First Bundesliga is the highest league in professional football in Germany. It was established in 1962 in the city of Dortmund. It is held according to the classic system of football championships - the teams play against each other twice. One game at home and one away. The teams in first, second and third place qualify for the Champions League. The fourth place team receives the chance to play in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League. Clubs in fifth and sixth place, as well as the winner of the German Cup, have a chance to play in the Europa League. The teams in the last place are relegated to the lower league (Second Bundesliga). The team in 16th place plays two games (barrages) against the third team from the Second Division for the right to stay in the First Bundesliga.

The championship is played between August and May (June), and is divided into two parts - one is autumn, the other is spring. The schedule for the matches is prepared before the start of the championship. Eighteen teams participate and each and every one of them meet twice in a season , each playing one home game and one meeting as a guest.

Ranking is done mainly on the basis of accumulated points. The winner of the match receives 3 points, а loss does not bring any points, and 1 point is awarded to each team in case of a draw. If two teams have an equal number of points, then the goal differences are taken for comparison (if they are equal, then the team that has scored more goals has the advantage).

The First Bundesliga, since 2001, is administered between the football union and the union of the 36 professional football teams in the country from the first and second divisions (which is called the "League-Football Union").