Einleitung

Any industry is a complex system operating through the existence of different institutions and organizations. Consequently the sport industry is also composed of various institutions and organizations. The industry in Germany includes providers and operators stemming from three sectors: the public (state/government), market (private/for-profit), and voluntary (nonprofit) sector. The latter sector, in Germany, represents mass sport provision (participant market) and is mainly represented by nonprofit sport clubs. Moreover, there are governing bodies and federations for those community clubs. These entities provide competition and participation opportunities, regulate and manage sporting codes, and organize major championship events. The private sector includes professional or commercial sport organizations, comprising professional leagues and their member teams, as well as allied organizations such as sporting apparel and equipment manufacturers, major stadium operators and also commercial sport suppliers such as health and fitness centers or sport tourism agencies. The state or public sector includes federal, state, district, and local governments. On a local level, they might be even involved in offering sport programs, similar to those offered by the nonprofit sport clubs, though this is the exception.
The three sectors are not operating in isolation, in fact, they often significantly overlap. For example, the Federal State of Germany provides funding to nonprofit sport organizations for sport development and elite athlete programs. In return, the nonprofit sport organizations provide society with sporting opportunities and they develop athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators to sustain sporting participation. The public and the market sector overlap when the state supports building of major stadiums or other sporting venues to provide spaces for professional sport to be played, or when it provides the legal framework for professional sport to take place. Moreover, the state supports the manufacturing and event industries to do business. The nonprofit sport sector overlaps with professional sport by providing playing talent for leagues, as well as developing the coaches, officials, and administrators to facilitate competitions at the elite level. Respectively, the professional sport sector markets sport for passive and active participants and in some cases is able to redistribute substantial funds from TV broadcast rights revenue back to the voluntary sector.