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
EnglishPremier League and most teams in the
SpanishPrimera División and the
ItalianSerie 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
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.