Popular Sports to Play in Germany

Published on January 17, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

From packed stadiums, snow-covered ski slopes, thousands of kilometers of bike paths, to the spectacular rise of fitness, Germany is one of the European countries where sports are most deeply embedded in daily life. More than half of adults regularly play sports, nearly 30 million people are members of clubs, and the offerings range from village football to high-end ski resorts, including state-of-the-art gyms and a dense network of hiking trails.

Soccer, the king of sports and the gateway into sports life

It’s impossible to talk about popular sports to play in Germany without starting with soccer. It’s not just the number one sport: for many, it’s the first structured sports experience, starting in childhood.

The German Football Association (DFB) brings together approximately 7.8 million members, in about 26,000 clubs and 178,000 teams. If we add up all organized forms (including futsal), the number of participants is close to 7.4 million. In other words, a significant portion of the population has already worn a jersey with a number on the back.

From the Bundesliga to the municipal field

At the top of the pyramid sits the Bundesliga, a professional league with 18 clubs, renowned for its packed stadiums, relatively low ticket prices, and fan culture. But for the amateur player, the main action happens much lower down, in a league hierarchy that goes all the way down to district divisions, managed by regional associations.

On the same weekend, a fan can thus experience a high-level match in a stadium with over 70,000 seats, then put on their cleats to play on a municipal field managed by the city and used by several youth and senior teams.

The central role of soccer facilities

While soccer holds a special place, it relies on the entire sports infrastructure. Soccer fields are part of the “basic facilities” defined in the guidelines for sports facility development. The “Golden Plan” (Goldener Plan), a program launched in the 1960s, literally crisscrossed the country with new infrastructure: within thirty years, the number of municipal fields and halls doubled, and the number of indoor pools quintupled.

Between 1961 and 1975, approximately 17 billion Deutsche Marks (about 8.7 billion euros) were invested, followed by an additional 20 billion DM up to 1993. The result: practically every municipality today has several fields or stadiums, often near multi-purpose halls or pools, which facilitates multi-sport activities for young people.

Sports clubs: the backbone of participation

If we broaden the field beyond soccer, we discover a unique associative landscape in Europe. Germany has nearly 90,000 sports clubs united under the umbrella of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), making it the largest “civil movement” in the country. Between 27 and 28 million people hold a club membership, meaning a large portion of the population has an active, regular, and organized relationship with sports.

Discipline / Federation	Number of Participants (≈ 2023)
Soccer (DFB, including futsal)	7,364,775
Gymnastics & Physical Education	4,785,707
Tennis	1,475,131
German Alpine Club (mountaineering / hiking)	1,406,952
Shooting & Archery	1,319,794
Athletics	775,733
Handball	736,736
Golf	682,942
Equestrian Sports	663,145
Water Rescue	578,834

This club structure literally permeates all regions. These associations don’t just offer training: they organize holiday camps, local competitions, neighborhood festivals, and play a key role in social integration, notably through the “Integration durch Sport” (Integration through Sport) program co-financed by the DOSB and the Federal Office for Migration.

Cycling and hiking: the culture of “everyday activity”

Beyond organized club sports, a large part of the German population turns to so-called “active leisure” activities, primarily cycling, walking, hiking, and swimming. These disciplines extend far beyond sports federations: they shape daily mobility and weekend leisure.

Cycling, both a mode of transport and a sport

Cycling holds a special place. According to a 2020 survey, 42% of adults regularly cycled as a sports or leisure activity. The line between commuting and training is often blurred: a 15 km commute easily becomes a full daily workout.

Still according to this survey, the proportion of people citing cost as the main reason for using a bike rose from 33% in 2020 to 49% in 2022, with a particularly strong jump in small towns. In the background, a combination of inflation, high energy prices, and improving infrastructure in many municipalities.

A network of paths and long-distance routes

In terms of sports, Germany has developed a huge network of tourist cycling routes: more than 320 long-distance routes are listed. They follow river valleys (Elbe, Main, Danube, Weser, Moselle, Havel, Oder, Neisse, Ruhr, Ems), lake regions (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg) or the North Sea and Baltic coasts.

A few examples illustrate the diversity of possibilities for both the cycle tourist and the seasoned hiker:

Cycling Route	Approximate Length	Level & Type of Route
Elberadweg (Elbe)	≈ 1,270 km	Easy to moderate, along the Elbe, from Czechia to Cuxhaven
Main‑Radweg	≈ 600 km	First German route awarded 5 stars by the ADFC
Ostseeküsten‑Radweg (Baltic, German section)	800–1,140 km	Easy, along the Baltic coast, part of the EuroVelo 10 network
Donau‑Radweg (German section)	≈ 600 km	Part of EuroVelo 6, from the Swabian Jura to Passau
Tour Brandenburg	1,111 km	Large loop through Brandenburg
100‑Schlösser‑Route	960 km	Four interconnected loops in Münsterland, castles and manors
Berliner Mauerweg	152–163 km	Easy route following the former Berlin Wall border
Chiemsee‑Rundweg	≈ 60 km	Loop around Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria

Practically all these routes are signposted, often connected to public transport: it’s possible to take your bike on most regional trains, sometimes for free depending on the state or transport association. The Deutsche Bahn website provides specific information on conditions and necessary reservations.

Hiking and walking: the passion for marked trails

Hiking is the other major outdoor activity favored. A survey showed that 35% of women and 32% of men hiked or walked for leisure. Again, the line with daily life is blurred: Germany remains a country where people walk a lot, with about 24% of trips made on foot according to an estimate.

Two bodies certify quality hiking trails: the Deutsches Wanderinstitut, which awards the “Premiumweg” label, and the Deutscher Wanderverband, which awards the “Qualitätsweg Wanderbares Deutschland” brand. Among the most famous trails are, for example, the Westweg (280 km through the Black Forest), the 66‑Lakes‑Trail (416 km around Berlin), or the Heidschnuckenweg in the Lüneburg Heath.

Deutsches Wanderinstitut and Deutscher Wanderverband

The strength of this offering relies on a fine mesh network: “sports facilities” in the broad sense include both halls and stadiums as well as parks, forest paths, and cross-country ski trails used for jogging, hiking, or cross-country skiing. These informal “sports facilities” are explicitly included in sports facility planning guides, which pushes municipalities to consider them as full-fledged infrastructure, not just a landscape bonus.

Fitness and wellness: a mass industry

While historical clubs structure part of the practice, the undisputed star of the last two decades is commercial fitness. By number of members, Germany is the largest fitness market in Europe.

In 2024, about 11.7 million people held a membership in a fitness club, representing a penetration rate close to 14% of the population. Some estimates go as high as 25% of adults if all forms of health clubs are included. The market is characterized by rapid growth after the pandemic parenthesis: revenues jumped by 122% between 2021 and 2022, reaching 5.4 billion euros in 2023, then 5.82 billion in 2024, a record.

A market structured around major chains

The landscape is both fragmented and undergoing consolidation. There were just over 9,000 fitness clubs in 2024 and more than 7,000 companies in the gym sector. But the ten largest groups now concentrate nearly 46% of members, or 5.4 million people, spread across about 1,600 locations.

Fitness Operator (≈ 2024)	Estimated Number of Members	Approximate Number of Clubs
RSG Group (McFIT, etc.)	≈ 1.4 million	— (largest market share)
FitX	≈ 1.0 million	105
Clever Fit	≈ 800,000	434
EASYFITNESS	≈ 470,000	205
BestFit Group (All Inclusive Fitness)	> 400,000	≈ 135
LifeFit Group	≈ 380,000	—
Kieser Training	≈ 300,000	116
ACISO Group (affiliated networks)	≈ 250,000	150
FIT/One	≈ 220,000	45 (Germany & Austria)
Pfitzenmeier Group	≈ 200,000</td	51

Monthly subscriptions average around €47 (gross), with low-cost chains offering rates around €38. The offerings are increasingly flexible, with a growing share of contracts signed online (about 24% in 2024), no long-term commitment options, and hybrid models combining gym access, online coaching, and apps.

Digital fitness and public health

The digital boom plays a key role. The “digital fitness and wellness” segment is expected to nearly double in size between 2021 and 2029, with nearly €1.85 billion in revenue expected in 2024 for online services. Revenue from fitness apps (eFitness) in Germany could reach about 470 million dollars.

A practice that touches all generations

Contrary to the cliché of fitness being reserved for young urbanites, German gyms attract a very diverse audience: millennials, but also people in their forties and seniors seeking mobility and quality of life. With Germany having one of Europe’s oldest populations, programs aimed at those over 60 (functional training, fall prevention, gentle strengthening) represent a growth area identified by operators.

Handball, basketball, ice hockey: other flagship team sports

Even though soccer dominates in terms of popularity, other team sports hold a major place in participation, especially handball, basketball, and ice hockey.

Handball: the country’s second team sport

Long considered the second most loved team sport in Germany, handball has about 737,000 registered players. A poll showed that a third of Germans cited handball as their favorite sport after soccer. The country is also one of the historical cradles of the discipline: the first modern match was played in Berlin in 1917, and Carl Schelenz is generally credited as the architect of the contemporary rules.

This visibility feeds the grassroots level: thousands of amateur teams, schools that offer handball in PE classes and extracurricular activities, and clubs that recruit from a young age.

Basketball: explosion in popularity with the world title

Basketball is also well-established in the landscape of sports to play. The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) offers an attractive championship, and clubs like ALBA Berlin develop extensive youth programs. The victory of the men’s national team at the 2023 World Cup boosted the sport’s appeal: Germany is now the reigning world champion, having already won gold at Euro 1993 and silver in 2005.

Ice hockey: a highly structured club sport

Ice hockey attracts fewer registered players than soccer or handball, but it enjoys notable exposure, with a professional league (DEL) of 14 teams and a men’s national team ranked among the world’s top ten. Clubs have a strong local identity, especially in cities with historic ice rinks.

For amateurs, participation often goes through local clubs or recreational hockey sessions at municipal ice rinks. The rise in skating, curling, and other ice activities reinforces the use of these facilities.

Individual sports: from tennis to mountaineering

Beyond major team sports, a multitude of individual disciplines enjoy great popularity, starting with tennis, athletics, swimming, golf, equestrian sports, and mountaineering.

Tennis: a very broad base

With about 1.48 million registered players, tennis is one of the most widely played club sports in Germany. It benefits from a very dense network of clubs, often with several outdoor and sometimes indoor courts. In terms of active players (registered and unregistered), the number of participants is estimated at over five million.

Historically, the exploits of Steffi Graf or Boris Becker boosted the appeal of the discipline. Even today, many young people start with tennis through mini-tennis programs, and clubs offer sessions for all levels, from leisure to high performance.

Athletics, running, and outdoor sports

Athletics brings together more than 775,000 members through its federation. But “free” running far exceeds this number: about one-third of adults report running regularly. Many cities organize road races, half-marathons, and Germany ranks among the top-performing nations at world athletics championships.

Mountaineering, alpine hiking, and equestrian sports

The German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein) has more than 1.4 million members. For a country where only the southern part is truly alpine, this number is impressive. It illustrates the appetite for alpine hiking, climbing, ski touring, and more broadly mountain activities.

Golf and water sports

Golf attracts about 683,000 registered participants. The offering of 18-hole courses has developed significantly, with over 700 clubs spread across the country. Again, the practice ranges from family leisure to highly structured amateur circuits.

The nautical dimension is not far behind. Between the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, countless lakes, and major rivers, sailing, rowing, canoeing/kayaking, and open-water swimming attract many enthusiasts. Events like the Kiel Week, a major sailing regatta, testify to the weight of these disciplines in German sports culture.

Winter sports: from family skiing to Olympic slopes

Germany is one of the most successful countries at the Winter Games, and this is also reflected in participation. From an amateur participant’s point of view, the country offers a complete range of activities: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tourist bobsleigh, recreational biathlon, snowshoe hiking, outdoor skating, etc.

A network of human-scale resorts

Unlike some neighboring Alpine giants, German ski areas are often medium-sized, but well-equipped, family-friendly, and relatively affordable. The main regions are:

In these regions, the activity isn’t limited to skiing: sledding, winter hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, skating on frozen lakes, or even dog sled excursions are offered to vacationers.

High-level sliding sports facilities

In the segment of specific sliding sports (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton), Germany is an absolute reference, including for supervised public participation. The country has four artificially refrigerated tracks homologated for international competition, in Altenberg, Königssee, Oberhof, and Winterberg – a unique case in the world.

Biathlon, cross-country skiing, and ski touring

Biathlon is one of the most watched winter sports on television, but it is also practiced recreationally, especially in the regions of Thuringia, Bavaria, or the Black Forest, where biathlon arenas set aside specific hours for the public, with supervision and discovery sessions.

Cross-country skiing benefits from a very dense network of prepared trails: some Nordic centers like Bodenmais Bretterschachten claim over 100 km of classic and skating loops. Combined with winter hiking, it constitutes a gentle alternative to alpine skiing, particularly popular with families and seniors.

Accessibility, inclusion, and renovation: the major challenges for sports facilities

Behind this wealth of practices lies a less glamorous reality: a large part of the sports facility stock has aged. According to a 2005 analysis, the renovation need for “basic facilities” (halls, fields, pools) was estimated at about 42 billion euros. A 2012 study indicated that a third of the facilities required work, and other figures show that over 50% of installations had not been modernized for at least twenty years around the turn of the millennium.

Operating costs, heavier than investment

For municipalities – which own about 61% of sports facilities and 85% of halls – the financial burden is not limited to construction work. Operating and maintenance costs would already represent nearly 9.7 billion euros, or more than 40% of the total construction and renovation volume. Sports halls and pools are particularly expensive to heat, light, and maintain.

Making infrastructure accessible to all

Beyond aging, the question of accessibility has become central. Over 90% of fields and gyms are not yet accessible to people with disabilities, and 55% of people with disabilities do not play any sport. The DIN 18040 standards, which govern barrier-free construction of public buildings, are gradually being applied to new hall projects or renovations.

Concretely, this means providing ramps with limited slope, elevators large enough for wheelchairs, corridors at least 1.50 m wide, adapted restrooms, accessible changing rooms, wider parking spaces (3.50 m x 5.00 m, or even 3.50 m x 7.50 m for minibuses), but also sound amplification systems for the hard of hearing or tactile strips for the visually impaired.

Para sports and inclusive clubs

Despite these material obstacles, sports for people with disabilities have developed significantly. The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) federates more than 500,000 members, spread across more than 6,400 dedicated clubs and thousands of ordinary clubs offering para sports sections. The stated goal is indeed to increasingly favor integration into mainstream structures, rather than always creating more separate clubs.

The most popular disciplines include Paralympic athletics, wheelchair basketball, adapted cycling, but also swimming or racket sports. Beyond performance, the issue is health: for people with disabilities, maintaining regular physical activity is often even more crucial than for the general population, to preserve mobility, autonomy, and mental well-being.

Children, youth, and seniors: who plays what?

Longitudinal studies conducted by the Robert Koch Institute, the DOSB, and the German Sports Youth (dsj) paint a nuanced portrait of sports habits according to age, social background, and place of residence.

A youth that is generally very active… but not enough relative to recommendations

In 2019, 90% of 5-15 year-olds played at least one sport during their free time, in addition to physical education at school. On average, these children and adolescents reported 2.5 different disciplines. Soccer and swimming came first (33% each), followed by cycling (22%), gymnastics (16%), and skiing (10%). Two-thirds of young people play at least one sport in a club, and 71% of 7-14 year-olds are members of a sports association.

Yet, when looking at time spent and intensity, only 25 to 26% of children and adolescents meet the WHO recommendations (at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per day). Full-day school, the appeal of screens, and social inequalities weigh heavily.

The effect of social background and living environment

Data shows that children of more educated or higher-income parents are more active, particularly in organized sports. 16% of children from less educated households play no sport outside of school, compared to only 8% from more advantaged households. The living environment also counts: in cities, children do more sports in clubs (better offerings, easier transportation), while rural children engage more in “informal” sports (playing outside, cycling, etc.).

The challenge of maintaining participation in adolescence

Cohort studies indicate that between 6 and 10 years old, many children play a sport in a club, but a significant portion drop out during adolescence. Over a six-year period, about half of young people maintain their commitment to organized sports, one-fifth drop out, 12% start, and nearly 19% do not participate in club sports at the beginning or end of the period.

For seniors, on the other hand, sports activity is increasing in the form of hiking, cycling, gentle gymnastics, swimming, or prevention programs. With the aging of the population, developing suitable offerings (e.g., walking football, low-intensity strengthening classes) in existing facilities is becoming a priority.

Sports participation overflowing traditional facilities

A paradox runs through the entire system: even though Germany has a very rich stock of facilities (more than 136,000 facilities recorded in 2012, including about 35,000 halls), a growing share of participation takes place… outside these places. Parks, streets, riverbanks, forest paths, but also living rooms and gardens equipped thanks to mobile apps and individual gear, are becoming full-fledged sports spaces.

This evolution has several consequences.

Secondly, it forces authorities to rethink the very notion of “sports facility”: “sports amenities” – meaning spaces designed for other uses but used for sports – become elements to be planned for: bike paths, jogging circuits, fitness trails, active playgrounds, quiet zones for outdoor yoga.

Finally, it raises the question of social connection: if part of the practice moves towards digital and individual activities, how to maintain the functions of integration, learning rules, and volunteering provided by clubs? The answer lies partly in hybridization: many clubs are setting up apps, online training, virtual challenges that complement in-person sessions.

What this means for someone who wants to play sports in Germany

For a person living or staying in Germany who wants to play sports, this landscape offers a particularly rich combination of options.

One can join a local club to play soccer, handball, basketball, tennis, or athletics, with often moderate fees (around a few euros per month for children, less than €10 median for adults). One can sign up at a fitness gym from a major chain, with 7-day-a-week access, group classes, and sometimes wellness areas.

In winter, a few days’ getaway to a resort like Garmisch‑Partenkirchen, Oberstdorf, Feldberg, or Winterberg allows you to enjoy alpine or Nordic skiing, sledding, or skating on frozen lakes. For the more adventurous, a bobsleigh run on an Olympic track or an introduction to supervised ice climbing are possible at some specialized sites.

The result is a landscape where the most popular sports to play – soccer, cycling, hiking, fitness, handball, tennis, winter sports – are not just spectacles to watch, but genuine invitations to lace up your shoes, hop on a bike, or take to the field.