air on Sat. 1.

After RTL Group acquired Sky Deutschland in 2026, it reached an agreement with the Bundesliga to simulcast ten matches per season free-to-air on RTL.

Radio coverage includes the national Konferenz (whip-around coverage) on the stations of ARD and full match coverage on local radio stations.

Global

The Bundesliga is broadcast on TV in over 200 countries. Versant (via USA Sports) would hold English rights in the United States starting with the beginning of the 2026–27 season. At least 30 matches per season are reserved for linear television on the USA Network, with all remaining games appearing on Fandango. NBCUniversal (via Telemundo Deportes) will hold the Spanish rights starting that same season, with a few matches per week airing on Telemundo and Universo and all matches streaming on Peacock. ESPN held both the English and Spanish rights from the beginning of the 2020–21 season to the end of the 2025–26 season. 4 matches per season were reserved for linear television with the rest appearing on ESPN+. In Canada, the Bundesliga is broadcast live on OneSoccer.

In the United Kingdom and in Ireland, the Bundesliga is broadcast live on Sky Sports. Also in the United Kingdom, the BBC have the rights to broadcast one match a week from August 2025 until 2027. In Spain, the Bundesliga is broadcast live on DAZN.

In Indonesia, Bundesliga is aired on MNC Group's television channels, pay TV, and OTT in the 2024–25 season while it was currently unavailable on beIN Sports Asia in the country since the previous season. In the 2025–26 season, the broadcasting rights contract is extended. In Vietnam, Bundesliga is aired on TV360 from 2025–26 season.

Taiwan's ELTA TV are expecting to aired Bundesliga for the 2024–25 season, marked the first time Bundesliga returned to Taiwanese television since the 2020–21 season.

In 2015, digital TV operator StarTimes acquired exclusive television rights for Sub-Saharan Africa for five years starting from 2015–16 season.

In August 2025, MBC Group signed a three-year deal to broadcast all Bundesliga games on Shahid and three matches a week on free-to-air (FTA) channel MBC Action across the MENA. That same month, English YouTuber Mark Goldbridge secured rights to stream the 2025–26 season on his channel "That's Football", alongside another YouTube channel "The Overlap", while the BBC, Sky Sports, Amazon Prime Video, and Bundesliga's official YouTube channel also acquired UK and Ireland broadcast rights. In August 2026, former England forward Jamie Vardy became a Bundesliga rights holder, with his YouTube channel, "Jamie Vardy's Having a Party", set to broadcast seven Friday-night matches during the 2026–27 season.

Champions

In total, 13 clubs have won the bundesliga, not including the former German championship titles won before the Bundesliga's inception and those in the East German Oberliga. The record champions are Bayern Munich with 34 titles.

Performance by club

Clubs in bold play in 2026–27 season in the top division. The German championship winners and DDR-Oberliga winners are not included in table below.

Honours

In 2004, the honour of "Verdiente Meistervereine" (roughly "distinguished champion clubs") was introduced, following a custom first practised in Italy to recognize sides that have won three or more championships since 1963 by the display of gold stars on their team badges and jerseys. Each country's usage is unique, with the following rules applying in Germany:

3 Bundesliga titles: 1 star

5 Bundesliga titles: 2 stars

10 Bundesliga titles: 3 stars

20 Bundesliga titles: 4 stars

30 Bundesliga titles: 5 stars

The former East German side BFC Dynamo laid claim to the three stars of a 10-time champion. The club asked for equal rights and petitioned the DFL and the DFB to have their DDR-Oberliga titles recognized. BFC Dynamo received support from SG Dynamo Dresden and 1. FC Magdeburg in its attempts to achieve recognition for East German titles. The DFL eventually answered that it was not the responsible body and pointed to the DFB, but the DFB remained silent for long time. BFC Dynamo eventually took matters into their own hands and emblazoned its jerseys with three stars, while a decision was still pending. This caused some debate because the club had been the favorite club of Erich Mielke during the East German era. There were rumours that the ten titles won by the club were also due to alleged manipulation of the game by Erich Mielke, while there is no proof that referees stood under direct instructions from the Stasi and no document has ever been found in the archives that gave the Stasi a mandate to bribe referees. In an interview with the Leipziger Volkszeitung in 2017, former East German referee Bernd Heynemann concluded: "The BFC is not ten times champions because the referees only whistled for Dynamo. They were already strong as a bear." Critics in the DFB environment pointed to politically influenced championships in East Germany. BFC Dynamo had been supported by the Stasi and had been advantaged. The club had enjoyed privileged access to talents and access to a permanent training camp at Uckley in Königs Wusterhausen. However, also other clubs in East Germany had enjoyed similar advantages, which put the DFB in a difficult situation. Former East German referee and then CDU parliamentarian Bernd Heynemann spoke out for recognition of all East German titles. The issue of recognition for titles outside the Bundesliga also affected pre-Bundesliga champions, such as Hertha BSC. The DFB finally decided in November 2005 to allow all former champions to display a single star inscribed with the number of titles, including all German men's titles since 1903, women's titles since 1974 and East German titles.

Logo history

For the first time in 1996, the Bundesliga was given its own logo to distinguish itself. Six years later, the logo was revamped into a portrait orientation, which was used until 2010. A new logo was announced for the 2010–11 season in order to modernise the brand logo for all media platforms. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bundesliga, a special logo was developed for the 2012–13 season, featuring a "50" and "1963–2013". Following the season, the 2010 logo was restored. In December 2016, it was announced that a new logo would be used for the 2017–18 season, modified slightly for digitisation requirements, featuring a matte look.

Influence and criticism

Former England international Owen Hargreaves hailed the Bundesliga alongside Pep Guardiola for its positive impact on nurturing young talents, noting that the Bundesliga is the best league in the world to promote young footballers. Many young English talents have sought refuge in Germany in order to regain fitness and football skills. Outside Europe, the J.League of Japan, which was founded in 1992, was strongly influenced by the philosophy of the Bundesliga. Since then, the J.League has managed to establish itself as one of the best football leagues in Asia, in which it shares a beneficial relationship with its German exemplar.

The Bundesliga has earned praise for its reputation on good financial management and the physical fitness of players.

The Bundesliga outperformed the English Premier League in 2017 in online influence in China, having been accredited for its open embrace of live-streaming and fast-forward visions.

The Bundesliga has at times been criticised for a perceived lack of competitiveness due to the continued dominance of FC Bayern Munich. The club has won a record 34 titles (of 61 available) in the modern Bundesliga era since 1963; a greater level of success than that of all their rivals combined. Indeed, the Bavarian club won 11 consecutive titles between the 2012–13 season and the 2022–23 season. Former Germany international Stefan Effenberg has suggested that the league be restructured in order to end Bayern's dominance.

Records

Appearances

As of 21 August 2026

Boldface indicates a player still active in the Bundesliga.

Top scorers

As of 7 June 2025