German Football Association
Homepage: http://www.dfb.de

History:

The German Football Association, otherwise known as the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), is the governing body of football in Germany. While founded way back in 1900 in Leipzig, DFB formally introduced professional soccer in Germany in 1963. DFB was also a founding member of both FIFA and UEFA. Initially made up of 86 clubs, DFB now claims to be the largest sports federation membership in the world – composed of over 26,000 clubs, with over 6 million members. To facilitate efficient management, these clubs are divided into five regional federations with 21 regional organizations. Among others, DFB aims to reach out to people of all age groups, from the youngsters to the senior classes. To help carry out their activities, DFB takes in volunteers to work with committees of soccer teams, in addition to a 150-strong full time staff based in Frankfurt.

DFB’s crowning glories in its more than a century of existence includes three World titles (1954,1974,1990) for the German men’s national team; as well as three European Championships (1972,1980,1996). Moreover, the women’s team took home their first World Cup title in the USA in 2003; as well as five European Championships in 1989, 1991,1995, 1997, and 2001.