View source for German Football Association

{{Short description|Governing body of association football in Germany}}
{{other uses|DFB (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date = January 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{National football association
| name               = German Football Association
| Logo               = Deutscher Fußball-Bund Logo 2025–.svg
| Badge_size         = 200px
| Founded            = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1900|1|28}} in [[Leipzig]]
| FIFA affiliation   = 1904
| Region             = [[UEFA]]
| Region affiliation = 1954
| President          = [[Bernd Neuendorf]]
| Website            = {{URL|https://www.dfb.de/en/en-start/|dfb.de}}
|Short name=DFB}}
The '''German Football Association''' ({{langx|de|Deutscher Fußball-Bund}} {{IPA|de|ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈfuːsbalˌbʊnt|}}; '''DFB''' {{IPA|de|ˌdeːʔɛfˈbeː||De-DFB.ogg}}) is the governing body of [[Association football|football]], [[futsal]], and [[beach soccer]] in [[Germany]]. A founding member of both [[FIFA]] and [[UEFA]], the DFB has jurisdiction for the [[German football league system]] and is in charge of the [[Germany national football team|men's]] and [[Germany women's national football team|women's]] national teams. The DFB headquarters are in [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]]. Sole members of the DFB are the [[Deutsche Fußball Liga|German Football League]] ({{langx|de|Deutsche Fußball Liga}}; '''DFL'''), organising the professional [[Bundesliga]] and the [[2. Bundesliga]], along with five regional and 21 state associations, organising the semi-professional and amateur levels. The 21 state associations of the DFB have a combined number of 23,868 clubs with little more than 8 million members, making the DFB the single largest sports federation in the world.

== History ==
[[File:DFB-Logo 1900.svg|thumb|150px|First logo of the DFB from 1900 to 1926]]
[[File:Commemorative_plaque_at_the_house_in_Leipzig_where_the_DFB_was_founded_in_1900.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|240x240px|Commemorative plaque in Leipzig where the DFB was founded in 1900.]]
[[File:German Football Association logo (1911).svg|thumb|150px|Individual logo from 1911]]
[[File:DFB-Logo 1945.svg|thumb|150px|Logo from 1926 to 1995]]
[[File:German Football Association logo (1995).svg|thumb|150px|Logo from 1995 to 2003]]
[[File:DFBTriangles.svg|thumb|150px|Logo from 2003 to 2008]]
[[File:Deutscher Fußball-Bund Logo 2008–2016.svg|thumb|150px|Logo from 2008 to 2016]]
[[File:Deutscher Fußball-Bund Logo 2016–2025.svg|thumb|150px|Logo from 2016 to 2025]]
[[File:Deutscher Fußball-Bund Logo 2025–.svg|thumb|150px|Logo since 2025]]
=== 1875 to 1900 ===
From 1875 to the mid-1880s, the first kind of football played in Germany was according to [[Rugby football|rugby]] rules. Later, [[Association football|association-style football]] teams formed separate clubs, and since 1890, they began to organise on regional and national levels.

=== 1900 to 1933 ===
The DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) was founded on 28 January 1900 in [[Leipzig]] by representatives of [[Founding Clubs of the DFB|86 clubs]]. The vote held to establish the association was 62:22 in favour (84 votes). Some delegates present represented more than one club, but may have voted only once. Other delegates present did not carry their club's authority to cast a ballot. [[Ferdinand Hueppe]], the representative of DFC Prague, was named its first president.<ref>{{Cite web|date = 28 January 2020 |url= https://www.fifamuseum.com/en/blog-stories/blog/from-leipzig-to-paris-the-story-of-how-the-dfb-became-the-first-associ-2621952/ |title=From Leipzig to Paris – the story of how the DFB became the first association to join FIFA |work = Museum Blog |publisher = FIFA World Football Museum|language=en|access-date=}}</ref> The DFB consolidated the large number of state-based German regional competitions in play for a single recognized national title for the season 1902/03. Germans were not present in Paris when FIFA was founded by seven nations in May 1904, but by the time the FIFA statutes came into effect on 1 September, Germany had also joined by telegram as the eighth nation. The [[Germany national football team|German national team]] played its first game in 1908.

Before 1914, the [[German Empire]] was much larger than today's Germany, comprising [[Alsace-Lorraine]] and the [[former eastern territories of Germany|eastern provinces]]. The borders of the regional associations were drawn according to suitable railway connections. Also, teams based in [[Bohemia]], then part of [[Austria-Hungary]], were eligible, as they were German Football clubs and thus considered German. Thus, a German team from [[Prague]] was runner-up in the German championship. On the other hand, clubs of the [[Denmark|Danish]] minority in [[Province of Schleswig-Holstein|Northern Schleswig]] refused to join the DFB. This area after World War I voted to join Denmark. Due to border changes imposed by the [[Treaty of Versailles]], the DFB had to adapt its structure. The [[Saarland]], [[Free State of Danzig|Danzig]], and the [[Klaipėda Region|Memelland]] were detached from Germany and [[East Prussia]] was cut off from the main part by the [[Polish Corridor]].

=== 1933 to 1945 ===
The role of DFB and its representatives like [[Felix Linnemann]] under [[Nazi Germany]] was documented in ''100 Jahre DFB'' and by Nils Havemann in ''Fußball unterm Hakenkreuz''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nils |last=Havemann |title=Fußball unterm Hakenkreuz. Der DFB zwischen Sport, Politik und Kommerz |location=Bonn |publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |date=2006}}</ref> According to ''[[Gleichschaltung]]'' policy, the DFB, with its large membership from all political sides, and strong regional structures compared to weak national ones, submitted to new rulers and new [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]] structures. On a short general meeting on 9 July 1933 in Berlin, the DFB did so, at least formally.

Later, the [[Hitler salute]] was made compulsory; [[Marxism|Marxists]] and [[Jews]] were expelled. The records of [[German Jews]] were erased from the DFB's records, such as those of [[Gottfried Fuchs]] who had scored a world record ten goals for Germany in a 16–0 win against [[Russia national football team|Russia]] at the [[Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Summer Olympics]] in Stockholm, becoming the top scorer of the tournament and setting an international record.<ref name="autogenerated4">{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/war-auschwitz-and-the-tragic-tale-of-germanys-jewish-soccer-hero/ |title=War, Auschwitz, and the Tragic Tale of Germany's Jewish Soccer Hero |website=Vice Sports|date=13 April 2015 }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated6">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQaAAwAAQBAJ&q=Gottfried+Fuchs&pg=PA141 |title=Phone Home Berlin: Collected Non-Fiction |first=Nigel |last=Cox|date=April 2008 |publisher=Victoria University Press |isbn=9780864738004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/tableso/ol1912f-det.html | title = V. Olympiad Stockholm 1912 Football Tournament | date = 26 June 2008 | access-date = 30 December 2013 | first = Macario | website = [[RSSSF]] | last = Reyes }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_7lDAAAQBAJ&dq=Gottfried+Fuchs&pg=PR19|title=Soccer under the Swastika: Stories of Survival and Resistance during the Holocaust|first=Kevin E.|last=Simpson|date=22 September 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442261631 |accessdate=22 November 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fu/gottfried-fuchs-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417221926/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/fu/gottfried-fuchs-1.html |archive-date=2020-04-17 |title=Gottfried Fuchs Bio, Stats, and Results &#124; Olympics at Sports-Reference.com|date=17 April 2020|accessdate=22 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJCXBQAAQBAJ&dq=Gottfried+Fuchs&pg=PT64|title=Does Your Rabbi Know You're Here?: The Story of English Football's Forgotten Tribe|first=Anthony|last=Clavane|date=27 September 2012|publisher=Quercus Publishing|isbn=9780857388131 |accessdate=22 November 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|url=http://bundesligafanatic.com/20130904/snapshot-sepp-herberger-tries-to-invite-gottfried-fuchs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024229/http://bundesligafanatic.com/20130904/snapshot-sepp-herberger-tries-to-invite-gottfried-fuchs/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=20 June 2018|title="Snapshot – Sepp Herberger tries to invite Gottfried Fuchs"<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=22 November 2022}}</ref> When, in 1972, German former player and national team coach [[Sepp Herberger]] asked the German Football Association vice president [[Hermann Neuberger]] to invite Fuchs as a guest or a guest of honour to an international against Russia on the 60th anniversary of Fuchs' performance for the German team, the DFB Executive Committee declined to do so, writing that it was not willing to invite Fuchs because it would have created an unfortunate precedent (as was pointed out, given that Fuchs was the last remaining former Jewish German international, the DFB's concern about creating a precedent was a difficult one to understand).<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite web|url=http://juedische-sportstars.de/index.php?id=190&L=2|title=Jüdische Sportstars: Gottfried Fuchs|website=juedische-sportstars.de|accessdate=22 November 2022}}</ref> As of 2016, Fuchs was still the top German scorer for one match.<ref name="autogenerated3" />

A new organization, [[National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise|Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen]] (German Reich League for Physical Exercise), was established and Linnemann was appointed leader of its ''Fachamt Fußball'' (Football section), which took over the operational affairs, whereas the DFB lost most of its duties until it was formally dissolved in 1940.

On the pitch, Germany had done well in 1934, but after a 0–2 loss to Norway in the quarter finals of the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], with [[Adolf Hitler]] attending, the DFB and football fell from grace. ''Reichsjugendführer'' [[Baldur von Schirach]] and the [[Hitler Youth]] took over youth football (under 16) from the clubs following a deal with ''Reichssportführer'' [[Hans von Tschammer und Osten]], who had been in charge of all sports in Germany since 1933, making DFB officials even more powerless. Germany had made a bid to host the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938 World Cup]], but it was withdrawn without comment.

Following the [[Anschluss]] in March 1938 that made [[Austria]] part of Germany, the [[Austrian Football Association]] became part of the German federation. New coach [[Sepp Herberger]] was told on short notice to use also Austrian players in his team, which was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup, weakening the situation of football within the Nazi politics to near meaninglessness. Four Germans (Hans Jakob, [[Albin Kitzinger]], Ludwig Goldbrunner, and Ernst Lehner) represented West Europe in a FIFA friendly on 20 June 1937 in [[Amsterdam]], and another two (Kitzinger again and [[Anderl Kupfer]]) represented a FIFA continental team on 26 October 1938 in [[London]], England. During the war, Germany played international games until 1942.

=== 1945 to 1963 ===
In the aftermath of [[World War II]], German organisations were disbanded by the allies. [[FIFA]] decided in November 1945 to ban the no longer existing DFB (and [[Japan]]'s [[Japan Football Association|football association]]) from international competition, while the Austrian association was re-founded. Internationally, Germans were still represented, with [[Zürich]]-based [[Ivo Schricker]] serving as General Secretary of FIFA from 1932 to December 1950. In 1948, Switzerland requested FIFA to lift the ban on games against Germans, but this was denied. Swiss clubs played German clubs anyway, but had to cease doing so due to international protests. This was only changed in 1949 when [[The Football Association]] requested FIFA to lift the ban on club games. FIFA did so on 7 May 1949, two weeks before the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] was founded, thus games required permission by the military governments of the time.
Due to partition into several occupation zones, and states, the DFB was legally re-founded in [[Stuttgart]] on 21 January 1950 only by the West German regional associations, without the [[Saarland Football Association]] in the [[Saar Protectorate|French occupied Saarland]], which on 12 June 1950 would be recognized by FIFA as the first of three German FAs after the war. At the FIFA congress held on 22 June prior to the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]] in Brazil, the [[Swiss Football Association]] requested that the DFB be reinstated with full FIFA membership, which was granted on 22 September 1950<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500154|title=DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. – Die DFB-Geschichte|website=www.dfb.de|accessdate=22 November 2022}}</ref> in Brussels. Thus, Germany was excluded from the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]] and could resume international games only in late 1950.

In the early years of the [[History of Germany (1945–90)|division of Germany]], West Germany claimed [[exclusive mandate]] of all of Germany. Unlike the [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]], which granted only provisional recognition to the East Germans in 1955, demanding they participate in an All-German Olympic team ([[United Team of Germany]]), FIFA fully recognized the [[East German Football Association]] in 1952. Winning the [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954 World Cup]] was a major success for the DFB, and the popularity of the sport in Germany.

The teams of the DFB and the Saarland played against one another in the [[1954 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 1|qualifiers for the 1954 World Cup]] before the Saarland and its FA were permitted to rejoin Germany and the DFB in 1956.

=== 1963 to present ===
Due to that success, and due to regional associations fearing loss of influence, the old amateur structure, in which five regional leagues formed the top level, remained in effect longer than in many other countries, even though a ''[[Reichsliga]]'' had been proposed decades ago. Also, professionalism was rejected, and players who played abroad were considered "mercenaries" and not capped. The conservative attitude changed only after disappointing results in the [[1962 FIFA World Cup]] when officials like the 75-year-old [[Peco Bauwens]] retired. According to the proposals of Hermann Neuberger, the DFB finally introduced a single nationwide professional league, the Bundesliga, for the 1963–64 season.

The DFB has hosted the World Cup in [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]] and [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]. Germany also hosted the European Championship in [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]] as well as in [[UEFA Euro 2024|2024]]. Upon reunification in 1990, the East German [[Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR]] (DFV) was absorbed into the DFB along its honours.

The national team won the World Cup for a second time in 1974, a third time in [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]], and a fourth in the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]]. Also, they were crowned European champions three times, in 1972, in 1980 and in 1996. On top, the ''Mannschaft'' were runners-up in the 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002 World Cups and in 1976, 1992 and 2008 European Championships, making it the second-most successful national team in the world as well as the most successful national team in Europe.

The DFB has also overseen the rise of Germany as a world power in [[Women's association football|women's football]]. The [[Germany women's national football team|national team]] has won [[FIFA Women's World Cup|World Cups]] in [[2003 FIFA Women's World Cup|2003]] and [[2007 FIFA Women's World Cup|2007]]—the latter without conceding a goal in the final tournament, making them the only World Cup champions for men or women to do so. Furthermore, the women's national team's victory in 2003 made Germany the only nation to have won both the Men's and Women's World Cups, until [[Royal Spanish Football Federation|Spain]] achieved the same milestone in [[2023 FIFA Women's World Cup|2023]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Jopson |first1=Barney |last2=Agini |first2=Samuel |date=2023-08-20 |title=Spain beat England 1-0 to become Women's World Cup champions |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1a42acf8-3572-49f5-851f-391c1376f928 |access-date=2023-08-21}}</ref> They have also won eight [[UEFA Women's Championship]]s, including the last six in succession.

In 1990, mere months before reunification became official, the DFB founded the [[Bundesliga (women)|women's Bundesliga]] (''Frauen-Bundesliga''), directly modelled after the men's Bundesliga. Initially, it was played in north and south divisions but became a single league in 1997. Bundesliga teams have enjoyed more success in the [[UEFA Women's Champions League]] than those from any other nation; four different clubs have won a total of nine titles, with the most recent being [[2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League|2015 champions]] [[1. FFC Frankfurt]], now known as Eintracht Frankfurt.

Since 2005, in memory of former German-Jewish Olympian international footballer [[Julius Hirsch]] who was killed in [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] during [[the Holocaust]], the German Football Federation awards the "[[:de:Julius-Hirsch-Preis|Julius-Hirsch-Preis]]" for outstanding examples of integration and tolerance within German football.<ref>[https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=501068 Ein Zeichen gegen Diskriminierung] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701021255/https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=501068 |date= 1 July 2012}} {{in lang|de}} ''DFB'' website. Retrieved 25 June 2012</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/chelsea-fc-julius-hirsch-andreas/|title=Living with the ghost of my grandfather, a German Jewish football icon|first=Jack|last=Mendel|website=Times of Israel|date=20 March 2020 }}</ref>

In 2025, its 125 year anniversary, the DFB has got reached more than eight million memberships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mitglieder des DFB ("Members of DFB") |url=https://www.dfb.de/ueber-uns/der-dfb/mitglieder |access-date=2025-07-10 |website=www.dfb.de |language=de}}</ref>

== Competitions ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|
=== Men ===

* [[Bundesliga]] (run by the DFL, a DFB subsidiary)
* [[2. Bundesliga]] (run by the DFL, a DFB subsidiary)
* [[DFB-Pokal]]
* [[3. Liga]]
* [[U19 DFB-Nachwuchsliga|U19]] & [[U17 DFB-Nachwuchsliga|U17 Nachwuchsliga]] ''(former [[Under 19 Bundesliga|Junioren-Bundesliga]])''
* DFB-Ü-Männer-Cups
** Over 32 
** Over 40 
** Over 50
* DFB-Pokal der Junioren (German U19 Cup)
* [[Futsal Bundesliga|Futsal-Bundesliga]]
* German Futsal Youth Championships
** Under 19
** Under 17
** Under 15
* German Beach Soccer League
* German Beach Soccer Championship
* German Beach Soccer Tour
* DFB-ePokal
|
=== Women ===

* [[Frauen-Bundesliga]]
* [[2. Frauen-Bundesliga]]
* [[DFB-Pokal Frauen|DFB-Pokal]] 
* DFB-Supercup
* German Women's Futsal Championship
* German Women's Youth Futsal Championship
* DFB-Pokal der B-Juniorinnen (German U17 Cup)
* DFB-Ü 32-Frauen-Cup
|}

== Critics ==
[[File:DFB I don´t like.jpg|150px|thumb|Sticker with "FUCK YOU DFB" by fans, 2020]]
The main criticisms of the DFB are the lack of transparency and the commercialization of football, which has been strongly promoted by DFB officials.

Christian Prechtl, from the fan organization '' FC PlayFair!'', mentioned that the growing unpopularity of the [[German national football team|men's national team]] is "just a perfect example of what can happen when you have the fans out of sight".<ref>{{cite web| author = dpa | url = https://www.svz.de/sport/fussball/DFB-Team-als-Bebeispiel-Entfremdung-des-Fussballs-von-der-Basis-id22074537.html | title = Increasing commercialization: DFB team as a deterrent example: Alienation of football from the grassroots? |website = www.svz.de | date = 26 December 2018 | access-date= 2021-09-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.waz.de/sport/fussball/kommerz-rund-ums-dfb-team-stoesst-den-deutscher-fans-auf-id230877736.html | title = commerce around the DFB team hits the German fans |website= svz.de| date = 2020-11-10 | access-date = 2021-09-07}}</ref>

== Structure ==
=== Members ===
Direct members of the DFB are only its five regional associations and its 21 state associations, along with the [[Deutsche Fußball Liga|German Football League]], whereas the clubs participating in the [[German football league system]] are members of the state associations covering their district. Today, more than 25,000 clubs are organised in those state associations, fielding nearly 170,000 teams with over two million active players and totalling over six million members, the largest membership of any single sports federation in the world. The Association governs 870,000 male members and 8,600 female teams.

=== Regional and state associations ===
[[File:Karte-DFB-Regionalverbände.png|thumb|DFB, its five regional and 21 state associations]]
[[File:DFB-Marke.jpg|thumb|140px|100 year commemorative stamp from 2000]]
The DFB is organised into five regional associations, which themselves are sub-divided into 21 state associations. These associations typically have their boundaries run along the borders of the German [[States of Germany|states]], with the exception of some states ([[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Rhineland-Palatinate]], and [[Baden-Württemberg]]) having up to three state associations covering different areas of such state.

==== Southern Germany ====
The [[Southern German Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Süddeutscher Fußball-Verband;}} ''SFV'') covers the states of [[Baden-Württemberg]], [[Bavaria]] and [[Hesse]]. The ''SFV'', formed on 17 October 1897 under the name of ''Verband Süddeutscher Fußball-Vereine'', originally administered the [[Southern German football championship]], until it was dissolved by the Nazis in 1933. Reformed in the [[United States|American]] occupation zone after the Second World War, it operated the [[Oberliga Süd]], the regional division of the former top level German [[Oberliga (football)|Oberliga]] until the introduction of the [[Bundesliga]] in 1963. Since the 2012–13 season, the ''SFV'', except its member Bavarian FA, along with the ''Football Association of the Southwest'' is in charge of the [[Regionalliga Südwest]], a step 4 division in the [[German football league system]]. The ''SFV'' itself is formed by the following state associations:<ref>[https://www.suedfv.de/ Southern German Football Association website] {{in lang|de}} accessed: 24 March 2023</ref> 
* [[Baden Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Badischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''BFV'')
* [[Bavarian Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Bayerischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''BFV'')
* [[Hessian Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Hessischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''HFV'')
* [[South Baden Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Südbadischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''SBFV'')
* [[Württemberg Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Württembergischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''WFV'')

==== Southwestern Germany ====
The [[Southwestern Regional Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußball-Regional-Verband Südwest;}} ''FRVS'') covers the states [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] and [[Saarland]] and was formed after the Second World War in the [[France|French]] occupation zone in Germany. Its highest league until the introduction of the [[Bundesliga]] in 1963 was the [[Oberliga Südwest (1945-63)|Oberliga Südwest]], the regional division of the former top level German [[Oberliga (football)|Oberliga]]. Since the 2012–13 season, the ''FRVS'', along with the ''Southern German football association'' is in charge of [[Regionalliga Südwest]], a step 4 division in the [[German football league system]]. Additionally, the ''FRVS'' administers the [[Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar]], a step 5 division. The ''FRVS'' itself is formed by the following state associations:<ref>[http://www.frv-suedwest.de/ Southwestern German Football Association website] {{in lang|de}} accessed: 17 July 2012</ref>
* [[Rhineland Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußball-Verband Rheinland;}} ''FVR'')
* [[Saarland Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Saarländischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''SFV'')
* [[Southwest German Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Südwestdeutscher Fußball-Verband;}} ''SWFV'')

==== Western Germany ====
The [[Western German Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Westdeutscher Fußballverband;}} ''WDFV'') covers the state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. The association was known as ''WFLV'' from 2002 to 2016 and used to administer the [[Western German football championship]] until 1933. From 1947 to 1963, its highest league was the [[Oberliga West]], the regional division of the former top level German [[Oberliga (football)|Oberliga]]. Since the 2008–09 season, the ''WDFV'' is in charge of the [[Regionalliga West]], a step 4 division in the [[German football league system]]. The ''WDFV'' itself is formed by the following state associations:<ref>[https://www.wdfv.de/ Western German Football Association website] {{in lang|de}} accessed: 17 July 2012</ref>
* [[Middle Rhine Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußballverband Mittelrhein;}} ''FVM'')
* [[Lower Rhine Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußballverband Niederrhein;}} ''FVN'')
* [[Westphalia Football and Athletics Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußball- und Leichtathletikverband Westfalen;}} ''FLVW'')

==== Northern Germany ====
The [[Northern German Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Norddeutscher Fußball-Verband;}} ''NFV'') covers the states of [[Bremen]], [[Hamburg]], [[Lower Saxony]] and [[Schleswig-Holstein]]. The association used to administer the [[Northern German football championship]] until 1933. From 1947 to 1963, its highest league was the [[Oberliga Nord (1947-63)|Oberliga Nord]], the regional division of the former top level German [[Oberliga (football)|Oberliga]]. Since the 1994–95 season, the ''NFV'' is in charge of the [[Regionalliga Nord]], a step 4 division in the [[German football league system]]. The ''NFV'' itself is formed by the following state associations:<ref>[https://www.nordfv.de/ Northern German Football Association website] {{in lang|de}} accessed: 17 July 2012</ref>
* [[Bremen Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Bremer Fußball-Verband;}} ''BFV'')
* [[Hamburg Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Hamburger Fußball-Verband;}} ''HFV'')
* [[Lower Saxony Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Niedersächsischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''NFV'')
* [[Schleswig-Holstein Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Schleswig-Holsteinischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''SHFV'')

==== Northeastern Germany ====
The [[Northeastern German Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Nordostdeutscher Fußball-Verband;}} ''NOFV'') covers the states of [[Berlin]], [[Brandenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Thuringia]]. The association is the youngest of the five regional associations, having been formed after German reunification in 1990 as a successor of the disbanded ''German Football Association of the [[East Germany|GDR]]''. Since the 2012–13 season and previously from 1994 to 2000, the ''NOFV'' administers the [[Regionalliga Nordost]], a step 4 division in the [[German football league system]], and the step 5 [[NOFV-Oberliga|Oberliga Nordost]]. The ''NOFV'' itself is formed by the following state associations:<ref>[http://www.nofv-online.de/ North Eastern German Football Association website] {{in lang|de}} accessed: 17 July 2012</ref> 
* [[Brandenburg Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußball-Landesverband Brandenburg;}} ''FLB'')
* [[Berlin Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Berliner Fußball-Verband;}} ''BFV'')
* [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Landesfußball-Verband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern;}} ''LFVM'')
* [[Saxony Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Sächsischer Fußball-Verband;}} ''SFV'')
* [[Saxony-Anhalt Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Fußball-Verband Sachsen-Anhalt;}} ''FSA'')
* [[Thuringian Football Association]] ({{langx|de|Thüringer Fußball-Verband;}} ''TFV'')

=== Presidents ===
[[File:11. Nationaler Aktionstag für die Erhaltung schriftlichen Kulturguts-9514.jpg|thumb|President [[Bernd Neuendorf]], in charge since 2022]]
*[[Ferdinand Hueppe]] (1900–1904)
*[[Friedrich Wilhelm Nohe]] (1904–1905)
*[[Gottfried Hinze]] (1905–1925)
*[[Felix Linnemann]] (1925–1940)
*[[Peco Bauwens]] (1950–1962)
*[[Hermann Gösmann]] (1962–1975)
*[[Hermann Neuberger]] (1975–1992, died in office)
*[[Egidius Braun]] (1992–2001)
*[[Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder]] (2001–2004)
*[[Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder]] and [[Theo Zwanziger]] (2004–2006)
*[[Theo Zwanziger]] (2006–2012)
*[[Wolfgang Niersbach]] (2012–2015)
*''Acting'': [[Rainer Koch]] and [[Reinhard Rauball]] (2015–2016)
*[[Reinhard Grindel]] (2016–2019)
*''Acting'': [[Rainer Koch]] and [[Reinhard Rauball]] (2019)
*[[Fritz Keller (football administrator)|Fritz Keller]] (2019–2021)
*''Acting'': [[Rainer Koch]] and [[Peter Peters (football official)|Peter Peters]] (2021–2022)
*[[Bernd Neuendorf]] (2022–present)

=== Administration ===
DFB Administration is located in [[Frankfurt (Main)]]. It is headed by Secretary General [[Friedrich Curtius]] and managing directors Heike Ullrich (Deputy Secretary General), [[Oliver Bierhoff]] and Markus Holzherr.

== Men's Honours ==
{{main|Germany national football team}}

=== Major competitions ===
'''[[FIFA World Cup]]'''
* '''Champions (4)''': [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]], [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]], [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]], [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]]
* Runners-Up (4): [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]], [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]
* Third Place (4): [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]], [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]]
* Fourth Place (1): [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]

'''[[UEFA European Championship]]'''
* '''Champions (3)''': [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]], [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]]
* Runners-Up (3): [[UEFA Euro 1976|1976]], [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]], [[UEFA Euro 2008|2008]]
* Third Place (3): [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]], [[UEFA Euro 2012|2012]], [[UEFA Euro 2016|2016]]

'''[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]]'''
* '''Gold Medal (1)''': [[Football at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976]]
* Silver Medal (2): [[Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics|1980]], [[Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016]]
* Bronze Medal (3): [[Football at the 1964 Summer Olympics|1964]], [[Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972]], [[Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988]]
* Fourth Place (1): [[Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics|1952]]

'''[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]'''
* '''Champions (1)''': [[2017 FIFA Confederations Cup|2017]]
* Third Place (1): [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|2005]]

'''[[UEFA Nations League]]'''
* Fourth Place (1): [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League|2024–25]]

{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}" colspan="5" | Overview
|-
! Event
!style="width:14%; background:gold;" | 1st place
!style="width:14%; background:silver;" | 2nd place
!style="width:14%; background:#c96;" | 3rd place
!style="width:14%; background:#9acdff;" | 4th place
|-
|align=left|{{nowrap|[[FIFA World Cup]]}}
! 4
! 4
! 4
! 1
|-
|align=left|{{nowrap|[[UEFA European Championship]]}}
! 3
! 3
! 3
! 0
|-
|align=left|{{nowrap|[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]]}}
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 1
|-
|align=left|{{nowrap|[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]}}
! 1
! 0
! 1
! 0
|-
|align=left|{{nowrap|[[UEFA Nations League]]}}
! 0
! 0
! 0
! 1
|-
|-style="background:silver"
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}" | Total
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}; width:14%" | 9
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}; width:14%" | 9
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}; width:14%" | 11
!style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}; width:14%" | 3
|}

== Women's Honours ==
{{main|Germany women's national football team}}

=== Major competitions ===
'''[[FIFA Women's World Cup]]'''
* '''Champions (2)''': [[FIFA Women's World Cup 2003|2003]], [[2007 FIFA Women's World Cup|2007]]
* Runners-Up (1): [[FIFA Women's World Cup 1995|1995]]
* Fourth Place (2): [[FIFA Women's World Cup 1991|1991]], [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup|2015]]

'''[[UEFA Women's Championship|UEFA Women's European Championship]]'''
* '''Champions (8)''': [[1989 UEFA Women's Championship|1989]], [[1991 UEFA Women's Championship|1991]], [[1995 UEFA Women's Championship|1995]], [[1997 UEFA Women's Championship|1997]], [[2001 UEFA Women's Championship|2001]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2005|2005]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2009|2009]], [[UEFA Women's Euro 2013|2013]]
* Runners-Up (1): [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022|2022]]
* Fourth Place (1): [[1993 UEFA Women's Championship|1993]]

'''[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]]'''
* '''Gold Medal (1)''': [[Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016]]
* Bronze Medal (4): [[Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000]], [[Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics|2004]], [[Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008]], [[Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|2024]]

'''[[UEFA Women's Nations League]]'''
* Third Place (1): [[2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals|2024]]
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
! style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}" colspan="5" | Overview
|-
! Event
! style="width:14%; background:gold;" | 1st place
! style="width:14%; background:silver;" | 2nd place
! style="width:14%; background:#c96;" | 3rd place
! style="width:14%; background:#9acdff;" | 4th place
|-
| align="left" |{{nowrap|[[FIFA Women's World Cup]]}}
! 2
! 1
! 0
! 2
|-
| align="left" |[[UEFA Women's Championship|UEFA Women's European Championship]]
! 8
! 1
! 0
! 1
|-
| align="left" |{{nowrap|[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]]}}
! 1
! 0
! 4
! 0
|-
| align="left" |{{nowrap|[[UEFA Women's Nations League]]}}
|'''0'''
|'''0'''
|'''1'''
|'''0'''
|- style="background:silver"
! style="color:black; background:#FFFFFF; {{box-shadow border|a|black|2px}}" | Total
|'''11'''
|'''2'''
|'''5'''
|'''3'''
|}

== DFB Mascot ==
The official mascot is an eagle with black feathers and a yellow beak called ''"Paule"'' (since 26 March 2006).

== See also ==
*[[German football league system]]
*[[German Football Museum]]
*[[History of German football]]
*[[DFB Sports Court]]
*[[DFB-Bundestag]]
*[[Permanent Arbitration Court]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website}} (in German)
* [https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/GER/ FIFA profile]
* [https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/GER/ UEFA profile]

{{Presidents of the German Football Association}}
{{Germany national football team}}
{{Football in Germany}}
{{Women's football in Germany}}
{{FIFA Women's World Cup Hosts}}
{{UEFA associations}}
{{German state football associations}}
{{Sports governing bodies in Germany}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:National members of UEFA|Germany]]
[[Category:Football governing bodies in Germany| ]]
[[Category:Futsal in Germany]]
[[Category:Sports governing bodies in Germany|Football]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1900]]
[[Category:Non-profit organisations based in Germany]]