Since 2006, the German Olympic Sports Federation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DOSB) has replaced the former DSB with 16 state federations and other affiliated sports clubs. The DOSB, headquartered in Frankfurt, represents 89,000 clubs and about 27 million members (one out of every three Germans!).
There are about 5,000 active clubs in Germany playing football (soccer). The number of men's teams is about 230,000 and the number of women's teams about 70,000.
The most popular team games in Germany are soccer, basketball, and handball. Baseball is growing in popularity. In addition to government-run leagues, a network of more than 600 private clubs offer players opportunities at all levels of competition. Some large cities have league structures similar to those in North America while others rely primarily on local club organizations for team competitions.
Football (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in Germany. The national team, known as "Das Team", has won the World Cup twice - in 1954 and 1990. Other major international tournaments include the European Championship and the Olympics.
Basketball is second most popular sport in Germany. The national team has never won the gold medal at the Basketball World Championships but did win the bronze in 1994. Handball is third most popular sport in Germany.
With almost 7 million members, the DFB is the world's largest sports federation. In comparison to all Germans, this indicates that around 10% of all Germans are directly linked with the German football association.
With their great successes and achievements, German athletes have raised their country's profile in the international athletic arena. Whether it's footballer Miroslav Klose's 71-goal record, Formula One Championship trophies from Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, Steffi Graf's tennis triumphs, or Margit Schumann's Winter...
Sport is a significant component of German culture and society. In 2006, around 27.5 million individuals were members of Germany's more than 91,000 sports clubs. The German Olympic Sports Federation represents almost all sports clubs.
6.6 million people The German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fussball-Bund or DFB) is the sport's national regulatory organization, with approximately 26,000 football clubs and 6.6 million members (about 8% of the population). ...
| Football in Germany | |
|---|---|
| Governing body | DFB |
| National team(s) | Germany |
| First played | 1874 |
| Clubs | 26,000 |
The German Handball Association (German: Deutscher Handballbund) is Germany's national handball organization. DHB organizes team handball in Germany and represents German handball on a national and international level. Its offices are located in Berlin, Germany.
As far as World Championship history is concerned, Germany has won one gold medal and three silver medals. The gold was won in 1974 in Moscow under the leadership of coach Willy Böckl, while the silver medals were earned in 1986 in Madrid, 1990 in Stralsund and 1994 in Stuttgart under coaches Falk Wimmer, Jürgen Görtz, Eberhard Schüller and Peter Svidler respectively.
At the European Championships, Germany has won one gold medal and five silver medals. At the Olympic Games, Germany has only competed once and that was in 1936 when they finished fourth.
Currently, Germany plays in the EHF Champions League and the EHF Cup. The DHB also runs eight men's and nine women's regional teams. Each region is represented by a senior team and sometimes by a second team at lower levels. In total, there are more than 100 players involved with the DHB regional teams.
When Germany played its first official match on 3 April 1893, they lost 0-3 to Denmark in Copenhagen.
Since 1950, the organization has been a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF), and since 1991, shortly after the country's unification, it has also been a member of the European Handball Federation (EHF). Dortmund is the headquarters of the DHB. 2.8 million people live within 50 km of a handball court.
The club was founded on August 11, 1911 in Dortmund as Union Dortmunder Ballspiel-Club by employees of an electrical company. The first team played in the regional league until 1933 when they were promoted to the national second division. In 1940, under the leadership of manager Hugo Schäfer, Union became one of the founding members of the Bundesliga (now called Deutschlandliga). They remained in this league until 1945 when World War II halted all football activities in Germany. After WWII, Union returned to the sport and played in the top flight from 1946-50 and again from 1952-53. The club's greatest success came in 1955 when they won the national championship. That same year, they also reached the final of the European Cup but lost to SC Møllerwiese in overtime.
After its most successful era, Union declined through financial problems and dropped out of the top flight in 1967. They survived for another eight years in the second division before being relegated in 1975.
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