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The top two men’s football divisions in Germany, the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, sold a record total of more than 20.73 million tickets during the 2023-24 season.
According to a report by Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL), which runs the competitions, it is the first time that the 20 million ticket barrier has been broken. It beats the 19.76 million benchmark that was set for the 2022-23 campaign.
The DFL also expects this figure to rise even further by the end of the current season.
“With its key figures for the 2023-24 season, German professional football is sending positive economic signals against the general trend,” said chairman of the DFL supervisory board, Hans-Joachim Watzke.
“Furthermore, and beyond the economic dimension, football has a positive impact on society. Our stadiums are places where people from all walks of life can come together and share emotions and unforgettable moments.”
The league’s revenues across all income streams also reached new heights, totalling €5.87bn (£4.9bn/$6.4bn) last season. These are match revenue, advertising, media revenue, transfers, and merchandising.
This marks a 12-per-cent increase on the previous record of €5.24bn set in the 2022-23 season. It is helped by the Bundesliga 2 surpassing the €1bn mark for the first time.
Furthermore, 62,000 people were employed by the leagues’ combined 36 teams in 2023-24, which is another record figure, beating the pre-pandemic former best of 56,000.
“The 36 professional clubs sold a total of 20,737,276 tickets in the 2023-24 season, the highest number ever,” read the report.
“This beat the previous season’s record (19,755,465) by almost five per cent. With an average of 33,885 tickets sold per match, German licensed football also set a new record for average attendance. In Bundesliga 2 in particular, this popularity is also an enormous economic factor, with match revenues accounting for almost 25 per cent of its total revenue.
“To summarise, the balance sheet is strong after the 2023-24 season. German professional football remains on a stable growth path and is making a significant positive contribution to life in Germany, not only emotionally but also economically.”
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