Sports
are very important in Germany. There are many sports
associations because a large part of the population
practises some sport. Ball games are especially
valued.
The
German sports association (DSB) has 27 million members.
The most important popular sport is football. Traditionally
football is considered a man's sport but feminine
teams also exist. Also gymnastics, swimming and
tennis are valued sports. Horse riding is a sport
that everyone likes especially the girls. They don't
just have riding lessons they also spend a lot of
time looking after the horses.
A
large proportion of the population follow professional
football on the television. The most important football
teams are Bayern München, der VFB Stuttgart,
Schalke de Dortmund, Werder-Bremen, HSV Hamburg
and Bayer Leverkusen. The most important German
football competition is called Bundesliga.
Some
world famous German sports personalities are the
footballer Franz Beckenbauer, the driver Michael
Schumacher and the tennis stars Boris Becker and
Steffi Graf.