Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (German: [ˈbʊndəsˌliːɡa] ⓘ; lit. 'Federal League'), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga ([ˌfuːsbal-]) or 1. Bundesliga ([ˌeːɐ̯stə-]), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary football competition. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga. Seasons run from August to May. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All of the Bundesliga clubs take part in the DFB-Pokal cup competition. The winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup.
This article is about the German men's football league. For the German women's football league, see Frauen-Bundesliga. For other uses, see Bundesliga (disambiguation).Organising body
Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL)
24 August 1963
Germany
Bayer Leverkusen (1st title)
(2023–24)
Bayern Munich (32 titles)
Charly Körbel (602)
Gerd Müller (365)
Fifty-six clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. Bayern Munich has won 32 of 61 titles, as well as eleven consecutive seasons between 2013 and 2023, which is a record for a Big Five league. The Bundesliga has also seen other champions, with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. The Bundesliga is one of the top national leagues, ranked fourth in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient ranking for the current 2023–24 season, based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons.[1] The Bundesliga led the UEFA ranking from 1976 to 1984 and in 1990. It has also produced the continent's top-rated club seven times. Bundesliga clubs have won eight UEFA Champions League, seven UEFA Europa League, four European Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cup, two FIFA Club World Cup, and three Intercontinental Cup titles. Its players have accumulated nine Ballon d'Or awards, two The Best FIFA Men's Player awards, four European Golden Shoe, and three UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
The Bundesliga is the number one association football league in the world in terms of average attendance; out of all sports, its average of 45,134 fans per game during the 2011–12 season was the second-highest of any sports league in the world after the American National Football League.[2] The Bundesliga is broadcast on television in over 200 countries.[3]
The Bundesliga was founded in 1962 in Dortmund[4] and the first season started in 1963–64. The structure and organisation of the Bundesliga, along with Germany's other football leagues, have undergone frequent changes. The Bundesliga was founded by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (English: German Football Association), but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (English: German Football League).
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 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:
The 1. Bundesliga is financially strong, and the 2. Bundesliga has begun to evolve in a similar direction, becoming more stable organizationally and financially, and reflecting an increasingly higher standard of professional play.
Internationally, the most well-known German clubs include Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, RB Leipzig, Hamburger SV, VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen.[5] No clubs have played continuously in the Bundesliga since its foundation; on 12 May 2018, Hamburger SV was the last founding club to be relegated.[6][7]
In the 2008–09 season, the Bundesliga reinstated an earlier German system of promotion and relegation, which had been in use from 1981 until 1991:
From 1992 until 2008, a different system was used, in which the bottom three finishers of the Bundesliga were automatically relegated, to be replaced by the top three finishers in the 2. Bundesliga. From 1963 until 1981 two, or later three, teams were relegated from the Bundesliga automatically, while promotion was decided either completely or partially in promotion play-offs.
The season starts in early August[8] and lasts until late May, with a winter break of six weeks (mid-December through to the end of January). Starting with the 2002-03 season, opening matches were introduced to feature defending champions on Friday nights on the first match day. Defending champions have not lost the opening matches since then, winning 16 of the 21 matches (up to the 2022-23 season). Starting with the 2021–22 season, kick off times were changed with Friday matches starting at 8:30 pm, Saturdays at 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm, and Sundays at 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm.[9]
Media coverage[edit]
Domestic[edit]
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.[45]
From 2017 to 2018 to 2018–19, Bundesliga matches were broadcast on TV in Germany on Sky Deutschland and Eurosport. Prior to the 2019–20 season, Eurosport sublicensed its broadcast rights to sports streaming service DAZN, which will broadcast games previously allocated to Eurosport until the conclusion of the 2020–21 season.[46] 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 to all Germans on Sat. 1.
Starting with the 2018–19 season, Sky began arranging simulcasts of high-profile Saturday games on free TV to promote its coverage of the league. The April 2019 Revierderby was broadcast on Das Erste, and two additional games during the 2019–20 season were broadcast on ZDF.[47][48]
Logo history[edit]
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.[66] To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bundesliga, a special logo was developed for the 2012–13 season, featuring a "50" and "1963–2013".[67] 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.[68]
Influence and criticism[edit]
The Dutch football schools, which existed and developed the Netherlands into one of Europe and the world's major football forces, have been strongly influenced and galvanised with German football philosophy, in particular by experiences of Dutch players and managers in Bundesliga.[69] 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.[70] Many young English talents have sought refuge in Germany in order to regain fitness and football skills.[71] 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.[72]
The Bundesliga has earned praise for its reputation on good financial management and the physical fitness of players.[73]
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.[74]
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 32 titles (of 59 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 title between the 2012–13 season and the 2022–23 season.[75] Former Germany international Stefan Effenberg has suggested that the league be restructured in order to end Bayern's dominance.[76]
(in German, English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Polish)
