American football has a large following in Berlin, and not just among expats. The German Football League, formed in 1979, organises play between six teams from northern Germany and six from the south. Berlin has one team in the Bundesliga, or highest league, and another in the second-tier. Following regular league games within the northern German and southern German ‘conferences’, four teams from each meet in the finals, the German Bowl, held annually during the first week of October.