Overview of the Bundesliga
Among European national club football leagues, Germany’s Bundesliga is one of the youngsters, having been organized in 1963. The 16-team loop was formed out of five top regional leagues (Oberligen) in the then-West Germany. With the exception of the first two seasons, and a single post-unification season, the league has been comprised of 18 teams.
The Bundesliga has a strong following in Germany and around the world. It has the second-highest average per-game attendance of any sporting league across the globe, behind only the USA’s National Football League.
Under Germany’s system of promotion and relegation, the three teams at the bottom of the final standings are relegated, or demoted, to the second division, and the top three teams from the second division are promoted to the top division for the following season. Since the Bundesliga’s inception in 1963, only one football club, Hamburger SV, has not been relegated to the second division. The famed side of Bayern Munich received promotion for the 1965-66 season and has never looked back.
By far, Bayern Munich has been the most successful football club in the Bundesliga, having scored 20 league championships. Borussia Moenchengladbach is next with five titles, Werder Bremen follow with four, while Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV have three apiece.
Since the reunification of Germany, football clubs from the former East Germany have struggled to be promoted to -- and remain in -- the Bundesliga. For one season, 1991-92, the league expanded to 20 teams to accommodate the unified German federations, but returned to an 18-team table the following season. Currently, only Energie Cottbus represents eastern Germany in the top loop.
