Number of participants: 18.
Each team plays 34 matches. Clubs meet each other twice: at home and away. First Bundesliga matches are traditionally held in August, last – in May.
Two teams taken the last places in the standings drop out to the 2. Bundesliga being replaced by two new participants from the second division. The club ranked 16th plays two play-off matches with the 2. Bundesliga bronze medallist. Accordingly, the teams that took the 1st and the 2nd places in the 2. Bundesliga competition, are promoted in the class, and another club gets a chance to compete for a ticket to the top division in the playoff matches.
For winning the match, the team gets 3 points, a draw is marked by one point, the loss does not bring points (until the 1995/96 season the winner received 2 points for a game). In case two or more teams have equal number of points additional rates are considered: goal difference and the total amount of goals scored in all games. If these figures also coincide, scores of the matches that the teams played with each other are compared, then goal difference between these clubs is compared. In the event of equality of these results the amount of away goals is taken into account, after which the total number of away goals scored in the league is esteemed. If all those measures do not allow determining of the stronger team, an additional play-off match is organized. The same rules are applied to the process of a winner and Для определения победителя и команд-участниц еврокубков действуют те же правила.
4 clubs from Germany enter the Champions League, another three teams go to the Europa League. Three member clubs of the Champions League begin from the group stage, the fourth team must start qualifying from the playoff round. One club gets into the Europa League group stage, one club – into the 3rd qualifying round and one team – into the qualification play-off.
The first Bundesliga tournament took place in 1963. The most award-winning German club is “Bayern München”. This club has won the championship title 24 times (23 of them after 1963). In 1941, the combined championship of Germany and Austria was held (the reason for that was Austria Anschluss by Hitlerite Germany). At the time of German Democratic Republic (1948–1991) the top football league of the country was called “Oberliga”. “Oberliga West” also existed in 1945–1963. Now it’s the name of the 5th strongest division of the country.
