Fifty-eight clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its establishment. Bayern München broke the European record by becoming champions in 34 of 63 seasons and eleven consecutive seasons (2013–2023 seasons).
The Bundesliga, one of the top national leagues, ranks fourth in Europe according to the league coefficient ranking determined by UEFA for the 2024-25 season and based on performances in European competitions over the last five seasons. The Bundesliga led the UEFA rankings from 1976 to 1984 and in 1990. Additionally, the continent's highest-rated club seven times is Bayern München, a Bundesliga team.
Bundesliga clubs have won eight UEFA Champions League titles, seven UEFA Europa League titles, four European Cup Winners' Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and three Intercontinental Cup titles. His players have won nine Ballon d'Or awards, two FIFA Best Men's Player awards, four European Golden Boots and three UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards, including UEFA Club Player of the Year.
The Bundesliga is the number one football league in the world in terms of average attendance. The league is the sports league with the highest average attendance in the world after the National Football League among all sports, with an average of 45,134 fans per game in the 2011-12 season. The Bundesliga is broadcast on television in more than 200 countries.
While the Bundesliga was founded in Dortmund in 1962, the first season of the league started in 1963-64. The structure and organization of the Bundesliga, along with Germany's other football leagues, has undergone frequent changes. The Bundesliga was founded by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (German Football Association), but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (German Football League).
The team that won the championship in the 2025-26 season, which is the last completed season of the league, is Bayern München.
League structure
It consists of two leagues, the Bundesliga or 1. Bundesliga (rarely referred to with the prefix 1.) and the 2. Bundesliga, one below which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. Bundesligen (plural) is used for professional leagues. The 3. Liga has been a professional league since 2008, but it is not called the Bundesliga because it is governed by the German Football Federation (DFB) and not by the German Football League (DFL) like the other two leagues.
Leagues are subdivided below the 3. Liga level, usually on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen currently consists of the Nord (North), Nordost (Northeast), Süd (South), Südwest (Southwest) and West (West) leagues. Below this are thirteen parallel divisions, most of which are called Oberligen (upper leagues) and represent federal states or large urban and geographical areas.
Levels below Oberligen vary between local areas. The league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various regions of the country. In the early 1990s, the reunification of Germany and the subsequent integration of East Germany's national league into the Bundesliga led to changes.
If not every team in the two Bundesligens has the necessary license to play in the league, they are relegated to the regional leagues. To obtain a license, teams must meet financial criteria and certain standards of conduct as an organization.
As with other national leagues, being in the top division has some benefits:
- A larger share of television broadcasting rights revenues goes to 1. Bundesliga teams.
- 1. Bundesliga teams have more fan support. The average attendance in the major league is 42,673 per game; This figure is more than twice the average of the 2nd Bundesliga.
- Greater visibility and higher audience participation through television contribute to 1. Bundesliga teams securing more lucrative sponsorship deals.
- 1. Bundesliga teams generate significant income from television and box office revenues, sponsorships and sales of team brands. This allows them to attract and retain talented players from local and international sources and build world-class stadium facilities.
Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, RB Leipzig, Hamburg, VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Köln, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen are the most internationally recognized German clubs. Since its founding, Hamburg has been the only club to play continuously in the Bundesliga until the 2017–18 season when it was relegated for the first time.
The promotion and relegation system, which was implemented in Germany from 1981 to 1991, was reintroduced in the Bundesliga in the 2008–09 season:
- The bottom two finishers of the Bundesliga are automatically relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga, and the top two finishers of the 2nd Bundesliga take their place.
- The third-from-last club in the Bundesliga plays a two-legged match with the third-placed team in the 2nd Bundesliga, with the winning team taking part in the Bundesliga the following season.
From 1992 to 2008, a different system was used in which the bottom three finishers of the Bundesliga were automatically relegated and replaced by the top three finishers of the 2nd Bundesliga. From 1963 to 1981 two or later three teams were automatically relegated from the Bundesliga, while promotion was determined either entirely or partly by promotion play-offs.
The season begins in early August and lasts until the end of May, with a six-week winter break (mid-December to late January). Starting from the 2002-03 season, the opening matches began to be played on Friday nights on the first match day, with the participation of the last champions. The reigning champions have not lost their opening matches since then, winning 16 of 21 matches (until the 2022-23 season).
Starting from the 2021-22 season, kick-off times have been changed and matches will be played at 20.30 on Fridays, at 15.30 and 18.30 on Saturdays, and at 15.30, 17.30 and 19.30 on Sundays.
Teams
2026-27 season teams
Teams and stadiums
- Augsburg — Augsburg — WWK Arena — 30,660
- Bayer Leverkusen — Leverkusen — BayArena — 30.210
- Bayern München — Munich — Allianz Arena — 75,000
- Borussia Dortmund — Dortmund — Signal Iduna Park — 81.365
- Borussia Mönchengladbach — Mönchengladbach — Borussia-Park — 59,724
- Eintracht Frankfurt — Frankfurt — Deutsche Bank Park — 51,500
- Elversberg — Neunkirchen — Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde — 10,000
- Freiburg — Freiburg im Breisgau — Schwarzwald-Stadion — 24,000
- Hamburg — Hamburg — Imtech Arena — 57,000
- Hoffenheim — Sinsheim — PreZero Arena — 30,150
- 1. FC Köln — Cologne — RheinEnergie Stadium — 49,698
- Mainz 05 — Mainz — Mainz Arena — 34,000
- Paderborn 07 — Paderborn — Home Deluxe Arena — 15,000
- RB Leipzig — Leipzig — Red Bull Arena — 42,558
- Schalke 04 — Gelsenkirchen — Veltins-Arena — 62,271
- Stuttgart — Stuttgart — MHPArena — 60.449
- Union Berlin — Berlin — Stadion An der Alten Försterei — 22.012
- Werder Bremen — Bremen — Weser Stadium — 42,100
Champions
While 1. FC Köln was the first champion in the Bundesliga, whose first season was 1963-64, a total of 13 different teams won the championship in the league. While Bayern München is the most successful team with 34 championships among these teams, Bayern is followed by Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund with 5 championships each, Werder Bremen with 4 championships, Hamburg and VfB Stuttgart with 3 championships each, 1.
FC Köln and 1. FC Kaiserslautern with 2 championships each and 1860 München with one championship each. Eintracht Braunschweig, 1. FC Nürnberg, VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen follow.
Bayern München became the team that collected the highest points in a season with 91 points in the 2012-13 season. In addition, Bayern München is a leader in this field and in Europe, having won the league championship 11 times in a row between the 2013-2023 seasons. Bayern is followed by Borussia Mönchengladbach, which won the league title three times in a row between the 1975-1977 seasons. The championships won by year are as follows;
The following rules apply to the number of stars that Bundesliga champions can embroider on their jerseys. Star usage rights on the jersey are as follows;
- 3rd Bundesliga title: 1 star
- 5th Bundesliga title: 2 stars
- 10th Bundesliga title: 3 stars
- 20th Bundesliga title: 4 stars
- 30th Bundesliga title: 5 stars
It is won following the championships.
By seasons
The number in parentheses indicates the total number of Bundesliga titles won.
Football player statistics
The 10 players with the most appearances
- 1 — Karl-Heinz Körbel — 1972-1991 — Eintracht Frankfurt — 602
- 2 — Manfred Kaltz — 1971-1991 — Hamburg — 581
- 3 — Oliver Kahn — 1987-2008 — Bayern München — 557
- 4 — Klaus Fichtel — 1965-1988 — Schalke 04 — 552
- 5 — Miroslav Votava — 1976-1996 — Werder Bremen — 546
- 6 — Manuel Neuer — 2005- — Bayern München — 545
- 7 — Klaus Fischer — 1968-1988 — Schalke 04 — 535
- 8 — Eike Immel — 1978-1995 — VfB Stuttgart — 534
- 9 — Oliver Baumann — 2010- — Hoffenheim — 523
- 10 — Willi Neuberger — 1966-1983 — Eintracht Frankfurt — 520
Those who are currently actively playing football are written in bold.
