Country Profile - Germany
Name: Germany
Population: 84,300,000 inhabitants
Capital: Berlin
Date of accession to the Council of Europe: 1951
Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events, 2016
Date of Signature: 07/06/2021
Date of Ratification: 12/01/2023
Date of entry into force: 01/03/2023
Coordination Arrangements
Presentation of the country's main government and sports institutions:
- Ministry of Youth and Sport: Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat
- Ministry of Internal Affairs: Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat
- Ministry of Justice: Bundesministerium der Justiz
- National committee on sport safety and security: Nationaler Ausschuss Sport und Sicherheit
Independent sports safety bodies:
- Due to Germany’s federal structure, legislation regarding the building code, safety-related approval procedures as well as fire safety and emergency inspections and requirements is passed at state level and implemented and monitored by the municipalities.
Main Sports/Sport Activities
Main sports in the country:
- Football (7.000.000)
- Gymnastic (5.000.000)
- Tennis (1.400.000)
- Sport Shooting (1.300.000)
- Athletics (800.000)
National Olympic Committee:
- The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB)
Main sports federations and leagues:
- German Football Association (DFB), German football league (DFL), Football Bundesliga 1 - 3
National football authorities:
- German Football Association (DFB)
Major Sports Events
Last major sports events organised since 2000 and key elements of their legacy:
- 2006: FIFA World Championship 2006
- 2023: Special Olympic World Games
- 2024: UEFA EURO 2024
Future major sports events organised and/or co-organised within the next 5 years:
- 2024: Special Olympic Winter Games
- 2025: Rhine-Ruhr FISU World University Games
The country's main sports competitions:
- Football Bundesliga 1 – 3
- German Football Association Cup
- German football league Cup
- Handball national League
- Terra Wortmann Open (Tennis)
Supporter Organisations
- Fan Project Coordination Centre (Koordinierungsstelle Fanprojekte - KOS)
- Fanbeauftragte und Fanprojekte
Legal Framework
National legal framework on sports safety and security, including specific legal provisions on:
List of main laws and regulations
- Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB)
- Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung, StPO)
- Police laws of the states with preventive police powers for the uniform treatment of stadium bans (Stadium Bans)
- Statutes and regulations of the German Football Association (DFB);
National / local coordination bodies
- the National Committee on Sport and Security (NASS)
Share of safety and security responsibilities (inside/outside of sports venues)
- Depending on the respective responsibility:
- Organisers
- Police
Stewarding/ private security
- Trade Regulation Code (Note: Regulation based on the civil law house right)
- There is no federal legislation on stewarding
Sports venues safety regulations, licensing, certification and inspection
- Due to Germany’s federal structure, legislation regarding the building code, safety-related approval procedures as well as fire safety and emergency inspections and requirements is passed at state level and implemented and monitored by the municipalities.
Sport-related hate speech, racism and other types of discrimination
Laws (list is not exhaustive)
-
- Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB)
- Section 185 (Insult)
- Section 111 (Public incitement to commit offences)
- Section 186 (Malicious gossip)
- Section 130 (Incitement of masses)
- Section 192a (Insults that incite hatred)
- Section 187 (Defamation)
- Section 240 (Coercion)
- Section 241 (Threatening commission of serious criminal offence)
- General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG)
- Act to Improve the Enforcement of the Law in Social Networks, or Network Enforcement Act (Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz, NetzDG)
Pyrotechnics and other forbidden items
Customer service and role of supporters and local communities
- Fan work
- Fan projects
- Fan work 2010 – Handbook for fan representatives
- Recommendation for caring for football fans
Social-educational preventative measures / projects
- There are a number of local projects in Germany that work on the basis of the National Strategy on Sport and Security. In 1993, the Fan Project Coordination Centre (Koordinierungsstelle Fanprojekte, KOS) was founded to guide and coordinate socio-educational fan projects and their content as part of youth work, and to assist in setting up new fan projects.
- In 2010, a quality label for fan projects based on the National Strategy on Sport and Security (Qualitätssiegel Fanprojekte) was introduced, aimed at providing socio-educational football fan projects in Germany with an instrument for quality assurance.
Alcohol/drug policy
- Drug policy
- Alcohol policy
- Furthermore, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is governed by the regulations of the house right of the respective organiser.
Comportements fautifs spécifiques associés au sport et considérés comme des crimes
- Criminal Code:
- Section 185 (Insult)
- Section 111 (Public incitement to commit offences)
- Section 186 (Malicious gossip)
- Section 130 (Incitement of masses)
- Section 192a (Insults that incite hatred)
- Section 187 (Defamation)
- Section 223 (Bodily injury)
- Section 240 (Coercion)
- Section 241 (Threatening commission of serious criminal offence)
Comportements fautifs spécifiques associés au sport et considérés comme des contraventions
Exclusion policy (banning orders / exit bans)
Measures taken / envisaged by States to meet the objectives of the Convention
- close cooperation with fans (NFIP is on the advisory board of the fan projects coordination office – “KOS”), in particular close coordination with the “KOS” on UEFA EURO 2024
- Supporting the visit of a Saint-Denis Committee’s delegation as part of the preparation for UEFA EURO 2024
- Spotter-training in connection with fan work and other security partners regarding football matches
National Strategies/Policies
Existence of specific safety, security and/or service public policies
Existence of a national strategy on safety, security and service
Existence of regional/ local strategies on safety, security and service
Major Risks and Incidents
Major risks and trends on sport-related violence and disorder
- Persistently high levels of violations in the area of pyrotechnics in club football for several years
Last major incidents which seem relevant and enlightening on the need to adopt an integrated approach to safety, security and service
- No Information
Please provide a graph of the evolution of total incidents over the last 10 years
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the key figures of the current German annual report for the season 2022/23 were compared to the last season before the start of the pandemic in Germany (2018/19). Increases (in some cases significant) were identified in almost all areas (including workload of the police authorities, criminal proceedings initiated, number of risk-fans, information on injuries and, in particular, the misuse of pyrotechnic products).
Last updated on July 2024