Five things you should know about the Bundesliga

1) Packed house

Full stadiums are typically the result of success, objectives, and most importantly, reasonable costs. The Bundesliga provides that.

In 2022–2023 there were 42,966 attendance averages in the Bundesliga. That was over twice as much as the top division in France, Ligue 1 (23,677), and over 2,000 more than the English Premier League, with Serie A from Italy coming in third place with 29,508 points. Only the NFL has more spectators per stadium on average than all other male sports leagues worldwide.

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The average season ticket price for the 2019–20 campaign was €11 per game. When they were put up for sale, they were in high demand and nearly sold out right away.

At the other extreme, a season ticket at the perpetually packed RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne may cost about €800, although even at that price point, the average per game is still around €10 less than the same league average in England’s premier league.

Furthermore, complimentary local public transportation to and from the game is included with match tickets. Additionally, unlike in England, alcohol is permitted to be consumed outside on the terraces (often in reusable, recyclable cups as teams try to lessen their environmental impact).

It’s debatable whether or not the mid-match drink adds to the exciting mood inside the stadium, but Germans have shown time and again that they know how to get the most out of their ninety minutes in the stands.

Another important aspect of matchday is the presence of fan clubs, who frequently organize “tifos,” or pre-match exhibitions in the stands. This tradition dates back to southern Europe. These massively impressive football match background choreographies, which feature thousands of participants, are intended to inspire the home team and terrify the enemy.

This explains why a lot of foreign guests are frequently spotted at Bundesliga games. Experiencing the legendary atmosphere and viewing elite football on a budget all contribute to a vacation that is well worth the effort.

2) 50+1

Bundesliga fans are likely to hear about the “50+1 rule” frequently. Another reason why supporters feel so connected to their team is because of a DFL rule that requires a club to have the majority of the voting rights in the league.

This implies that the supporters of the club continue to have authority over its management. A club has to possess 50% of its shares in addition to at least one additional share in order to accomplish this.

This structure has its roots in the need that football clubs operate as non-profit entities up until 1998. Subsequently, clubs might choose to incorporate as public or private limited companies; nevertheless, the parent business of the club (the member company) retained a majority ownership stake in these firms.

For instance, FC Bayern München AG is the business that manages the first team of Bayern Munich. The membership group FC Bayern München eV owns 75% of this. Adidas, Audi, and Allianz—longtime partners—own 8.33% of the AG between them. Therefore, Bayern might continue to comply with the requirement while raising additional funds by selling up to 25% of its remaining ownership.

There are, as always, exceptions. This most frequently occurs when an individual or business has consistently provided significant funding to a club for at least 20 years. A controlling share is allowed in this situation.

The three primary instances of this are Hoffenheim, which is under the ownership of Dietmar Hopp, a former youth player and co-founder of SAP software, and Wolfsburg, which is owned by the car manufacturer Volkswagen. Bayer Leverkusen is owned by the local pharmaceutical business Bayer.

3) The League of Federalists

If one is not fluent in German, the term “Bundesliga” could cause confusion. In spite of what one may occasionally hear, the pronunciation is just “Bun-des-liga,” with no middle “sh.”

The “-liga” prefix will stand out to spectators since it clearly indicates that the Bundesliga is a league. Yet, “Bundes-” doesn’t provide much to readers who aren’t familiar with Goethe’s language.

However, individuals who are acquainted with German culture would have encountered those six letters very regularly: Bundestag, Bundesland, and Bundesrepublik Deutschland, to mention a few.

It signifies “federal” in the simple sense, or “German” in the sense that Germany is meant. Thus, the Bundestag is the name of the German parliament, a Bundesland is one of the 16 federal states of Germany, and the official name of the nation is the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, which is rendered as Federal Republic of Germany in English.

Hence, although the term “Bundesliga” doesn’t need to be translated, it does signify “federal league” in theory.

As the nation’s first countrywide league, the naming was done according to standard procedure. It took the place of the Oberligas, which had in turn replaced the Bezirksligas and Gauligas (for the record, the German word for “liga” is “Ligen”). In this case, “Ober-” denoted the highest level, “Gau” a county or region, and “Bezirk” a district or region, all of which included sizable regions.

4) At the cutting edge of innovation

Making the Bundesliga the most inventive football league in the world is one of the DFL, the league’s governing body,’s declared goals.

The DFL has supported the use of goal-line technology and stated that 36 judgments were made using Hawk-Eye goal-line technology in its first three seasons, despite the Bundesliga introducing it just three years after it was approved globally.

But when the Bundesliga became one of the first leagues in Europe to use VAR (Video Assistant Referee) in 2017–18, it showed that it was not going to be reluctant to adopt the next significant technical innovation in the game.

It was as quick to respond to early teething issues, such as the requirement that supporters within the stadiums, as opposed to merely those watching on TV, be made fully aware of the procedure. Since then, the grounds’ large displays have been displaying decision messages.

There’s also the perception that the Bundesliga has adapted to VAR more well than other leagues. Referees on the field are more inclined to consult with colleagues over headsets and utilize pitch-side monitors. They have also rapidly accepted the idea of “clear and obvious” when determining whether to reverse an on-field judgment.

But the Bundesliga is the best in football for many reasons than simply on the field.

The league said in 2018 that virtual advertising will be routinely accessible for foreign broadcasts. This meant that spectators outside of German-speaking nations would receive appropriate advertisements instead of those that were shown within the stadium. A digital overlay of the broadcast signal is used to accomplish this.

Subsequently that year, the DFL and the BILD media group collaborated to use augmented reality in publications. Through the use of mobile phones to scan specific photographs, readers would be able to view movies through printed materials. Christian Seifert, a former CEO of DFL, remarked, “This innovation combines traditional reading habits with the opportunities presented by digital media.”

The DFL said in 2019 that it was working with Vodafone to introduce 5G to the Bundesliga. The technology was first introduced during Wolfsburg’s match against Hoffenheim at the Volkswagen Arena. It is combined with a new real-time software that lets fans view match statistics and player specific information on their phones while the action is taking place in front of them. Later, visual tracking was added to the list of services. “5G is the beginning of a new era, and the Bundesliga is taking the first step,” Seifert said.

A global first was also achieved at the close of the decade when the DFL televised Wolfsburg’s match against Werder in a 9:16 format, which was popular on social media, in addition to the standard 16:9 format that is seen on most TVs, PCs, and tablets. The experiment was a response to the growing trend of people preferring to view films on their mobile devices, especially football games. It even continued to produce in Ultra HD according to standard. In addition to the standard 25 cameras used in Bundesliga productions, there were an additional five cameras utilized for production, one of which was specifically designed by the DFL Group for the corner flag.

The Bundesliga became the first football league in the world to announce a cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in early 2020, as the DFL maintained its forward motion. Now serving as the league’s official technology supplier, AWS offers more detailed analysis of each Bundesliga telecast.

With real-time statistics for improved viewer insight, personalized information to assist better understand the game, and more, AWS offers cutting-edge technology to elevate football to a new level across a variety of platforms and devices, no matter where you are in the globe.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, the Bundesliga was likewise in the forefront of efforts to bring competitive football back. Gladbach hosted Cologne in the Bundesliga’s inaugural “ghost game” on March 11, 2020, with no spectators in attendance. A few days later, the entire nation was placed under lockdown.

A thorough and efficient cleanliness plan that included stringent health and safety regulations allowed for the campaign to start again on May 16, many weeks ahead of other elite leagues in Europe and even international athletic events.

5) Additional documents

There are many more noteworthy records in the Bundesliga, even if champions and goal scorers were already listed.

Pizarro is not the oldest player to appear in the league, but he is the oldest player to score in it. That accolade belongs to Klaus Fichtel, who made his Schalke debut in May 1988 at the age of forty-three and six months.

On the opposite end of the scale, Youssoufa Moukoko, a teenage player for Borussia Dortmund, made his debut in November 2020 at the age of 16 and a day, making him the youngest player in history. A few weeks later, he scored his first goal, making history as the youngest goal scorer in the Bundesliga aged 16 years and 28 days.

But nobody knows Bundesliga football like Karl-Heinz ‘Charly’ Körbel does. In a career lasting more than 18 years, the center defender played over 53,000 minutes in 602 games, including two in the relegation play-off, all with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Michael Spies was the only Bundesliga player to play for more teams than Körbel did at any one club. The offensive midfielder played for Wolfsburg, Dynamo Dresden, Karlsruhe, Gladbach, Hansa Rostock, Hamburg, and his local team, Stuttgart.

Seven players have made their Bundesliga debut with three goals, but none have had the same effect as Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, who scored three goals in 23 minutes in the second half after coming off the bench against Augsburg in 2019–20.

It’s fast, but not as fast as Lewandowski could do. He scored the quickest four-, five-, and hat-trick hauls in Bundesliga history in 2015–16; he reached the latter total in only nine minutes against Wolfsburg.