1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply FC Köln or FC Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based in Cologne, in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07. Köln competes in the Bundesliga after promotion in 2018–19 following relegation to 2. Bundesliga the previous season. The team are three-time national champions, winning the 1962 German football championship, as well as the Bundesliga twice, first in its inaugural season of 1963–64 and then again in 1977–78. The team plays its home matches at RheinEnergieStadion.

The 2. Bundesliga is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below the Bundesliga and above the 3. Liga in the German football league system. All of the 2. Bundesliga clubs take part in the DFB-Pokal, the annual German Cup competition. A total of 127 clubs have competed in the 2. Bundesliga since its foundation.