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Germany needs no introduction when it comes to the sporting community. Sports are very popular in Germany, with about forty million Germans either a member of a sports club or pursuing sports individually.

Football is the most popular sport and indeed Germany are one of the superpowers of the sport internationally. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014) and have hosted it twice (1974 and 2006). They have also won the UEFA European Championship three times (1972, 1980 and 1996) and hosted it in 1988. Some of their best players include Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose, Jurgen Klinsmann, Gerard Muller, Lothar Matthaus, and Frank Beckenbauer. The German Football Association, with its member's roster well over 6.3 million, is the largest sports organization in the world.

Motorsports is also very popular in Germany and is one of the leading country in the sport. With teams like BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, its not hard to imagine why. The Porsche team has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans a staggering 16 times and so did Audi for 11 times. And anybody who is into motor sports will recognize the name Michael Schumacher who has set various motor sport records and have won more Formula One races than any other driver before him that includes the Formula One World Drivers' Championships which justifies him being one of the highest paid sportsmen of all time. Sebastian Vettel, another German driver has taken championships from 2010 all the way to 2013 which makes him one of the most prominent F1 drivers in history.

As far as the Olympic Games are concerned, Germany is one of the powerhouse ranking third when it comes to the all-time medal count in both the Summer and Winter Games as well as hosting quite a few.

See also about sport in the previous nations of Saarland, West Germany and East Germany.

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Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Germany. If you know of something that should be listed here, please send a comment.

Popular sports of Germany (see more)

• Football (Soccer), Rugby Union, Cycling, gymnastics, tennis, shooting, athletics, handball, Motorsport, Field Hockey

Germany Traditional or Regional Sports

• Klootschieten — German sport in which participants throw a ball as far as they can.
• Kegel — a German nine-pin bowling game played in Australia
• Sporthocking — An unusual German sport which is a mix of skateboarding and sitting down

Germany Sporting Success

• Winners of the FIFA World Cup three times playing as West Germany: 1954, 1974 and 1990, and won as a united Germany in 2014.
• Field Hockey Champions Trophy winners - 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2007

Great athletes from Germany

• Michael Schumacher (f1 driving)
• Boris Becker (tennis)
• Katarina Witt (figure skating)

Germany Sports trivia

• Berlin was scheduled to host the 1916 Olympic Games, but the Games were canceled due to the World War.

Germany at major events

• Germany at the Summer Olympics
• Germany at the Winter Olympics
• Germany at the FIFA World Cup
• Germany women's football team at the FIFA Women's World Cup
• Germany at the UEFA Euros

Past sporting events events hosted in Germany

• 1936 Olympic Games Berlin
• 1936 Winter Olympic Games Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• 1972 Olympic Games Munich
• 1972 Paralympic Games in Heildelberg
• 1974 FIFA World Cup Germany
• 1978 World Swimming Championships Berlin
• 1995 Men's World Boxing Championships in Berlin
• 2006 FIFA World Cup was hosted in Germany
• 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Düsseldorf
• 2017 Men's World Boxing Championships in Hamburg
• 2020 World Cycling Track Championships in Berlin
• 2022 European Championships in Munich

Upcoming sporting events in Germany

• 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games: Berlin
• 2023 Invictus Games, Düsseldorf, Germany
• 2024 UEFA European (Euro) Football Championship
• 2025 UEFA Champions League Final, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
• 2025 Summer World University Games (Universiade) in Rhine-Ruhr
• 2029 World Games in Karlsruhe

Annual sporting events held in Germany

• Berlin Marathon
• Bundesliga, the top level football league in Germany.

Sporting Facilities in Germany

• Franken-Stadion (Nuremberg)
• Allianz-Arena (Munich)
• Zentralstadion (Leipzig)
• Fritz-Walter (Kaiserslautern)
• AWD-Arena (Hanover)
• AOL-Arena (Hamburg)
• Veltins-Arena (Gelsenkirchen)
• Waldstadion (Frankfurt)
• Westfalenstadion (Dortmund)
• RheinEnergie (Cologne)
• Olympic Stadium (Berlin)
• Neckarstadion (Stuttgart)

Other

• Sport Science Study Institutions in Germany
• Sports videos about 'Germany'
• See also the list the most popular internet searches for "sports" in Germany.

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Related Pages

• List of the most popular sports in Germany
• Full countries list
• See also about sport in the previous nations of
  • Saarland
  • West Germany
  • East Germany