FM 2016 Competitions Preview: Germany

Hi guys, today we are going to show you a preview of the competitional system from Germany. Football was introduced in Germany in the year of 1874 when two schoolteachers, August Hermann and Konrad Koch, initiated the first match after Hermann had obtained a round football from England. In 1875, Koch published the first German version of the rules of football, although Koch’s version of the game still closely resembled Rugby football. The Dresden English Football Club is considered the first modern football club in Germany, founded in 1874 by Englishmen living and working around Dresden.

Top League & Continental Winners

Bundesliga: Bayern Munchen (25), Borussia Dortmund (8), Schalke 04 (7), Hamburger SV (6), Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart (5), Werder Bremen (4), 1. FC Köln (3), Hannover 96 and Hertha BSC (2), VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt (1).

UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munchen (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013), Hamburg (1983) and Borussia Dortmund (1997). UEFA Europa League: Borussia Mönchengladbach (1975, 1979), Eintracht Frankfurt (1980), Bayer Leverkusen (1988), Bayern Munchen (1996) and Schalke 04 (1997).

Tier I: Bundesliga

• 34 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: Maximum of 12 German players in the squad
• Match Rules: N/A
• Continental Qualification: 4 places for CL, 3 places for EL
• Relegation: Bottom 2 teams are relegated

The Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest average stadium attendance worldwide. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany’s primary football competition. The Bundesliga is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga.

Bundesliga Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

[table “33” not found /]

Tier II: 2.Bundesliga

• 34 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: Maximum of 12 German players in the squad
• Match Rules: Players signed on free transfer can be registered at any time
• Promotion: 2 teams promoted
• Relegation: Bottom 2 teams are relegated

The 2. Bundesliga (Zweite Bundesliga) is the second division of professional football in Germany. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below the Bundesliga and above the 3. Liga in the German football league system. All of the 2. Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal, the annual German Cup competition. Ranking just behind the English Football League Championship, the 2. Bundesliga is currently the world’s second-most-watched secondary football league.

2.Bundesliga Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

[table “34” not found /]

Penalties: Sandhausen (-3)

Tier III: 3.Liga

• 38 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: Maximum of 0 non-EU players
• Match Rules: Players signed on free transfer can be registered at any time
• Promotion: Top 2 teams from each group qualify for playoffs
• Relegation: Bottom 3 teams are relegated

The 3. Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. The 3. Liga is the highest division that a football club’s reserve team can play in.

3.Liga Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

[table “35” not found /]

The Cups

• DFB-Pokal — knockout tournament open to all clubs
• DFL-Supercup — single match between the Bundesliga champions and DFB-Pokal winners

Next time we’ll take a quick look at some other playable nations in the game. Below are some of the conventions I took in order to show more information in a compact view in the tables. Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave any comments or feedback. Happy managing!

Table Conventions

• Under INT – CL, EL = Europe during first season / (p) = promoted club / (r) = relegated club
• Under Finance – asterisk sign (*) = club is under transfer embargo due to breach of financial regulations
• Under Estimated Value – loan debt is shown in parenthesis ().