2018-19 season: German professional football sees second-highest ticket demand in its history

24 June 2019 – Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 remain immensely popular among spectators. In the 2018-19 season, the number of tickets sold by the 36 professional clubs totalled 18,885,620, the second-highest figure ever reached in one season. Higher sales were only seen in the 2016-17 season (19,049,362). Ever since the figures were first collected, they have been based on the number of tickets sold including free and complimentary tickets, as is common in other leagues.

As usual, there is a correlation between the development of the individual figures for the two leagues and the change in their composition as a result of promotion and relegation. The average number of tickets sold per Bundesliga match declined moderately by 2.6 per cent to 42,738 compared with the previous season, meaning the Bundesliga remains the undisputed leader among Europe’s top leagues. At the same time, demand in Bundesliga 2 increased significantly by 8.6 per cent season-on-season to 18,980 tickets sold per match – the third-highest figure in the history of this league.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln were relegated from the Bundesliga while 1. FC Nürnberg and Fortuna Düsseldorf returned to the top flight of German professional football. Eintracht Braunschweig and 1. FC Kaiserslautern were relegated from Bundesliga 2 while SC Paderborn 07 and 1. FC Magdeburg were promoted from 3. Liga.