What is special about German football?
What is the “yellow wall” and who brings an eagle to the stadium? Here
are some fun facts about German football.
Kim Berg Successful national teams with numerous championship victories
The German men’s national team has won the World Cup four times (in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014) and the European Championship three times (in 1972, 1980 and 1996). Germany’s women have been even more successful: the women’s team has won the World Cup twice (though the tournament has only been held nine times so far), the European Championship eight times and Olympic gold once - something the men have never achieved.
The myth of the “tournament team”
Historically, the German men’s national team has been renowned for being particularly calm and stable during major tournaments, even when it has been performing less well in advance.
Germany’s record goal-scorer
Having scored 71 goals in 137 matches, Miroslav Klose is Germany’s top goal-scorer, followed by Gerd Müller, who has achieved 68 goals in 62 matches.
A league that really draws the crowds
The Bundesliga has one of the world’s highest attendance rates - attracting on average over 42,000 fans (statistics for 2025/26) per match. Achieving a stadium utilisation rate of 96 percent, the German Bundesliga leads the field in Europe.
Europe’s biggest standing terrace
With a capacity of 81,365, the Borussia Dortmund stadium is Germany’s biggest stadium. Its south stand (known as the “yellow wall”) is the biggest standing terrace in European football, according to the Bundesliga.
Smallest Bundesliga club in history
The club SV Elversberg was promoted to the first Bundesliga in 2026. With just 13,000 inhabitants, this village in the Saarland region is the smallest Bundesliga club by far.
Lovable mascots
There are two live mascots in the Bundesliga: Hennes the billy goat (1. FC Cologne) and Attila the eagle (Eintracht Frankfurt).
The “50+1” rule
According to the 50+1 rule, the parent club must hold the majority of voting rights (at least 50 percent, plus one additional vote) in any professional football club in Germany to ensure that external investors cannot take control.
Football club culture in Germany
According to the German Football Association (DFB), Germany is home to over 23,000 football clubs with more than 140,000 teams.
Nearly one in ten people in Germany is a member of a club
Over eight million people are active members of a club, according to the DFB - that’s nearly ten percent of the country’s entire population.
Tens of thousands of football matches per week
According to the DFB, more than 1.4 million football matches are played in Germany every year. That’s as many as 65,000 games per week.
