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A total of 53 clubs have been in the big-time Bundesliga at one time or another since the Bundesliga was formed in 1963. Ingolstadt, the newly crowned Bundesliga 2 champion, will be the 54th.
Hamburg and Karlsruhe, who are meeting in the Bundesliga promotion playoff, were two of the original 16 teams of 1963. Hamburg has never been relegated out. Karlsruhe has not been in the big time since 2009.
The Bundesliga expanded to 18 teams in 1990 to add two teams from the former East Germany. Today, no teams from the former East Germany are in the Bundesliga, and only two, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig, are in Bundesliga 2.
Erzebirge Aue was the third, but will be relegated.
Hamburg and Karlsruhe, who are meeting in the Bundesliga promotion playoff, were two of the original 16 teams of 1963. Hamburg has never been relegated out. Karlsruhe has not been in the big time since 2009.
The Bundesliga expanded to 18 teams in 1990 to add two teams from the former East Germany. Today, no teams from the former East Germany are in the Bundesliga, and only two, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig, are in Bundesliga 2.
Erzebirge Aue was the third, but will be relegated.