The eleventh edition of the biggest event in German amateur soccer, the Amateurs' Final Day, thrilled around one million soccer fans in stadiums and in front of their TV screens at home. Despite summer temperatures and perfect weather for outings in many places, the TV broadcast of the 21 men's cup finals of the DFB regional associations on the first channel once again ensured strong viewing figures with market shares of up to almost 15 percent. In addition, many matches were also available as full-length live streams on the respective state broadcasters' online offerings, on sportschau.de and in the ARD media library, as well as on the new DFB.TV channel. A good 150,000 spectators watched the cup finals on location in the 21 final stadiums and provided an atmospheric backdrop for the broadcast.
The ARD TV broadcast was divided into four sub-conferences with different kick-off times. The first block with seven matches, each kicked off at 11:30 a.m., reached 563,000 viewers with a market share of 11.4 percent. The second conference from 1:30 p.m. was watched by 777,000 viewers (12.5 percent market share). The third block from 3:30 p.m. was watched by 966,000 viewers with a market share of 13.7 percent. The conference concluded at 4:30 p.m. with 1.11 million viewers and a market share of 14.8 percent.
Dirk Brennecke, coordinator of the amateur finals day, says: "The amateur finals day regularly ensures well-attended stadiums and strong ratings for the broadcast. The event is an integral part of the calendar for a large proportion of German soccer fans. I am delighted that so many people once again cheered on the match in front of their screens despite the excellent summer weather over the Whitsun weekend. My special thanks also go to DFB GmbH & Co KG and best boys tv-factory GmbH for the very successful technical implementation of the TV production."
Axel Balkausky, ARD Sports Coordinator: "The live conferences lasting several hours make the final day of the amateurs a unique event and a very special program highlight in its eleventh year. Together with the men's DFB Cup final in the evening, we were able to offer all soccer fans in Germany a whole day of live coverage full of excitement and emotion. We are already looking forward to the next edition in 2027."
In cooperation with best boys tv-factory GmbH, DFB GmbH & Co. KG took over the technical implementation of the TV production of all 21 national cup finals as well as the media rights marketing for the first time in 2026(further information). The twelfth edition of the amateur final day is planned for May 29, 2027.
