TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 64th season of the Bundesliga is here. The tiny team from Elversberg will become the 59th club to play in the league, Ismael Saibari is Harry Kane's new back-up at Bayern Munich, Schalke return after three years away, and Kathleen Krüger is Head of Sport at Hamburg.
Coming off an XXL World Cup and a new broadcasting deal in the US, the Bundesliga is looking to step forward into a new era. But beyond the loyal support of club fans both domestic and abroad, has the international appeal of the league, particulary in the key US market, worn off?
"It would be hard to argue that the Bundesliga has not suffered some back-sliding in their standing. When Bayern and Dortmund met in the Champions League final [in 2013], I believed it was just the league announcing its superiority with intent to stay at the pinnacle of club football in Europe. I couldn't have imagined that might have been the brief apex," Randall, a US-based Cologne fan who has been watching the league for 16 years, told DW.
"Frankly, the Bundesliga has likely already seen its popularity at its peak. It is only downward from here."
Dominik Schreyer, a professor of sports economics at Germany's Otto Beisheim School of Management, doesn't believe that is the case though.
"I would be cautious about declaring the Bundesliga’s golden era over," Schreyer told DW.
"The league still has full stadiums, strong clubs, excellent players and coaches, and a distinctive football culture."
Schreyer does admit though, despite the league's great reputation of player and coach development, failing to retain players like Erling Haaland or Florian Wirtz makes it more difficult to increase the reach of the league.
"Bayern’s prolonged dominance has reduced uncertainty at the top, while the Premier League has developed a major financial and distribution advantage. The problem is therefore not simply a lack of talent or stories, but the Bundesliga’s limited success in turning those strengths into regular international viewing habits."
Club support strong, but league lacking luster
Robin Austermann, Bundesliga Americas executive vice president, said in the statement about the new Bundesliga broadcasting deal in the US that Bundesliga fans in America had grown by "43% over the past five years."
This is obviously a positive, although it would be intriguing to know how much growth had been made per year. For some fans though, beyond supporting their team, the league is lacking.
"Honestly, for pure viewing I prefer the Premier League since in their league at least three or four teams can win the title," Dave, a US-based Schalke fan since 1974, told DW.
"There is no doubt that both the Bundesliga and the second division are the envy of other countries from the attendance and management perspectives but I feel that the overall competitive sporting quality has declined. I absolutely believe that the Bundesliga has lost some of it's luster and reputation."
Cologne fan Randall agrees.
"You get a little drama around the border between the last Champions League slot and Europa League, but that doesn't really get the blood pumping how, does it? I still love watching the league, but I still have days on which I wonder if a Super League would really have been such a bad thing if it returned some competitive balance to the Bundesliga."
How can the Bundesliga change its course?
Much of the desire for change has to do with the lack of competition at the top. Bayern have won 13 of the last 14 titles. Some believe a more equitable distribution of TV revenue is a possible way forward.
"The market has become more fragmented, abundant, and competitive," Schreyer said.
"Availability no longer guarantees attention. Viewers increasingly encounter football through individual players, creators, highlights, short-form content, and major tournaments before deciding whether to watch full matches. The Bundesliga therefore needs a clear path from initial discovery to repeated viewing and, eventually, fandom."
Whatever the choice, the change needs to be made without losing what sets the league apart, namely the competitive ticket prices and passionate fan base. German football fans offered a vision for football in the country back in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic, but the gap between the rich and the poor in European football continues to widen.
"I think throwing out what makes German club football great in pursuit of competing in the market with the Premier League would be folly," Randall said.
Schreyer believes the major clubs and established stars are the strongest way to capture audiences' attention.
"Once viewers are engaged, the league’s wider strengths, including supporter culture, historic clubs, player development, Schalke’s return, and Elversberg’s rise, can deepen that interest," he said.
This Bundesliga season a pivotal moment for the league
Clearly, the US view is only one slice of the Bundesliga's market. Fan numbers doubled in Brazil between 2018 and 2024 to 24 million, and community initiatives through Bundesliga Common Ground have helped build interest in countries all over the world such as Thailand and Vietnam.
But the new deal in the US is perhaps revealing when it comes to the challenge the Bundesliga currently faces to position itself globally.
"A lot of fans were disappointed by the league’s move to go with Fandango this next season," said Jody, who has been watching German football since 2006.
"If the Bundesliga wants to grow in the US, they need to look at what NBC did when it won Premier League broadcast rights. It needs a more mainstream distribution in the US and more publicity of the league to draw new viewers in."
Schreyer argues that this is not the entire story.
"The new deal should ultimately be judged by whether it helps rebuild demand, not by potential reach alone," he said.
Criticism is something the Bundesliga has become familiar with in recent years. But off the back of a World Cup in the US, a key target country where a new broadcast deal was recently agreed, this feels like a pivotal moment for the league's development.
Read: Harry Kane Named Men's Footballer of the Year in Germany
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