Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, pronounced [ˈfuːsbalˌklʊp ˈbaɪɐn ˈmʏnçn̩] (listen)), also known as FC Bayern (pronounced [ˌɛft͡seː ˈbaɪɐn] (listen)) or Bayern Munich, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria.
It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.
Bayern is the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 32 national titles, including 10 consecutively since 2013, and 20 national cups, along with numerous European honours.
FC Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John.
Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga at its inception in 1963.
The club had its period of greatest success in the mid-1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, it won the European Cup three consecutive times (1974–1976).
Overall, Bayern have won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles (German record), winning their sixth title in the 2020 final as part of a seasonal treble, after which it became only the second European club to achieve the seasonal treble twice.
Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally and the only German club to have won both international titles.
Bayern players have accumulated five Ballon d’Or awards, two The Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, four European Golden Shoe, and three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
By winning the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich became only the second club to win the sextuple.
Bayern Munich are one of five clubs to have won all three of UEFA’s main club competitions, the only German club to achieve that.
As of May 2022, Bayern Munich are ranked first in UEFA club rankings.
The club has traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg, as well as with Borussia Dortmund since the mid-1990s.
Since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena.
Previously the team had played at Munich’s Olympiastadion for 33 years.
The team colours are red and white, and the crest shows the white and blue flag of Bavaria.
In terms of revenue, Bayern Munich is the largest sports club in Germany and the third highest-earning football club in the world, behind FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, with a value of €634.1 million in 2021.
In November 2019, Bayern had 293,000 official members and 4,499 officially registered fan clubs with over 350,000 members.
The club has other departments for chess, handball, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis and senior football with more than 1,100 active members.