This page lists the sports clubs with the largest number of members in the world. In many European countries, professional football teams are not organized as clubs, but as corporations . This includes all teams in the English Premier League and most teams in the Spanish Primera División and the Italian Serie A . They therefore do not appear on this list, although they sometimes offer interested persons the opportunity to become 'members' for a fee, which gives them advantages in the purchase of tickets and merchandise. In the big four sports leagues in the United States and Canada , clubs are usually franchises owned by private investors. In Germany , most professional sport teams are organized as corporations (GmbH or Aktiengesellschaft ); however, in accordance with the 50+1 rule , the majority of votes lies with the registered associations (e. V. ), which have members.
List of largest sports clubs [ edit ]
This list contains all clubs with a current membership of 75,000 or more, provided this is sufficiently documented. There may be other clubs that meet this criterion. The data is based on various sources and may therefore vary in terms of the survey period or the standards applied, which may limit comparability. The inclusion of inactive members who have stopped paying their membership fees alongside active members who actually pay their fees is another factor that can distort the reliability of this list.
Sports clubs with more than 75,000 members
Rank
Sports club
Sport
Place
Members
Date
1
FC Bayern Munich
Sports association
Munich , Germany
400,000
February 2025[ 1] [ 2]
2
S.L. Benfica
Sports association
Lisbon , Portugal
400,000
February 2025[ 3]
3
Club Atlético River Plate
Sports association
Buenos Aires , Argentina
350,000
December 2024[ 4]
4
Boca Juniors
Sports association
Buenos Aires , Argentina
335,000
August 2023[ 4]
5
Borussia Dortmund
Sports association
Dortmund , Germany
218,000
November 2024[ 5]
6
Tasmania Football Club
Australian rules football
Tasmania , Australia
210,000+
May 2025[ 6]
7
FC Schalke 04
Sports association
Gelsenkirchen , Germany
180,000
December 2023[ 7]
8
German Alpine Club Munich section
Mountaineering
Munich , Germany
179,391
December 2023[ 8]
9
German Alpine Club Oberland section
Mountaineering
Munich , Germany
174,515
December 2023[ 8]
10
Melbourne Cricket Club
Sports association
Melbourne , Australia
157,708
31 August 2022[ 9]
11
FC Barcelona
Sports association
Barcelona , Spain
150,317
May 2023[ 10]
12
AFC Ajax
Sports association
Amsterdam , Netherlands
150,000+
August 2025[ 11]
13
Eintracht Frankfurt
Sports association
Frankfurt , Germany
150,000
February 2025[ 12]
14
Sporting CP
Sports association
Lisbon , Portugal
146,292
March 2024[ 13]
15
SC Internacional
Association football
Porto Alegre , Brazil
135,000
March 2024[ 14]
16
1. FC Köln
Sports association
Cologne , Germany
132,439
September 2023[ 15]
17
FC Porto
Sports association
Porto , Portugal
131,037
September 2024[ 16]
18
HNK Hajduk Split
Sports association
Split , Croatia
115,300
August 2025[ 17]
19
Grêmio FBPA
Association football
Porto Alegre , Brazil
112,425
September 2023[ 18]
20
Collingwood Football Club
Australian rules football
Melbourne , Australia
110,102
2024[ 19]
21
West Coast Eagles
Australian rules football
Perth , Australia
103,275
2023[ 20]
22
Austrian Alpine Club Edelweiss section
Mountaineering
Vienna , Austria
102,435
December 2022[ 21]
23
Richmond Football Club
Australian rules football
Melbourne , Australia
101,349
2023[ 20]
24
Hamburger SV
Sports association
Hamburg , Germany
100,000
September 2023[ 22]
VfB Stuttgart
Sports association
Stuttgart , Germany
100,000
3rd May 2024[ 23]
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Sports association
Mönchengladbach , Germany
100,000
December 2023[ 24]
25
Real Madrid CF
Sports association
Madrid , Spain
99,781
December 2023[ 25]
26
Carlton Football Club
Australian rules football
Melbourne , Australia
95,277
2023[ 20]
27
Club Atlético Independiente
Sports association
Avellaneda , Argentina
95,173
August 2023[ 4]
28
CR Flamengo
Sports association
Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
89,859
March 2023[ 26]
29
Essendon Football Club
Australian rules football
Melbourne , Australia
86,274
2023[ 20]
30
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Association football
Rotterdam , Netherlands
85,000
May 2024[ 27]
31
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Association football
Avellaneda , Argentina
83,717
August 2023[ 4]
32
CR Vasco da Gama
Sports association
Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
82,611
January 2021[ 28]
33
Geelong Football Club
Australian rules football
Geelong , Australia
82,155
2023[ 20]
34
Hawthorn Football Club
Australian rules football
Melbourne , Australia
80,698
2023[ 20]
35
San Lorenzo de Almagro
Sports association
Buenos Aires , Argentina
80,410
August 2023[ 4]
36
Austrian Alpine Club Austria section
Mountaineering
Vienna , Austria
78,211
December 2022[ 21]
Association football clubs with more than 100,000 members
Rank
Club
Place
Members
Date
1
FC Bayern Munich
Munich , Germany
400,000
February 2025[ 29] [ 30]
2
S.L. Benfica
Lisbon , Portugal
400,000
February 2025[ 31]
3
Club Atlético River Plate
Buenos Aires , Argentina
350,000
December 2024[ 4]
4
Boca Juniors
Buenos Aires , Argentina
335,000
August 2023[ 4]
5
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund , Germany
218,000
November 2024[ 32]
6
FC Schalke 04
Gelsenkirchen , Germany
180,000
December 2023[ 33]
8
FC Barcelona
Barcelona , Spain
150,317
May 2023[ 34]
9
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt , Germany
150,000
February 2025[ 35]
10
Sporting CP
Lisbon , Portugal
146,292
March 2024[ 36]
11
SC Internacional
Porto Alegre , Brazil
135,000
March 2024[ 37]
12
1. FC Köln
Cologne , Germany
132,439
September 2023[ 38]
13
FC Porto
Porto , Portugal
131,037
September 2024[ 39]
14
HNK Hajduk Split
Split , Croatia
115,300
August 2025[ 40]
15
Grêmio FBPA
Porto Alegre , Brazil
113,425
September 2023[ 41]
Australian rules football clubs with more than 75,000 members
Rank
Club
Place
Members
Date
1
Tasmania Football Club
Tasmania , Australia
210,000+
May 2025[ 42]
2
Collingwood Football Club
Melbourne , Australia
110,102
2024[ 43]
3
West Coast Eagles
Perth , Australia
103,275
2023[ 20]
4
Richmond Football Club
Melbourne , Australia
101,349
2023[ 20]
5
Carlton Football Club
Melbourne , Australia
95,277
2023[ 20]
6
Essendon Football Club
Melbourne , Australia
86,274
2023[ 20]
7
Geelong Football Club
Geelong , Australia
82,155
2023[ 20]
8
Hawthorn Football Club
Melbourne , Australia
80,698
2023[ 20]
^ Munich, Bayern (3 December 2024). "Herbert Hainer im Gespräch: FC Bayern durchbricht Schallmauer von 382.000 Mitgliedern" .
^ "A look at why Bayern Munich are the world's best-supported club as they move past 400,000 members" . bundesliga.de . Frankfurt am Main : DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025 . Bayern, Germany's record champions, are celebrating their 125th anniversary. Alongside that landmark, they also now boast 400,000 registered members, which makes them the best-supported club in the world by that measure, outstripping fellow European juggernauts Benfica.
^ "Benfica announces reaching 400,000 members" . Observador . 26 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025 .
^ a b c d e f g "River Plate alcanzó una cifra récord de socios y quedó segundo en el ranking mundial" . infobae (in European Spanish). 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "218.000 Mitglieder - enteilt der BVB nun Schalke?" . www.reviersport.de/ (in German). 2024-11-24. Retrieved 2025-02-26 .
^ "210,000 Strong – Devils Founding Members Reach New Milestone" . Tasmania Devils. Retrieved 27 May 2025 .
^ Heßbrügge, Rolf (2023-12-06). "Schalke: Das ist die schöne Bescherung in der Weihnachtszeit" . www.waz.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ a b "Magazin des Deutschen Alpenvereins (DAV)" . www.alpenverein.de (in German). 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Final MCC Annual Report |" (PDF) . 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2024-04-25 .
^ "Xavi's son becomes FC Barcelona member" . fcbarcelona.com . 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2024-06-01 .
^ "Over ons" . www.ajaxlife.nl . Retrieved 2025-08-09 .
^ "150.000 Mitglieder!" . Eintracht (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-26 .
^ "Sporting regista recorde de sócios pagantes em 2023" . www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-03-11 .
^ "Inter supera 107 mil sócios e impulsiona venda de camisas após chegada de Valencia" . ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Membership" . 1. FC Köln .
^ "Nova administração da SAD do FC Porto corta quase três quartos de remuneração fixa" . SIC Notícias . 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-11 .
^ "Članstvo (Membership)" . August 2025. Retrieved 2024-04-26 .
^ "Rumo aos 120 mil; Veja o número de sócios do Grêmio em 2023" . Grêmio News . 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Collingwood break membership record for second consecutive year" . Collingwood FC . 2024-08-04. Retrieved 2024-08-08 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Pies leapfrog rival duo as 15 clubs set records: 2023 AFL membership ladder revealed" . Fox Sports . 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2024-03-16 .
^ a b Jahresbericht 2022 p. 16
^ "Wir sind 100.000!" . HSV e.V . Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Über 100.000 Dunkelrote!" . VfB Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-06 .
^ "Borussia Mönchengladbach | Wir sind 100.000! 💚" . Borussia Mönchengladbach (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Cómo hacerse socio del Real Madrid: carnet, abonos, entradas y beneficios" . goal.com (in Spanish). 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2024-06-01 .
^ "Transparência - Flamengo" . www.flamengo.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Het Legioen - De officiële supportersclub van Feyenoord - Legioen" . hetlegioen.feyenoord.nl . Retrieved 2024-05-06 .
^ Montalvão, Tauan (2021-02-18). "Vasco divulga número de sócios em janeiro de 2021; confira" . Vasco Notícias (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ Munich, Bayern (3 December 2024). "Herbert Hainer im Gespräch: FC Bayern durchbricht Schallmauer von 382.000 Mitgliedern" .
^ "A look at why Bayern Munich are the world's best-supported club as they move past 400,000 members" . bundesliga.de . Frankfurt am Main : DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025 . Bayern, Germany's record champions, are celebrating their 125th anniversary. Alongside that landmark, they also now boast 400,000 registered members, which makes them the best-supported club in the world by that measure, outstripping fellow European juggernauts Benfica.
^ "Benfica announces reaching 400,000 members" . Observador . 26 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025 .
^ "218.000 Mitglieder - enteilt der BVB nun Schalke?" . www.reviersport.de/ (in German). 2024-11-24. Retrieved 2025-02-26 .
^ Heßbrügge, Rolf (2023-12-06). "Schalke: Das ist die schöne Bescherung in der Weihnachtszeit" . www.waz.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Xavi's son becomes FC Barcelona member" . fcbarcelona.com . 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2024-06-01 .
^ "150.000 Mitglieder!" . Eintracht (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-26 .
^ "Sporting regista recorde de sócios pagantes em 2023" . www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-03-11 .
^ "Inter supera 107 mil sócios e impulsiona venda de camisas após chegada de Valencia" . ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "Membership" . 1. FC Köln .
^ "Nova administração da SAD do FC Porto corta quase três quartos de remuneração fixa" . SIC Notícias . 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-11 .
^ "Članstvo (Membership)" . April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-26 .
^ "Rumo aos 120 mil; Veja o número de sócios do Grêmio em 2023" . Grêmio News . 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-01-29 .
^ "210,000 Strong – Devils Founding Members Reach New Milestone" . Tasmania Devils. Retrieved 27 May 2025 .
^ "Collingwood break membership record for second consecutive year" . Collingwood FC . 2024-08-04. Retrieved 2024-08-08 .