Germany

Abstract

The organization of sport in Germany is based on the principles of the autonomy of sport, subsidiarity, and cooperation. These principles, like the federal structure of the state and administration, are the result of a historical process starting after World War II. The core of the sport structure in Germany is the self-administration of the club system. The clubs are organized both at the level of specific disciplines (into governing bodies) and at the level of multiple sports (into sports confederations). Integration at all levels is via voluntary membership, in other words from the bottom-up. In the public administration of sport, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the 16 federal states have joint responsibility. The German government, the federal states, and local municipalities support the high-performance sport but also sport for all. The most practiced sports are cycling, swimming, and running, which are associated with non-organized sports, while sports such as soccer, gymnastics, or volleyball are associated with participation in a nonprofit sport club, and sports such as dancing, yoga, and back fitness are most often practiced using a commercial sport provider.