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Sports
Sports are a favorite leisure-time activity in Germany. There are more
than 87,000 sports clubs affiliated with the "Deutscher Sportbund"
(DSB; German Sports Federation). Approximtely 27 million people - about one third of the entire population - are members of a sports club, and
another 12 million partake in sports independently. In all the various
branches, there are approximately 2.6 million people working in an honorary
capacity as coaches, trainers, physiotherapists or officials. At the 2000
summer Olympics in Sydney, Germany was ranked No. 5.
Soccer
The most popular sport in Germany is soccer, called "Fussball." Germany has hosted the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Soccer is played at thousands of amateur clubs, and with more than 6.3
million members, the "Deutsche Fussballbund" (DFB; German Football
Federation) is by far the largest sports organization in Germany. Every
week during the regular season, hundreds of thousands of people attend
the professional games while thousands more watch or actively take part
in matches between local amateur clubs.
| Millions tune in during television
broadcasts of international matches. |
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WORLD CUP 2006 IN GERMANY
Fußball WM 2006 in Deutschland (World Cup 2006 in Germany)
 http://wm2006.deutschland.de/EN/Navigation/Home/home.html
Some games of th German Soccer "Bundesliga" can be viewed live in the US on Setanta Sports available via DirectTV
Other Sports
Two other sports federations have over a million members each: the
German
Marksmen’s Federation and the German Tennis Federation. The last one
has
been growing because of the great success of German tennis players during
the last years (see below). Other sports, such as handball, volleyball,
basketball or ice-hockey are also popular in Germany. American Football
and baseball are not typical German sports,
but are enjoying increasing popularity.
Popular Athletes
The most popular athletes are tennis players like Boris Becker, Steffi
Graf or Tommy Haas. Golf fans in the U.S. and Germany can often see 1985
Masters champion Bernhard Langer; popular ice-skater Katharina Witt has
become well-known in the U.S. as well. During the last years Formula 1
Race-car Driving has become one of the most popular spectator sports in
Germany, thanks in part to Michael Schumacher, the Formula 1 World Champion.
Support
Sports are to a large extent regionally based and run by private organizations.
Nevertheless they are supported by the federal and state governments in
a number of ways. The focus of federal assistance is on promoting top
athletes who represent Germany in international competitions. However,
the constitution also makes provision for federal promotion of mass sports
activities.
Links
Facts
About Germany
Germany
at the Winter Olympics
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Sports
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