Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (German: [ɛf tseː ˈʃalkə nʊl fiːɐ̯]), Schalke 04 (German: [ˌʃalkə nʊl ˈfiːɐ̯]), or abbreviated as S04 (German: [ˈɛs nʊl fiːɐ̯]), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The "04" in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904. Schalke have been one of the most popular professional football teams in Germany, even though the club's heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s. Schalke have played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, since 2022, following promotion from the 2. Bundesliga in 2021–22. As of 2022, the club has 160,000 members, making it the second-largest football club in Ge