Overview
Eighteen clubs, the highest average attendance in world football, and the 50+1 rule that keeps members in control.
The Bundesliga is the top division of German football. Eighteen clubs play 34 matches from August to May; the bottom two are relegated automatically and the sixteenth plays a two-legged tie against the third-placed club in the second division.
The league draws the highest average attendances in world football, helped by standing terraces and controlled ticket prices. The 50+1 rule requires that club members hold a majority of voting rights, which has kept German clubs out of the hands of outside owners and is the single biggest structural difference from the English and Italian models.
2026-27 Table
Table order as published in the feed (points, then the competition's tiebreakers). 18 teams. Captured 6 October 2026 from the ESPN public standings feed.
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 10 |
| 3 | SC Freiburg | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 10 |
| 4 | FC Augsburg | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 7 |
| 5 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 7 |
| 6 | Mainz | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 7 |
| 7 | SV Elversberg | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 |
| 8 | Werder Bremen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| 9 | RB Leipzig | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 |
| 10 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 5 |
| 11 | Schalke 04 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 5 |
| 12 | SC Paderborn 07 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 13 | FC Cologne | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 4 |
| 14 | TSG Hoffenheim | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 3 |
| 15 | VfB Stuttgart | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 3 |
| 16 | Hamburg SV | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | -11 | 3 |
| 17 | 1. FC Union Berlin | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | -13 | 1 |
| 18 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 0 |
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
Germany had no national league until 1963; before that the championship was decided by a playoff between regional winners. The Bundesliga was created to make the national team competitive again after a poor 1962 World Cup.
Bayern Munich have dominated it — eleven consecutive titles from 2013 to 2023 — with Borussia Dortmund the most consistent challenger. Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten 2023–24 season under Xabi Alonso was the first title won by any club other than Bayern or Dortmund since 2012.
Bayern's 2025–26 side scored 122 goals, a club record and the second-highest total recorded in Europe's top five leagues.
Governance
The Deutsche Fußball Liga runs the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga on behalf of the 36 clubs, under the German Football Association, UEFA and FIFA. The 50+1 rule is a condition of licensing.