ABSTRACT
In this chapter we give a brief overview of the history and some characteristic aspects of contemporary German top football and its organisational framework. We will emphasise three phenomena which are typical for the German case: (1) the registered association as the (former) typical German football club organisation, (2) the strict licensing regime, and (3) the joint marketing of broadcasting rights. All in all, the aim of this chapter is two-fold: to give an overview over the German case and to explain some typical phenomena.
