Bundesliga

The Bundesliga [ˈbʊndəsˌliːɡa] (lit. English: "Federal League", sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga [ˈfuːsbal ˈbʊndəsˌliːɡa] or 1. Bundesliga), is a professional association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest average stadium attendance worldwide. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary football competition. The Bundesliga is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga. Seasons run from August to May. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekdays. All of the Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal. The winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup.

A total of 53 clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. FC Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga the most, winning the title 24 times. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. The Bundesliga is one of the top national leagues, currently ranked 3rd in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient ranking, based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. The Bundesliga is the number one football league in the world in terms of average attendance; out of all sports, its average of 45,134 fans per game during the 2011–12 season was the second highest of any sports league in the world after the National Football League. The Bundesliga is broadcast on television in over 200 countries.

Rugby-Bundesliga

The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of the league system for rugby union in Germany, organised by the German Rugby Federation.

The league is predominantly amateur, with only one club in the league being officially a professional outfit, the Heidelberger RK.

From 2012 to 2015 the Bundesliga was expanded from ten to 24 and the league divided into four regional divisions of six teams each. Below the Bundesliga the 2nd Bundesliga was organised in a similar fashion. From 2015 onwards the league returned to sixteen clubs.

History

The German rugby championship was first played in 1909 and, with the exception of 2002, has always been determined by a final.

The Rugby-Bundesliga was first played in two divisions in the 1971-72 season and soon consisted of six teams in the North and ten teams in the South. However, of the eight southern teams, five were located in Heidelberg and after 1975 all northern teams were from Hanover. The founding members of the league were SV Odin Hannover, SV 1908 Ricklingen, DSV 1878 Hannover, TSV Victoria Linden, SC Siemensstadt and FC St. Pauli Rugby in the north and SC Neuenheim, RG Heidelberg, Heidelberger RK, Heidelberger TV, TSV Handschuhsheim, RC Hürth, Bonner SC, ASV Köln Rugby, SC 1880 Frankfurt and Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby.

Bundesliga (women)

The Frauen-Bundesliga (English: Women Bundesliga) is the main league competition for women's football (soccer) in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association (DFB) created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups were merged to form a uniform league. The league currently consists of twelve teams and the seasons usually last from late summer to the end of spring with a break in the winter.

In the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Frauen-Bundesliga is the most successful league with a total of 9 titles from 4 clubs, with 1. FFC Frankfurt winning the most titles of any club.

Format

In the Bundesliga are twelve teams. At the end of a season the clubs finishing 11th and 12th are replaced with the winners of the two 2. Bundesliga divisions. A Bundesliga season consists of two rounds with 22 games combined. In a round every club plays against each other, having a home game against a specific club in one round and an away game in the other. The seasons typically start in August or September, with the first round finishing in December. The second round typically starts in February and ends in May or June, though sometimes the first games of the second round are held in December. Also due to the interference of World Cups the league might in certain years be suspended for a month.