Bundesliga Matches
The Bundesliga is the highest level of Germany's football league system. The term Bundesliga also applies to football in Austria and is used to refer to the highest level league competitions in several other sports in those two countries.
Germany was unusual, in that, unlike in other countries, a unified national league structure was quite late in developing. The Bundesliga was not formed until 1963 and the structure and organisation of the nation's football leagues have undergone frequent changes right up to the present day. The league was originally founded by the German Football Association, but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga.
The Bundesliga is composed of two divisions: the 1. Bundesliga (although it is rarely referred to with the First prefix), and, below that, the 2. Bundesliga (Second Bundesliga), which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. The Bundesligen (pl.) are professional leagues. Since 2008, the 3rd League in Germany is also a professional league, but may not be called Bundesliga because the league is run by the German Football Association (DFB) and not, as are the 2 Bundesligen, by the German Football League (DFL).
Below the level of the 3rd league, leagues are generally often subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of Nord (North), Süd (South) and West divisions, and the Oberligen (upper leagues) are composed of nine divisions representing federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas. The league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany and the subsequent integration of the national leagues of East and West Germany.
Every team in the Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be financially healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations.
As in other national leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division:
* A greater share of television broadcast licence revenues goes to Bundesliga sides.
* Bundesliga teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support. Average attendance in the first league is 40,000 per game — more than twice the average of the 2. Bundesliga.
* Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps Bundesliga teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships.
* Bundesliga teams develop substantial financial muscle through the combination of television and gate revenues, sponsorships and marketing of their team brands. This allows them to attract and retain skilled players from domestic and international sources and to construct first-class stadium facilities.
The Bundesliga is financially strong, and the 2. Bundesliga has begun to evolve in a similar direction, becoming more stable organisationally and financially, and reflecting an increasingly higher standard of professional play.
