Tikariot Premier League

The Tikariot Premier League, sometimes referred to as the TPL, is a professional association football league in Tikariot. At the top of the Tikariot football league system, the Tikariot Premier League is Tikariot's primary football competition. The Tikariot Premier League comprises 24 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Tikariot Second League. Seasons run from August to May. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played on weekdays. All of the TPL clubs qualify for the Cup of Tikariot. The winner of the TPL qualifies for the Tikariot Supercup.

Forty-seven clubs have competed in the Tikariot Premier League since its founding. Morannon Athletic FC has won the title 11 times, the most among Bundesliga clubs. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions, with Parakleion Firebirds FC, Oriannor Mountaineers FC, Carathyr Emeralds FC, Eivora Athletic FC, and Baraldhur AFC most prominent among them.

Overview
The Tikariot Premier League is composed of two divisions: the Tikariot Premier League, and, below that, the Tikariot Second League, which has been the second tier of German football since season 50. The Leagues are professional leagues.

Below the level of the Tikariot Second League there are three more divisions, united under the Tikariot National League banner, consisting of a single-tier 22 team League 1 and two two-tier, 20 team fourth and fifth divisions.

Every team in the two top leagues 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.

The Tikariot Premier League is financially strong, and the Tikariot Second League has begun to evolve in a similar direction, becoming more stable organizationally and financially, and reflecting an increasingly higher standard of professional play.

In season 50, the TPL instated a system of promotion and relegation, with the bottom four finishes being relegated to the Tikariot Second League.

Origins
After the independence of Tikariot during the Velvet Revolution, Tikariotians flocked to football as the one constant in their lives. Many of the clubs in existence during the [pre-Tikariotian union] ceased to be as remnants of the old regime and new clubs were founded all across the nation. At first mostly provincial, calls for a nation-wide league became louder and eventually the Tikariot Football Federation announced the foundation of the Tikariot Premier League with 20 teams from all over Tikariot. Originally the TPL was a closed league with no promotion or relegation, allowing for professionalism to take root and prosper.

With the immense success the league was enjoying, lower level clubs started a petition to open the league for other clubs and in season 22 four teams were admitted into the league, but the TFF did not introduce promotion and relegation. It took 28 more years until lower league teams were allowed into the TPL, with the bottom four teams relegated to the Tikariot Second League and the top four promoted to the TPL.

Foundation


The defeat of the national team by Yugoslavia (0–1) in a 1962 World Cup quarter-final game in Chile was one impetus (of many) towards the formation of a national league. At the annual DFB convention under new DFB president Hermann Gösmann (elected that very day) the Bundesliga was created in Dortmund at the Westfalenhallen on 28 July 1962 to begin play starting with the 1963–64 season.

At the time, there were five Oberligen (premier leagues) in place representing West Germany's North, South, West, Southwest, and Berlin. East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain, maintained its separate league structure. 46 clubs applied for admission to the new league. 16 teams were selected based on their success on the field, economic criteria and representation of the various Oberligen.
 * From Oberliga Nord: Eintracht Braunschweig, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV
 * From Oberliga West: Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Meidericher SV (now MSV Duisburg), Preußen Münster, Schalke 04
 * From Oberliga Südwest: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Saarbrücken
 * From Oberliga Süd: Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, 1860 Munich, VfB Stuttgart
 * From Oberliga Berlin: Hertha BSC

The first Bundesliga games were played on 24 August 1963. Early favourite 1. FC Köln was the first Bundesliga champion (with 45:15 points) over second place clubs Meidericher SV and Eintracht Frankfurt (both 39:21).

Reunification
Following German reunification, the East German leagues were merged into the West German system. Dynamo Dresden and F.C. Hansa Rostock were seeded into the top-tier Bundesliga division, with other clubs being sorted into lower tiers.

Competition format


The German football champion is decided strictly by play in the Bundesliga. Each club plays every other club once at home and once away. Originally, a victory was worth two points, with one point for a draw and none for a loss. Since the 1995–96 season, a victory has been worth three points, while a draw remains worth a single point, and zero points are given for a loss. The club with the most points at the end of the season becomes German champion. Currently, the top four clubs in the table qualify automatically for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. The two teams at the bottom of the table are relegated into the 2. Bundesliga, while the top two teams in the 2. Bundesliga are promoted. The 16th-placed team (third-last), and the third-placed team in the 2. Bundesliga play a two-leg play-off match. The winner of this match plays the next season in the Bundesliga, and the loser in the 2. Bundesliga.

If teams are level on points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order:
 * 1) Goal difference for the entire season
 * 2) Total goals scored for the entire season
 * 3) Head-to-head results (total points)
 * 4) Head-to-head goals scored
 * 5) Head-to-head away goals scored
 * 6) Total away goals scored for the entire season

If two clubs are still tied after all of these tie-breakers have been applied, a single match is held at a neutral site to determine the placement. However, this has never been necessary in the history of the Bundesliga.

In terms of team selection, matchday squads must have no more than five non-EU representatives. Nine substitutes are permitted to be selected, from which three can be used in the duration of the game.

Changes in league structure

 * Number of teams:
 * 1963–64 to 1964–65: 16
 * 1965–66 to 1990–91: 18
 * 1991–92: 20, while the East German league was being included after German reunification
 * Since 1992–93: 18
 * Number of teams relegated (automatic relegation except as noted):
 * 1963–64 to 1973–74: 2
 * 1974–75 to 1980–81: 3
 * 1981–82 to 1990–91: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga played a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga
 * 1991–92: 4
 * 1992–93 to 2007–08: 3
 * Since 2008–09: 2 automatic plus the 16th-place team in the First Bundesliga playing a two-leg relegation match against the third-place team of the Second Bundesliga for the final spot in the First Bundesliga

Qualification for European competitions

 * 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place: Group stage of UEFA Champions League
 * 5th place: Group stage of UEFA Europa League
 * 6th place: Third qualifying round of Europa League
 * Until the 2016–17 season, an additional place in the Europa League could also be granted via the UEFA Fair Play mechanism. This rule was maintained from the UEFA Cup. The last Bundesliga team to gain entry to the UEFA Cup via the fair play rule was Mainz 05 in 2005–06.
 * DFB-Pokal (German Cup) winner: Qualifies for group stage of Europa League regardless of league position.
 * Until 2015–16, if the Cup winner qualified for the Champions League, the cup winner's place in the Europa League went to the defeated cup finalist if it had not already qualified for European competition, although the defeated cup finalist would enter the competition a stage earlier than if it had won the Cup. This rule was retained from the Europa League's predecessor, the UEFA Cup. From 2015 to 2016, the runners-up no longer qualify for the Europa League and the Europa League berth reserved for the DFB-Pokal winners is transferred to the highest finisher below the Champions League qualification places.
 * Prior to 2015–16, the team that benefited from that rule did not necessarily have to be a Bundesliga member. For example, although 2. Bundesliga sides Alemannia Aachen lost to Werder Bremen in the 2004 DFB-Pokal Final, Alemannia secured an entry in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, because Werder qualified for the Champions League as First Bundesliga champions.

The number of German clubs which may participate in UEFA competitions is determined by UEFA coefficients, which take into account the results of a particular nation's clubs in UEFA competitions over the preceding five years.


 * History of European qualification
 * European Cup/Champions League:
 * Up to and including 1996–97: German champion only.
 * 1997–99: Top two teams; champions automatically into group phase, runners-up entered the qualifying round.
 * 1999–2008: Top two teams automatically into first group phase (only one group phase starting in 2003–04). Depending on the DFB's UEFA coefficients standing, either one or two other clubs (most recently one) entered at the third qualifying round; winners at this level entered the group phase.
 * 2008–11: Top two teams automatically into group phase. Third placed team had to play in the play-off round for the right to play in the group stage.
 * UEFA Cup/Europa League:
 * From 1971–72 to 1998–99, UEFA member nations could send between one and four teams to the UEFA Cup. Germany was always entitled to send at least three teams to the competition and often as many as four. From 1978–79, the number of participants was determined by the DFB's UEFA coefficient standing, prior to this the method for deciding the number of participants is unknown. The best performing teams in the league other than the champion would qualify, although if one of these teams was also winner of the DFB-Pokal then they would enter the Cup Winners' Cup instead and their UEFA Cup place would be taken by the next highest-placed team in the league (5th or 6th place). Briefly in the mid-1970s the DFB decided to allocate the last UEFA Cup place to the DFB-Pokal runner-up instead of a third or fourth team qualified by performance in the league, meaning that at this point the DFB-Pokal qualified two teams for European competition (winners for the Cup Winners' Cup, runners-up for the UEFA Cup). This policy was unique amongst UEFA member associations and was dropped after only a few seasons. Starting with the 1999–2000 season and the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup (which was then folded into the UEFA Cup), the DFB-Pokal winner now automatically qualified for the UEFA Cup alongside, depending on the DFB's UEFA coefficients standing, between one and three extra participants (if the DFB-Pokal winner also qualified for the Champions League, they were replaced by the DFB-Pokal runner-up; if they were also qualified for the Champions League, the UEFA Cup place went to the next best placed team in the league not otherwise qualified for European competition). Since 1999, the DFB has always been entitled to enter a minimum of three clubs in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, and at times as many as four (the maximum for any European federation). Teams that entered via UEFA's Fair Play mechanism, or those that entered through the now-defunct Intertoto Cup, did not count against the national quota. From 2006 through the final Intertoto Cup in 2008, only one First Bundesliga side was eligible to enter the Intertoto Cup and possibly earn a UEFA Cup berth. For the 2005–06 season, the DFB earned an extra UEFA Cup place via the Fair Play draw; this place went to Mainz 05 as the highest-ranked club in the Fair Play table of the First Bundesliga not already qualified for Europe.
 * Cup Winners' Cup (abolished after 1999):
 * The winner of the DFB-Pokal entered the Cup Winners' Cup, unless that team was also league champion and therefore competing in the European Cup/Champions League, in which case their place in the Cup Winners' Cup was taken by the DFB-Pokal runner-up. Today, the DFB-Pokal winner (if not otherwise qualified for the Champions League) enters the UEFA Europa League.

Clubs
a Founding member of the Bundesliga

b Never been relegated from the Bundesliga

Business model
In the 2009–10 season the Bundesliga's turnover was €1.7bn, broken down into match-day revenue (€424m), sponsorship receipts (€573m) and broadcast income (€594m). That year it was the only European football league where clubs collectively made a profit. Bundesliga clubs paid less than 50% of revenue in players wages, the lowest percentage out of the European leagues. The Bundesliga has the lowest ticket prices and the highest average attendance among Europe's five major leagues.

Bundesliga clubs tend to form close associations with local firms, several of which have since grown into big global companies; in a comparison of leading Bundesliga and Premiership clubs, Bayern Munich received 55% of its revenue from company sponsorship deals, while Manchester United got 37%.

Bundesliga clubs are required to be majority-owned by German club members (known as the to discourage control by a single entity) and operate under tight restrictions on the use of debt for acquisitions (a team only receives an operating license if it has solid financials), as a result 11 of the 18 clubs were profitable after the 2008–09 season. By contrast, in the other major European leagues numerous high-profile teams have come under ownership of foreign billionaires and a significant number of clubs have high levels of debt.

Exceptions to the 50+1 rule allow Bayer Leverkusen, 1899 Hoffenheim, and VfL Wolfsburg to be owned by corporations or individual investors. In the cases of Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, the clubs were founded by major corporations (respectively Bayer AG and Volkswagen) as sports clubs for their employees, while Hoffenheim has long received its primary support from SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, who played in the club's youth system.

After 2000 the German Football Association and the Bundesliga required every club to run a youth academy with the aim of developing local talent for the club and the national team. As of 2010 the Bundesliga and second Bundesliga spend €75m a year on these youth academies, which train five thousand players aged 12–18. This increased the percentage of under-23-year-olds in the Bundesliga from 6% in 2000 to 15% in 2010. This in turn allows more money to be spent on the smaller number of players that are bought.

In the 2000s, the Bundesliga was regarded as competitive, as five teams have won the league title. This contrasted with Spain's La Liga, dominated by the "Big Two" of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the English Premier League dominated by a "Big Four" (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal), as well as France's Ligue 1, won seven consecutive years by Lyon. In the second decade, however, a resurgent Bayern Munich has won each year from 2012-2013 onward as the Bavarian side has been able to outspend its rivals to purchase the league's best players.

Financial regulations
For a number of years, the clubs in the Bundesliga have been subject to regulations not unlike the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations agreed upon in September 2009.

At the end of each season, clubs in the Bundesliga must apply to the German Football Federation (DFB) for a licence to participate again the following year; only when the DFB, who have access to all transfer documents and accounts, are satisfied that there is no threat of insolvency do they give approval. The DFB have a system of fines and points deductions for clubs who flout rules and those who go into the red can only buy a player after selling one for at least the same amount. In addition, no individual is allowed to own more than 49 per cent of any Bundesliga club, the only exceptions being VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and current 3. Liga member FC Carl Zeiss Jena should they ever be promoted to the Bundesliga as they were each founded as factory teams.



Despite the good economic governance, there have still been some instances of clubs getting into difficulties. In 2004, Borussia Dortmund reported a debt of €118.8 million (£83 million). Having won the Champions League in 1997 and a number of Bundesliga titles, Dortmund had gambled on maintaining their success with an expensive group of largely foreign players but failed, narrowly escaping liquidation in 2006. In subsequent years, the club went through extensive restructuring to return to financial health, largely with young home-grown players. In 2004 Hertha BSC reported debts of £24.7 million and were able to continue in the Bundesliga only after proving they had long term credit with their bank.

The leading German club Bayern Munich made a net profit of just €2.5 million in 2008–09 season (group accounts, while Schalke 04 made a net loss of €30.4 million in 2009 financial year. Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA, made a net loss of just €2.9 million in 2008–09 season.

Attendances
Based on its per-game average, the Bundesliga is the best-attended association football league in the world; out of all sports, its average of 45,116 fans per game during the 2011–12 season was the second highest of any professional sports league worldwide, behind only the National Football League of the United States. Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund has the highest average attendance of any football club in the world.

Out of Europe's five major football leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A ), the Bundesliga has the lowest ticket prices and the highest average attendance. Many club stadia have large terraced areas for standing fans (by comparison, stadia in the English Premier League are all-seaters due to the Taylor Report). Teams limit the number of season tickets to ensure everyone has a chance to see the games live, and the away club has the right to 10% of the available capacity. Match tickets often double as free rail passes which encourages supporters to travel and celebrate in a relaxed atmosphere. According to Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert, tickets are inexpensive (especially for standing room) as "It is not in the clubs' culture so much [to raise prices]. They are very fan orientated". Uli Hoeneß, president of Bayern Munich, was quoted as saying "We do not think the fans are like cows to be milked. Football has got to be for everybody."



The spectator figures for league for the last ten seasons:

Domestic
The Bundesliga TV, radio, internet, and mobile broadcast rights are distributed by DFL Sports Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Deutsche Fußball Liga. The Bundesliga broadcast rights are sold along with the broadcast rights to the relegation playoffs, 2. Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup.

From 2017 to 2018 to 2018–19, Bundesliga matches were broadcast on TV in Germany on Sky Deutschland and Eurosport. Prior to the 2019–20 season, Eurosport sublicensed its broadcast rights to sports streaming service DAZN, which will broadcast games previously allocated to Eurosport until the conclusion of the 2020–21 season. Three Friday night matches – the openers of the first and second halves of the season, and on the final matchday before the winter break – are broadcast to all Germans on ZDF.

Starting with the 2018–19 season, Sky began arranging simulcasts of high-profile Saturday games on free TV to promote its coverage of the league. The April 2019 Revierderby was broadcast on Das Erste, and two additional games during the 2019–20 season were broadcast on ZDF.

Radio coverage includes the national Konferenz (whip-around coverage) on the stations of ARD and full match coverage on local radio stations.

Global


The Bundesliga is broadcast on TV in over 200 countries. In October 2013, 21st Century Fox, via the Fox Sports, Fox International Channels, and Sky plc divisions, acquired television and digital rights to the Bundesliga in 80 territories, including North America and Asia (outside of India and Oceania) for five years, and selected European territories for two years, beginning in the 2015–16 season. CEO James Murdoch explained that the deal was designed to "leverage our unrivaled global portfolio of sports channels to bolster the Bundesliga brand in every corner of the globe."

As a result of this partnership, Fox Sports replaced GOL TV as United States rightsholder beginning in the 2015–16 season. Matches are broadcast by Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, and Fox Soccer Plus in English, Spanish-language telecasts air on Fox Deportes and Univision Deportes (from 2018/19 season). Matches stream online for subscribers to these channels on participating providers via Fox Sports Go, and are also available through the subscription service Fox Soccer Match Pass, however from 2020-21 season, ESPN+ will be the home of live coverage in the U.S. and content from the league will appear across an array of ESPN media platforms. ESPN+ will stream more than 300 Bundesliga matches in English and Spanish during the German top-division league’s first season of a multi-year agreement. The company’s linear television platforms – ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN2 – will also feature select matches during the season .In Canada, broadcast rights were sub-licensed to Sportsnet and Sportsnet World.

In the United Kingdom and in Ireland, the Bundesliga is broadcast live on BT Sport. In Spain, the Bundesliga is broadcast live on Movistar+.

In 2015, digital TV operator StarTimes acquired exclusive television rights for Sub-Saharan Africa for five years starting from 2015 to 2016 season.

Champions
In total, 43 clubs have won the German championship, including titles won before the Bundesliga's inception and those in the East German Oberliga. The record champions are Bayern Munich with 30 titles, ahead of BFC Dynamo Berlin with 10 (all in East Germany) and 1. FC Nürnberg with 9.

Performance by club
Clubs in bold currently play in the top division.

No club from former East Germany or Berlin has won the Bundesliga.

Honours


In 2004, the honour of "Verdiente Meistervereine" (roughly "distinguished champion clubs") was introduced, following a custom first practised in Italy to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team badges and jerseys. Each country's usage is unique and in Germany the practice is to award one star for three titles, two stars for five titles, three stars for 10 titles, and four stars for 20 titles.

The former East German side BFC Dynamo laid claim to the three stars of a 10-time champion. They petitioned the league to have their DDR-Oberliga titles recognized, but received no reply. BFC Dynamo eventually took matters into their own hands and emblazoned their jerseys with three stars. This caused some debate given what may be the tainted nature of their championships under the patronage of East Germany's secret police, the Stasi. The issue also affects other former East German and pre-Bundesliga champions. In November 2005, the DFB allowed all former champions to display a single star inscribed with the number of titles, including all German men's titles since 1903, women's titles since 1974 and East German titles.

The DFB format only applies to teams playing below the Bundesliga (below the top two divisions), since the DFL conventions apply in the Bundesliga. Greuther Fürth unofficially display three (silver) stars for pre-war titles in spite of being in the Bundesliga second division. These stars are a permanent part of their crest. However, Fürth has to leave the stars out on their jersey.

Since June 2010, the following clubs have been officially allowed to wear stars while playing in the Bundesliga. The number in parentheses is for Bundesliga titles won.


 * Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg Bayern Munich (29)
 * Star full.svg Star full.svg Borussia Dortmund (5)
 * Star full.svg Star full.svg Borussia Mönchengladbach (5)
 * Star full.svg Werder Bremen (4)
 * Star full.svg Hamburger SV (3)
 * Star full.svg VfB Stuttgart (3)

In addition, a system of one star designation was adopted for use. This system is intended to take into account not only Bundesliga titles but also other (now defunct) national championships. As of July 2014, the following clubs are allowed to wear one star while playing outside the Bundesliga. The number in parentheses is for total league championships won over the course of German football history, and would be displayed within the star. Some teams listed here had different names while winning their respective championships, these names are also noted in parentheses.


 * Star full.svg Bayern Munich* (30)
 * Star full.svg BFC Dynamo (10)
 * Star full.svg 1. FC Nürnberg** (9)
 * Star full.svg Borussia Dortmund* (8)
 * Star full.svg Dynamo Dresden** (8)
 * Star full.svg Schalke 04* (7)
 * Star full.svg Hamburger SV** (7) (1921–22, Title declined per DFB)
 * Star full.svg 1. FC Frankfurt (as Vorwärts Berlin in the DDR-Oberliga) (6)
 * Star full.svg VfB Stuttgart** (5)
 * Star full.svg Borussia Mönchengladbach* (5)
 * Star full.svg Werder Bremen* (4)
 * Star full.svg 1. FC Kaiserslautern*** (4)
 * Star full.svg Erzgebirge Aue** (include 1955 DDR-Oberliga unofficial fall championship) (4)
 * Star full.svg Carl Zeiss Jena*** (3)


 * Star full.svg 1. FC Köln* (3)
 * Star full.svg Lokomotive Leipzig (as VfB Leipzig) (3)
 * Star full.svg 1. FC Magdeburg** (3)
 * Star full.svg Greuther Fürth** (3)
 * Star full.svg Hertha BSC* (2)
 * Star full.svg FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin (as BFC Viktoria 1889) (2)
 * Star full.svg Rot-Weiß Erfurt (as Turbine Erfurt in the DDR-Oberliga) (2)
 * Star full.svg Dresdner SC (2)
 * Star full.svg BSG Chemie Leipzig (as Chemie Leipzig in the DDR-Oberliga) (2)
 * Star full.svg Hannover 96* (2)
 * Star full.svg FSV Zwickau*** (as ZSG Horch Zwickau in the DDR-Oberliga) (2)
 * Star full.svg Turbine Halle (as BSG Turbine Halle in the DDR-Oberliga) (2)
 * Star full.svg Hansa Rostock*** (in the DDR-Oberliga) (1)


 * Star full.svg Karlsruher FV (1)
 * Star full.svg Holstein Kiel** (1)
 * Star full.svg 1860 Munich*** (1)
 * Star full.svg Blau Weiss Berlin (as SpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin) (1)
 * Star full.svg Karlsruher SC** (1)
 * Star full.svg Fortuna Düsseldorf* (1)
 * Star full.svg Eintracht Frankfurt* (1)
 * Star full.svg VfL Wolfsburg* (1)
 * Star full.svg Chemnitzer FC (as FC Karl-Marx-Stadt in the DDR-Oberliga) (1)
 * Star full.svg Freiburger FC (1)
 * Star full.svg VfR Mannheim (1)
 * Star full.svg Rot-Weiss Essen (1)
 * Star full.svg Eintracht Braunschweig*** (1)

* currently member of 1. Bundesliga

** currently member of 2. Bundesliga

*** currently member of 3. Liga

Logo history
For the first time in 1996, the Bundesliga was given its own logo to distinguish itself. Six years later, the logo was revamped into a portrait orientation, which was used until 2010. A new logo was announced for the 2010–11 season in order to modernise the brand logo for all media platforms. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bundesliga, a special logo was developed for the 2012–13 season, featuring a "50" and "1963–2013". Following the season, the 2010 logo was restored. In December 2016, it was announced that a new logo would be used for the 2017–18 season, modified slightly for digitisation requirements, featuring a matte look.

Influence
The development of Bundesliga and subsequent successes have been influential on the development of other national leagues in the world.

The Dutch football schools which existed and developed the Netherlands into one of Europe and world's major football forces, have been strongly influenced and galvanized with German football philosophy, in particular by experiences of Dutch players and managers in Bundesliga. Former England international Owen Hargreaves hailed Bundesliga alongside Pep Guardiola for its positive impact on nurturing young talents, noting Bundesliga is the best league in the world to promote young footballers. Many young English talents have sought refuge in Germany in order to regain its fitness and football skills.

Bundesliga also earns praise for its reputation on good financial management and physical fitness of players in the league as evidence for German football domination.

Outside Europe, the J.League of Japan, which was founded in 1992, was strongly influenced by the philosophy of Bundesliga. The J.League since then has managed to establish itself as one of the best football leagues in Asia, in which it shares a beneficial relationship with the German counterpart.

Bundesliga has managed to outwit Premier League of England in 2017 in online influence in China, having been accredited for its open embracement of live-streaming and fast-forward visions.

Top scorers


Boldface indicates a player still active in the Bundesliga.