The German Football Association (DFB) has more members than ever. Across the DFB’s 21 state associations there are currently 6,889,115 registered members, meaning 37,223 new members have joined in the past twelve months. The surge in figures has been most prominent within senior football (23,804 new members) and at youth level up to the age of 14 (10,760 increase). There has also been a clear rise in women’s football compared to 2014, with 5,489 new players registered.

"Football in Germany is more popular than ever," explained DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach. "A lot of that has to do with our national team, who won the World Cup in Brazil last year. But our women’s and youth teams are also great role models, whilst the Bundesliga showcases German football on a weekly basis. On top of that, it also pays that we have enormous offerings at an amateur level, which allows us to support the massive commitment from volunteers."

Club figures remain stable despite demographic changes

Despite overall demographic changes, the number of registered clubs has remained steady. There are currently 25,324 registered clubs, just 189 fewer than the previous year. Within those are around 161,727 teams (down 1.51%). Even at junior level, things have hardly changed: There are currently 515,364 footballers aged between 15 and 18 registered (down 2,006 on last year). Meanwhile, there are 336,364 registered girls under 18 playing football – down just 824 on 2014.

"Demographic changes are obviously having an effect on football," said Niersbach. "Keeping that in mind, the youth-football figures look very positive. With our broad promotion of youth football, as well as new, innovative services like FUSSBALL.DE, we will continue our work to offer great facilities for every football enthusiast."