SPORTS

Sports

Sports are a favorite leisure-time activity in Germany. There are more than 87,000 sports clubs affiliated with the "Deutscher Sportbund" (DSB; German Sports Federation). Approximtely 27 million people - about one third of the entire population - are members of a sports club, and another 12 million partake in sports independently. In all the various branches, there are approximately 2.6 million people working in an honorary capacity as coaches, trainers, physiotherapists or officials. At the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Germany was ranked No. 5.

Soccer
The most popular sport in Germany is soccer, called "Fussball." Germany has hosted the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Soccer is played at thousands of amateur clubs, and with more than 6.3 million members, the "Deutsche Fussballbund" (DFB; German Football Federation) is by far the largest sports organization in Germany. Every week during the regular season, hundreds of thousands of people attend the professional games while thousands more watch or actively take part in matches between local amateur clubs.

Other Sports
Two other sports federations have over a million members each: the German Marksmen’s Federation and the German Tennis Federation. The last one has been growing because of the great success of German tennis players during the last years (see below). Other sports, such as handball, volleyball, basketball or ice-hockey are also popular in Germany. American Football and baseball are not typical German sports, but are enjoying increasing popularity.

Popular Athletes
The most popular athletes are tennis players like Boris Becker, Steffi Graf or Tommy Haas. Golf fans in the U.S. and Germany can often see 1985 Masters champion Bernhard Langer; popular ice-skater Katharina Witt has become well-known in the U.S. as well. During the last years Formula 1 Race-car Driving has become one of the most popular spectator sports in Germany, thanks in part to Michael Schumacher, the Formula 1 World Champion.

Support
Sports are to a large extent regionally based and run by private organizations. Nevertheless they are supported by the federal and state governments in a number of ways. The focus of federal assistance is on promoting top athletes who represent Germany in international competitions. However, the constitution also makes provision for federal promotion of mass sports activities.