Borussia Dortmund’s UK Supporters Clubs

As of late 2025, Borussia Dortmund had reached approximately 238,000 official club members, making it the second largest sports club in Germany and one of the biggest in the world.

Despite being rooted in the North Rhine-Westphalia, the club boasts over 1,000 official fan clubs worldwide, stretching from Germany to Asia, North America and, also, the UK.

In recent years, we have seen a considerable presence of British players at Dortmund; most famously, Jude Bellingham who then moved to Real Madrid, his brother Jobe Bellingham and a number of others. It has been a club that has thrived at developing young, British talent and, as a result, there is quite an allegiance between British fans with the club.

A cacophony of noise issues from it on matchday; to be an opposition player must be quite intimidating, especially considering the passion of the home fans and this will be needed if Dortmund are to close the gap on Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich this season.

Looking At The Main UK Fan Groups

No doubt the main British-based Borussia Dortmund fan group is the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London, which was founded in 2013 and is arguably the most organised in the UK. As a result, the group often hosts regular watch parties at The Roundabout or The Volley in Shoreditch/Old Street, London. In addition, they also run a regular podcast that focuses on the club from an English perspective.

In South Yorkshire, meanwhile, you can also find Sheffield Borussen; effectively this being one of the main groups for the north of England, with matchday trips and events regularly being organised.

North of the border, there is the Scotland BvB Clan which is a significant presence in the north and travels to Dortmund games regularly, usually occupying the south stand.

Staying in Scotland, the Dumbarton Borussen fan club is based in Scotland, underlining a strong link between British and German football culture, with the club known for making pilgrimages to Dortmund regularly to watch the team play.

It seems that Scotland is popular for British-based Dortmund supporters, because there is also the Edinburgh Borussen, which is a more localised group which organises matchday trips and local events.

BvB British Supporters Clubs

Main Borussia Dortmund Fan Clubs

Founded in 1999, a more secretive and hardcore group is the Desperados Dortmund 99 and are known for their intense dedication. However, in the past, they have also faced criticism because of their ties to the more ‘radical’ fan elements.

There is also the Rainbow Borussen fan club and founded in 2004, this is the official LGBTQ+ group which is highly active in making sure that the stadium remains safe on matchdays, while collaborating with the club on anti-discrimination campaigns.

Meanwhile, there is also the Heinrich Czerkus Fanclub which is named after a former club groundskeeper, murdered by the Gestapo in 1945 with this group focusing on political education, anti-fascism and organising the annual “Czerkus Memorial Run”.

Perhaps interestingly, the club also has a number of friendships. Their closest club ally in Germany is FC Koln and a deep bond exists between the two clubs, with fans of each travelling to respective away games. Greek club Aris Thessaloniki is another, with the TU and Aris’s Super 3 both sharing strong allegiances due to a shared rebellious identity, while the two clubs also play in the same colours.

Why The Fan Club Culture Is So Big At Dortmund

There is a lot of symmetry between British and German football culture, with a number of crossovers in the last few years.

When Jurgen Klopp took over as Liverpool boss, he brought with him the same kind of football that won Dortmund the Bundesliga, DFB Kopal and almost the Champions League with the club narrowly losing out to Bayern Munich, interest in the club grew on British shores.

Speaking of the Champions League final in 2013 Wembley Stadium and British-based fan clubs witnessed and linked up with the Dortmund-based ultras to full effect.