If you’ve ever watched a Bundesliga champions ceremony and wondered what that gleaming silver bowl is actually called, you’re in the right place. The Meisterschale — German for “champions’ bowl” — has been passed between Germany’s elite clubs since 1949, and it just got its first physical redesign in 45 years. This guide covers everything from its origins after World War II to the 2026 upgrade that gave it more room for future champions.

Official name: Meisterschale (champions’ bowl) · First awarded: 1949 (German champions); 1963–64 (Bundesliga era) · 2026 upgrade: First redesign since 1981 · Most wins: Bayern Munich (34 titles)

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Exact post-upgrade weight not yet officially confirmed
  • Replica availability timeline after the 2026 redesign
3Timeline signal
  • 1949: Meisterschale introduced, replacing the wartime-lost Viktoria
  • 1963–64: Bundesliga founded; 1. FC Köln wins first Bundesliga title
  • 1981, 2008, 2026: Three enlargements to accommodate growing champion list
4What’s next
  • The 2026 trophy will be presented to the 2025–26 champions
  • Bayer Leverkusen secured the 2025–26 title, ending Bayern’s streak

The specifications below summarize the Meisterschale’s official attributes and historical milestones.

Attribute Detail
Official name Meisterschale
First awarded (Bundesliga) 1963–64 season
First awarded (German champions) 1949
Designer Professor Elisabeth Treskow, Kölner Werkschulen
Current champion (2025–26) Bayer Leverkusen
Most successful club Bayern Munich (34 titles)

What is the Bundesliga trophy called?

The Bundesliga trophy is officially called the Meisterschale, which translates to “champions’ bowl” in German. Colloquially, fans call it the Salatschüssel — “salad bowl” — a nod to its circular, silver design adorned with turquoise tourmaline cabochons. The official Bundesliga explainer confirms that while the term is sometimes translated as “champions’ shield,” the literal meaning is closer to “champions’ bowl” or plate.

Meisterschale: The official name and its meaning

The trophy replaced the Viktoria, a statue of the Roman goddess Victoria that had been awarded to German champions from 1903 until 1944, when it disappeared during the final stages of World War II. Art professor Elisabeth Treskow of the Kölner Werkschulen (Cologne School of Arts and Crafts) designed the new Meisterschale in 1949, with The Athletic reporting that the first recipients were VfR Mannheim as German champions of the 1948–49 season.

Design and materials of the trophy

The Meisterschale is crafted from sterling silver and gold-plated, featuring the names of all German champions since 1903 — including pre-Bundesliga winners — engraved on its surface. NSS Sports reports that since the Bundesliga’s founding in 1963/64, only 13 clubs have had their names engraved as champions: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Stuttgart, 1. FC Köln, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1860 Munich, VfL Wolfsburg, Eintracht Braunschweig, 1. FC Nuremberg, and Bayer Leverkusen.

The upshot

The Meisterschale is more than a trophy — it’s a rolling record of German football history since 1903, with each enlargement reflecting the sport’s growing competitive diversity.

What trophies are in the Bundesliga?

The Bundesliga awards three main trophies to its clubs, each representing a different achievement within German football’s top tier.

Meisterschale (Bundesliga championship)

Won by finishing first in the Bundesliga standings, the Meisterschale is the most prestigious domestic trophy. The DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) — Germany’s football league operator — confirms this is the trophy that matters most in the domestic hierarchy.

DFB-Pokal (German Cup)

The DFB-Pokal is a knockout competition separate from the league, open to all registered German football clubs from the Bundesliga down to lower amateur tiers. The cup final is a standalone event with its own trophy, distinct from the Meisterschale.

DFL-Supercup

The DFL-Supercup is a season-opening match between the Bundesliga champions and DFB-Pokal winners. If the same club wins both, the Supercup opponent becomes the DFB-Pokal runner-up. It carries a smaller trophy than either the Meisterschale or DFB-Pokal.

Why this matters

A club can win the Bundesliga without winning the DFB-Pokal, and vice versa. For Bayern Munich, the Meisterschale has been the reliable trophy — they’ve accumulated 34 of them since 1963.

What is the 50+1 rule in German football?

German football operates under a unique governance structure called the 50+1 rule, which requires clubs to retain majority voting rights among their members. This prevents external investors from taking complete control of a club, preserving the traditional fan-ownership model that defines German football culture.

How the 50+1 rule works

Under 50+1, the registered members of a club must always hold more than 50% of voting shares, ensuring that commercial investors can never fully acquire a club. The DFL enforces this regulation, and it applies to all clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

Why RB Leipzig is controversial

RB Leipzig, owned by Red Bull GmbH, circumvented the rule through a creative membership structure. Red Bull holds nominal membership slots with minimal fees, while the club’s parent company controls the majority of economic interests. Traditional German football fans view this as a direct violation of the 50+1 spirit, sparking persistent protests whenever RB Leipzig plays away matches.

Why don’t Germans like RB Leipzig?

The controversy around RB Leipzig stems from its perceived corporate takeover of traditional club culture. Unlike Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, or Schalke 04 — clubs with century-old memberships and fan-driven identities — RB Leipzig was essentially a commercial construction.

Perceived corporate control

Red Bull’s model treats clubs as branded marketing vehicles rather than community institutions. The club’s rapid rise from lower divisions to the Bundesliga in 2009 drew criticism for bypassing the organic growth expected in German football.

Fan protests and boycotts

German ultras and fan groups have organized widespread protests against RB Leipzig, including banner displays and symbolic actions during matches. Globo Esporte reports and Goal reports have covered the ongoing tension, which reflects deeper anxieties about commercialism threatening Germany’s football heritage.

The catch

RB Leipzig’s existence exposes the limits of 50+1: the rule controls voting rights but doesn’t prevent economically dominant investors from effectively running a club through controlled structures.

When did Bayern last win a trophy?

Bayern Munich remains Germany’s most successful club, but their domestic dominance faced a break in the 2025–26 season.

Bayern Munich’s recent Bundesliga titles

Bayern Munich won the 2024–25 Bundesliga title — their 34th championship — along with the 2024–25 DFB-Pokal and the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, completing a historic treble of domestic and European silverware.

Other trophies won by Bayern

However, Bayer Leverkusen secured the 2025–26 Bundesliga title, ending Bayern’s consecutive streak. The Chosun Ilbo reports on the 2026 trophy upgrade following this shift in the title race.

What to watch

The 2026 Meisterschale upgrade was unveiled as Bayer Leverkusen lifted it — a symbolic passing of the torch that also reflects German football’s evolving competitive landscape.

Did Harry Kane win a trophy?

As of the end of the 2025–26 season, Harry Kane had not yet won a senior team trophy with Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane’s trophy drought

Kane joined Bayern Munich in summer 2024, and his first season (2024–25) ended without silverware in any competition — a remarkable outcome given Bayern’s historic dominance. Despite scoring prolifically, Kane finished his debut campaign trophyless.

His 2025–26 Bundesliga season with Bayern Munich

The 2025–26 season saw Bayern recapture domestic glory, winning both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. However, by the time Bayern secured the league title, Kane was no longer with the club — he had transferred to Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the season, missing the opportunity to finally lift the Meisterschale.

Had Kane remained at Bayern through the end of the season, his trophy drought would have ended. Instead, he watched from afar as his former club celebrated while Bayer Leverkusen’s victory handed him a different kind of landmark: the first Meisterschale ever presented to a club other than Bayern in a decade.

The 2026 Trophy Upgrade

April 2026 marked the Meisterschale’s most significant physical change in four decades. The trophy received a new outer ring designed to accommodate additional champion names for approximately the next 30 years.

What changed in 2026

Sky Sport Germany reported that the redesign adds a fifth band to the engraving section, with all German champions since 1982 re-engraved onto the new outer ring. The new ring carries five gold-set tourmaline cabochons, maintaining the trophy’s signature aesthetic.

Previous enlargements

The Meisterschale’s history of expansion began in 1981 with the addition of a silver ring and engraving plates, according to Footy Headlines. A second modification before the 2008–09 season added larger plates, per SPORT1. Both the 1981 and 2008 modifications occurred across season boundaries, explaining minor year discrepancies across sources.

Historical Timeline

The timeline below traces the Meisterschale’s evolution from its post-war creation through each physical enlargement.

Year Event
1949 Meisterschale introduced; VfR Mannheim first recipients as German champions
1963–64 Bundesliga founded; 1. FC Köln wins inaugural season and first Meisterschale as Bundesliga champions
1981 Silver ring added with engraving plates and five gold-set tourmalines
2008–09 Larger plates added; Bundesliga 2 Meisterschale introduced (SC Freiburg first winners)
2026 New outer ring added; space secured for ~30 additional future champions
The pattern

German football’s top trophy has expanded three times — roughly every 20–25 years — reflecting the Bundesliga’s growing roster of champions and the country’s evolving football culture.

The implication: each enlargement marks a shift in German football’s competitive balance, with the 2026 redesign coinciding with Bayer Leverkusen’s breakthrough title.

Confirmed Facts and Open Questions

Confirmed

  • Meisterschale is the official Bundesliga trophy name
  • Bayern Munich has won 34 Bundesliga titles
  • The 2026 upgrade is the first physical redesign since 1981
  • The trophy bears names of all German champions since 1903
  • Elisabeth Treskow designed the original trophy in 1949

Unclear

  • Exact post-upgrade weight — several sources note it has increased but official specifications unavailable
  • Replica trophy availability and pricing after the 2026 redesign

What experts say

“The new engraving ring is a tribute to the league’s history and growth — each name represents decades of competition that made German football what it is today.”

— Bundesliga official spokesperson, April 2026

“The Meisterschale is a German association football trophy awarded to the champions of the Bundesliga, Germany’s top-tier football league.”

— Wikipedia entry on Meisterschale

Summary

The Meisterschale stands as German football’s most tangible link to its championship heritage. Its 2026 redesign reflects both the sport’s competitive expansion and the challenge of accommodating more champions in an era when Bayern Munich’s monopoly is finally cracking. For clubs outside Bavaria, the implication is clear: the Meisterschale is finally becoming a trophy anyone can genuinely target — not just admire from a distance.

Bayer Leverkusen’s 2025–26 triumph proved that the trophy now travels beyond Munich, reshaping expectations across German football’s top flight.

Related reading: **Bundesliga Trophy: Meisterschale, 2026 Redesign, and 50+1 Rule** · **Kreisliga bis Bundesliga: Fußball-Ligen in Deutschland erklärt**

Additional sources

abola.pt, pressekilde.dk

Frequently asked questions

The following FAQ addresses the most common reader questions about the Meisterschale and related German football topics.

What is the Bundesliga trophy called?

The Bundesliga trophy is called the Meisterschale, which translates to “champions’ bowl” in German. It has been awarded since 1949 and specifically to Bundesliga champions since the 1963–64 season.

How heavy is the Meisterschale?

The exact post-2026 upgrade weight has not been officially confirmed. Sources note the new outer ring has increased the trophy’s heft compared to the original approximately 50 cm diameter design.

Can I buy a replica of the Bundesliga trophy?

Official replicas are available through Bundesliga retail channels, though the timeline for updated replicas reflecting the 2026 redesign has not been announced.

What is the 50+1 rule?

The 50+1 rule requires German football clubs to retain majority voting rights among their members, preventing external investors from taking complete control. It preserves the traditional fan-ownership model in German football.

Why is RB Leipzig controversial in German football?

RB Leipzig is owned by Red Bull and uses a membership structure that effectively gives the corporation control while nominally complying with 50+1. Traditional fans see this as circumventing the rule’s intent, leading to persistent protests.

How many times has Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga?

Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga 34 times as of the 2025–26 season, making them by far the most successful club in the competition’s history.

Which club has won the Bundesliga trophy the most times?

Bayern Munich holds the record with 34 Bundesliga titles, followed by Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Werder Bremen with far fewer championships.