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Sport

Sport in Germany

Cricket Worldcup 2023

Watching your favourite sports on Television can be a challenge in Germany.  It is very tempting to use a VPN to watch the games on DSTV, but we strongly advice against it. 
Germany has stringent copyright laws.
Do not violate copyright laws by illegally downloading a film, music, or other web content.  You can get heavy fines for doing so. 
You can read more about streaming on the European Consumer Centre Germany  – and download their English  Safer-Streaming-EN.pdf file

Downloading Music, Movies etc

Copyrights in Germany are governed by GEMA, a government-mandated collecting society and performance rights organization. GEMA:  The Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte, or in English, the society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights. Germany has stringent copyright laws.Do not violate copyright laws by illegally downloading a film, music, or other web content.  Inform yourself about what is allowed and what the penalties are for not adhering to the rules.You can also be held responsible for any

Television Licenses

Television Licence (der Rundfunkbeitrag/GEZ-Gebühr) The first thing you are likely to get in your new mailbox after registering at the Bürgeramt is a reminder to pay your TV & radio broadcasting fees. The 2023 fees are €18.36 per month and can be paid quarterly  (€55.08) or €220.32 per yearThe fee is mandatory.  Every household in Germany has to pay the fee even if you do not own a TV or radio. It does not matter if you have subscriptions to Sky, Netflix

What are the legal options

Pubs and restaurants

If would like to watch it with others, consider visiting an Irish pub in your town, they usually have a television with a subscription to sports channels. It is a good idea to confirm with them what games they will be showing on that day. 
If you are close to Bielefeld, there is a South African Restaurant called Howzit, they show most of the major games. In Berlin, visit Outer Africa

Pay channels

If you are lucky ZDF will show some major international games but it is in German. 

Apps

Websites/Streaming

The following sites seem to offer legal streaming, please refer to their disclaimers. You are responsible for your own legal clarifications. No liability accepted.

  • Ran.de has some live streams but mostly 7’S
  • sanzaarrugby.tv– they show mostly Southern Hemisphere games. According to their website “Sanzaar rugby matches are only available in countries where rights to watch your content is available” According to Inverleigh Media,  Germany is on their list of countries.
  • URC TV –  United Rugby Championships. According to their website there are no limitations for Germany
  • Youtube channels
  • Rugby Deutschland
  • Sport.de

Radio Stations

You can listen to most games on radio stations. 

Radio Stations and Playlists

Most South African radio stations have a streaming option, another option is to download apps with a selection of radio stations. Here are some suggestions  

Resources on the web

Events

Forums and Groups

We have a sports Forum on our website.
Registered users can also access the Rugby and cricket groups

Related content

Cycling

The entire cycling scene in Germany took some getting used to when I arrived here. In South Africa its sort of all kitted out serious

Participating in Sports in Germany

Sports in Germany South Africans are generally a sport-crazy bunch. Not just watching it, but also actively taking part. Participating in sports here in Germany

Streaming South African content

Your best option to legally watch South African products is to get a subscription to Showmax or Netflix.  Showmax Unfortunately Showmax will only be available

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The entire cycling scene in Germany took some getting used to when I arrived here. In South Africa its sort of all kitted out serious health fanatics on bikes, and few other people ever use a bike after you’ve left school. However, the scene in Germany is significantly different.
A survey on the frequency of bicycle usage in Germany 2017-2020 found that in 2020, 9.8 percent of the German population hopped on a bike daily, while 17.1 percent did so several days a week.
Cycling is both a popular way to commute as well as a recreational activity.

Furthermore, the vast variety of bikes available here makes cycling the perfect way to get some sort of exercise, even if you’re not a serious athlete.
This includes road bikes, racing bikes, commuting bikes, e-bikes, mountain bikes, tandems and even family bikes (those with trailers for dogs or children).
Just in the e-bike category you’ve got a wide choice of road, touring, light touring, commute, mountain or (again) family e-bikes.

I bought a so-called Light-Tourer e-bike in July 2019, and with this discovered an entire new perspective of living and traveling in Germany.
In 24 months I’ve cycled more than 5000 of leisure training kilometres and incidentally found a very fulfilling ‘hobby’.
There are more than 200 cycle roads (that’s long-distance routes criss-crossing the country) besides all the normal cycle lanes in and around towns and cities.
So what better way to spend Saturdays than to hop on your bike, head off on an exploring trip of a new valley or nature area or countryside where you are bound to find a ‘biergarten’ to refuel and get plenty of photo opportunities of the stunning German countryside or ancient towns? As we got fitter and fitter I realised why an e-bike is such a good choice. It enables you to travel further while still providing adequate sweat and pulse to get you fitter.

 

I haven’t yet participated in cycle races in Germany, as I just enjoy the traveling and exploring part of it.
Funnily though, Germany’s official cycling took quite a knock due to doping scandals after 2012, which means in competitive events, its more the serious athletes that participate than in South Africa where there are many ‘social’ cycle races to participate in. But the social individual cycling opportunities on dedicated cycle paths (thus no shoulder rubbing with cars, or worse, taxis) more than make up.
Don’t feel offended when you are easily overtaken by a small grey-haired lady on a bike on a steep incline while you’re sweating your way up – she probably just has more experience and a stronger e-bike.

The two most common cycling apps I’m aware of is Kamoot and Strava, while Google maps also enable decent cycle routes.
Most fitness trackers link with these apps and keep good statistics of your cycling expeditions, which adds to the enjoyment.

Go get a bike, a decent padded pair of shorts since cycling in that area is a contact sport and Google some nice cycle paths in your area to explore. Oh, and report on your adventures on South Africans in Germany.

Some other useful apps:

Routing: 

Renting bikes

In most cities you can rent a bicycle, just do a search.

 

Sports in Germany

South Africans are generally a sport-crazy bunch. Not just watching it, but also actively taking part. Participating in sports here in Germany has its challenges, mostly due to the weather. But, as the German saying goes – there isn’t something like bad weather, only bad clothing and many South Africans in Germany live by this motto and go out for a run or a cycle in what would be considered “stay home and light the fire” weather back in South Africa.

We will try and list some resources for some sports activities here to help you get “back into the saddle” here in Germany.

Running

Running in Germany is a popular sport, even though it can get quite cold in Germany in winter. That being said, it also has a certain magic about going for a run in the snow – not to talk about the good training it is to run in ankle-deep snow, similar to running on beach sand!

The winter attire for running might be a little unusual for South Africans, especially the men, with tights galore. However, one runs not to look good while you run, but afterwards, right? Anyway, one overly freezing run without tights, convinces one to accept and adapt very fast.

In summer running is really a pleasure in Germany, since the tons of cycling routes available in Germany provide an excellent way to explore and build your running capacity without having to battle vehicular traffic. Another great pleasure of running in Germany is the fact that often a lake is normally not all too far away, so a quick dip to cool down is a real option on many running routes.

Running events and race day

Taking part in official running events (races, like half-marathons or marathons, etc) in Germany is a little less formalised than in South Africa, in the sense that you don’t have to belong to a club to join official runs. Most running events are organised by sports clubs and the participation fee covers all elements of the run. Generally speaking, the earlier you enter the race, the cheaper it becomes. Often you can also enter on the day of a race (as long as the maximum capacity has not been reached), at approximately double the cost of an early entrant.

What sometimes takes some getting used to is that races in Germany normally start much later in the day (a race starting at 10:00 or even later is not unusual, especially in winter) than in South Africa. Water supply during a race is also quite different in Germany than in South Africa, with cups being used rather than sachets as in SA, making it much harder to run-and-drink in our opinion. What you can also often do at many of the longer races is to prepare and drop off your own drinks a day before the race (normally when you pick up your race number) which the event organisers will then position for you along the route. This is a good way to get around the cup-drinking-mess if you are so inclined. Most larger races also offer good race logistics, such as bag drop services and shower facilities after the race.

Some good race listing sites suggested by our members are:

Everyday running and our Strava club

For your everyday running, the app Strava can help a lot to help you find routes in your local vicinity. We also have our own “South Africans in Germany” running club listed on Strava under the following link: https://www.strava.com/clubs/956800. Feel free to join our online running club there and share your running ups and downs with us. The Strava app is also the most popular app in South Africa, so you can follow and support both your friends back in South Africa as well as South Africans in Germany easily in one app.

Cricket

Yes, cricket is played actively here in Germany. 

Playing cricket in Germany, yep you heard it right lols

Here is a shortened version on how my enthusiastic cricket photography, playing, umpiring, bus driving, usw path started. Let me Introduce myself to those who don’t know me yet. In and around the German cricket fraternity I am know as Kitters, which derived from the “kit man” era, which derived from my multifunctional activities in the German cricket world.

Cycling

Read more about cycling on our cycle page

Feel free to join our Strava group under the following link where you can share your passion directly with other South Africans in Germany: https://www.strava.com/clubs/956800.

Cycling

The entire cycling scene in Germany took some getting used to when I arrived here. In South Africa its sort of all kitted out serious health fanatics on bikes, and few other people ever use a bike after you’ve left school. However, the scene in Germany is significantly different. A survey on the frequency of bicycle usage in Germany 2017-2020 found

Swimming

Swimming is a great low-impact workout that helps improve cardiovascular health and promote mental wellness. It is very unlikely for Fitness clubs (Gyms) to have swimming pools. If you would like to train for swimming as a sport, you will need to join a Swimming club (Schwimmverein)
Another option is to contact the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) or join a sports club like Urban Sports Club, which partners with many other clubs and sports facilities.
The Facebook group “Bist du heute shcon geschwommen” is very informative

Swimming in Germany

Swimming options Private swimming pools are not so popular in Germany, but there are good public swimming options available. Public swimming pools / Öffentliche Schimmbäder

Rugby, Soccer (Football) and other team sports

If you participate in team sports (especially rugby) here in Germany, please reach out to us via our contact form – we would love to share your club or events or experiences here.

Rugby

Rugby is a growing sport in Germany and there are clubs and teams across the country where you can practice and play. You can join a local rugby club to learn and play the sport, meet new people, and have fun. Rugby is a great way to stay active and

Groups and Forums

There is a Sports forum on this website, that is open to everyone to read. To add content you need to be a registered member (no member fees)

We also have groups on our website. Currently, the sports-related groups are hiking, rugby, and cricket. Only members can see these groups. They can also great new groups and invite friends 

Watching sports

Cricket Worldcup 2023 The Match schedule is available on the CricketWorldCup.com website Watching your favourite sports on Television can be a challenge in Germany.  It is very tempting to use a VPN to watch the games on DSTV, but we strongly advice against it. Germany has stringent copyright laws.Do not violate copyright laws by illegally downloading a film, music, or other web content.  You can get heavy fines for doing so. You can read more about streaming on the European Consumer Centre Germany  – and

Related content

Cycling

The entire cycling scene in Germany took some getting used to when I arrived here. In South Africa its sort of all kitted out serious

Weather in Germany

German Climate Germany’s climate is temperate and marine, with cold, cloudy winters and warm summers and in the south occasional warm föhn wind. The greater

Emergency Contacts

The following numbers can be dialled in an emergency, either from a landline or mobile phone. 112The national emergency number. This can be used for