Ludwigshafen: Sports clubs are losing members – red alert!

Ludwigshafen: Sports clubs are losing members – red alert!

There is a worrying trend in Ludwigshafen: citizens seem to be showing less and less interest in sports clubs. According to the current membership statistics of the Palatinate Sports Association for 2025, the city is in sadly last place. While there are 529,247 members in 1,954 clubs throughout the Palatinate, of the approximately 176,110 Ludwigshafen residents, only 40,314 - that's just 22.89 percent - are active in one of the approximately 140 sports clubs. In comparison, 36.71 percent of the population across the Palatinate are members of a sports club, which underlines Ludwigshafen's lagging behind. [Rheinpfalz] reports that this trend is taking on alarming proportions.

The numbers from some local clubs are particularly interesting. The Eisenbahner-Sportverein (ESV) 1927, the largest sports club in Ludwigshafen, currently has 2,975 members and has lost 38 members compared to the previous year. In contrast, the Ludwigshafen Swimming Club 07 enjoys a certain level of popularity and was able to increase its number of members by 41 to a total of 2,875. Other up-and-coming clubs include the Alpine Club with 1,949 members and 14 other Ludwigshafen clubs, each of which has more than 500 members.

The sports association and its members

On the other hand, developments in the entire Palatinate region show a different picture: memberships in sports clubs have been increasing continuously since 2021. Compared to last year, there are 13,718 new members, bringing the total members to 529,347. This positive development is supported, among other things, by the country's “Comeback to the Sports Club” campaign. It counteracts the decline that occurred during the Corona restrictions. For comparison: in 2021 there were only 481,000 members. [Saarbrücker Zeitung] highlights that these figures represent the highest level in 15 years.

The age structure of the members shows an increase, especially in the group of children aged 7 to 14, where an increase of 5 percent was recorded. Adults between the ages of 27 and 40 also show a growing interest in sports clubs at 3.7 percent, while those over 60 years of age increased by 3.5 percent. A clear trend is visible: people are returning to sports clubs and are making increasing use of the offerings again.

A look back at the biggest clubs

The statistics also reveal a lot about the big players in the sports club sector. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the largest club in the Palatinate, has gained an impressive 34,237 members, adding over 6,000 new members last year. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in the number of Palatinate clubs: 12 Ludwigshafen clubs rank among the 500 largest clubs in the Palatinate, which lie between places 25 and 36. This also includes TSV Speyer with 3,801 and the Lauterer section of the Alpine Club with 3,564 members. [Nachrichten-KL] illustrates how dynamically the club area is developing.

The differences within the region are also stark: While the people of Ludwigshafen lag behind with a membership rate of just 22.89 percent, the city of Kaiserslautern, for example, has a membership rate of 58.76 percent. This discrepancy shows that there is still a lot of catching up to do in Ludwigshafen in order to keep sport popular in the city.

The trends in the sports landscape, both regional and local, are complex. While some clubs are riding the wave of success, others, such as the Ludwigshafen clubs, still have a lot to do to arouse interest in their offerings and increase the length of time they stay in the ranks of sports clubs.