RB Leipzig is a German association football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club is supported by energy drink-maker Red Bull who purchased the license of fifth division side SSV Markranstädt with the intention of advancing the re-modeled club to the top-flight Bundesliga within ten years. In their inaugural season, RB dominated the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (fifth division) in 2009–10 and as a result were promoted as champions to the Regionalliga Nord (fourth division) for the 2010–2011 season.

Founded in May 2009, RasenBallsport Leipzig is the fourth football involvement of Red Bull, which already runs football clubs including Red Bull Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria, the New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Brasil in Campinas, Brazil. The name differs from these other teams' names due to the statutes of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) which prescribe how a sponsor's name is used as part of a club's identity. Unlike its other sports teams, the Leipzig club cannot carry the Red Bull name or be fully owned by the company. The German Football Association requires a club to hold 51% of its shares, Red Bull will therefore only be able to acquire 49% of the club. This has also resulted in the somewhat awkward "RasenBallsport" ("Lawn(Pitch) Ball Sporting") name of the club in order to retain at least the initials of Red Bull while at the same time feigning compliance with traditional, descriptive naming schemes of german clubs.