Austrian Football Association
Encyclopedia
The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) is the governing body of football
in Austria
. It organizes the football league, Austrian Bundesliga
, the Austrian Cup
and the Austrian national team
, as well as its female equivalent
. It is based in Vienna
.
Since 1905, it has been a FIFA
member, and since 1954, a UEFA
member. Since 7 April 2002, Friedrich Stickler
(Dipl. Eng.), the director of executive committee of the Austrian lottery, has been the President of the Austrian Football Association. Supporting him is its President, Kurt Ehrenberger, Frank Stronach
, Dr. Gerhard Kapl, and Dr. Leo Windtner. In 2004, it was announced there are 285,000 players (both sexes) in Austria playing for 2,309 teams in the federation, although many more players play informally or for non-recognised teams. Thus the federation is the largest sporting organization the country. Football is, perhaps with the exception of skiing
, the most popular sport in Austria. Football possesses a large value, and has a rich history and tradition in Austria.
Each year the Austrian championship in the Bundesliga
and the Cup winner are decided. Further the Austrian national soccer team plays several international friendly matches and participates in matches to qualify for international tournaments, such as the World Cup and the European Championship
.
and hosted the fifth FIFA congress in 1908.
The milestones of the federation and past football history were the years 1930 to 1933, 1950 to 1954 and then 1958 as well as 1978, 1982, 1990 and 1998 with the participation of Austria at the World Cup.
Hugo Meisl
was one of the best-known personalities in the beginnings of the Austrian Football Association. Meisl's greatest triumph should be the participation with a team of Austrian amateurs in the final of the 1936 Summer Olympics
, where they fell victims to Italy
with 1:2. Until today, it remained the only final, which Austria reached in an important international tournament. Meisl became 1927 General-Secretary and manager/coach of the federation.
Meisl had huge success and remained unbeaten from 12 April 1931 to 23 October 1932 in 14 successive matches. The highlights of this series were the 6:0 (Berlin) and 5:0 (Vienna) victories against Germany
. A 3:4 defeat against England on 7 December 1933 at London's [Stamford Bridge] stadium terminated the run of being unbeaten. The 1950s saw a sequel to the tradition of this miracle team (the 1930s heroes were named "Wunderteam
"), with their well-known football greats such as Ernst Ocwirk
(twice captain of the FIFA World Selection Team), Ernst Happel, Gerhard Hanappi
and Walter Zeman
. The FIFA World Cup 1954 ranks among being most successful in Austrian Football Association history. Twenty years after being in 4th place in the FIFA World Cup 1934 held in Italy, Austria returned to the circle of the best teams again.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. It organizes the football league, Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
, the Austrian Cup
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...
and the Austrian national team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
, as well as its female equivalent
Austria women's national football team
The Austria women's national football team represents Austria in international women's football.The team is made up mainly of players from the Austrian and German Women's Bundesligas. As yet the team has never qualified for any major tournament .-World Cup record:-Current squad:- External links :*...
. It is based in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Since 1905, it has been a FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
member, and since 1954, a UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
member. Since 7 April 2002, Friedrich Stickler
Friedrich Stickler
Friedrich Stickler is the former president of Austrian Football Association and Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup, and Austrian Lotteries. He was also the chairman of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee before 2007....
(Dipl. Eng.), the director of executive committee of the Austrian lottery, has been the President of the Austrian Football Association. Supporting him is its President, Kurt Ehrenberger, Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
, Dr. Gerhard Kapl, and Dr. Leo Windtner. In 2004, it was announced there are 285,000 players (both sexes) in Austria playing for 2,309 teams in the federation, although many more players play informally or for non-recognised teams. Thus the federation is the largest sporting organization the country. Football is, perhaps with the exception of skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, the most popular sport in Austria. Football possesses a large value, and has a rich history and tradition in Austria.
Each year the Austrian championship in the Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
and the Cup winner are decided. Further the Austrian national soccer team plays several international friendly matches and participates in matches to qualify for international tournaments, such as the World Cup and the European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
.
History
In the year 1894, with the First Vienna Football Club, the first football team of the country was created in Vienna. From this nucleus, the Austrian football federation was established in 1904. Already one year after the establishment, Austria became a member of the international football federation FIFAFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
and hosted the fifth FIFA congress in 1908.
The milestones of the federation and past football history were the years 1930 to 1933, 1950 to 1954 and then 1958 as well as 1978, 1982, 1990 and 1998 with the participation of Austria at the World Cup.
Hugo Meisl
Hugo Meisl
Hugo Meisl , brother of the journalist Willy Meisl, was the multi-lingual football coach of the famous Austrian 'Wunderteam' of the early 1930s, as well as a referee.-Background:...
was one of the best-known personalities in the beginnings of the Austrian Football Association. Meisl's greatest triumph should be the participation with a team of Austrian amateurs in the final of the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, where they fell victims to Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
with 1:2. Until today, it remained the only final, which Austria reached in an important international tournament. Meisl became 1927 General-Secretary and manager/coach of the federation.
Meisl had huge success and remained unbeaten from 12 April 1931 to 23 October 1932 in 14 successive matches. The highlights of this series were the 6:0 (Berlin) and 5:0 (Vienna) victories against Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
. A 3:4 defeat against England on 7 December 1933 at London's [Stamford Bridge] stadium terminated the run of being unbeaten. The 1950s saw a sequel to the tradition of this miracle team (the 1930s heroes were named "Wunderteam
Wunderteam
Wunderteam was the name given to the Austria national football team of the 1930s. Led by manager Hugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team was based on the Scottish school of football that focused on quick passing introduced...
"), with their well-known football greats such as Ernst Ocwirk
Ernst Ocwirk
Ernst Ocwirk was an Austrian football player and coach. He is considered one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time....
(twice captain of the FIFA World Selection Team), Ernst Happel, Gerhard Hanappi
Gerhard Hanappi
Gerhard Hanappi is one of Austrian football's most famous sons.-Club career:A versatile midfielder, Hanappi started his career at SC Wacker Wien, where he made his Bundesliga debut in 1947. Deemed as Austria's biggest football talent, he then controversially moved to play for big city rivals Rapid...
and Walter Zeman
Walter Zeman
Walter Zeman was an Austrian football goalkeeper and an integral part of the second Austrian Wunderteam of the 1950s....
. The FIFA World Cup 1954 ranks among being most successful in Austrian Football Association history. Twenty years after being in 4th place in the FIFA World Cup 1934 held in Italy, Austria returned to the circle of the best teams again.
Regional organizations
- Burgenländischer Fußball-Verband (BFV) http://www.bfv.at
- Niederösterreichischer Fußball-Verband (NOEFV) http://www.noefv.at
- Oberösterreichischer Fußball-Verband (OOEFV) http://www.ofv.at
- Salzburger Fußball-Verband (SFV) http://www.sfv.at
- Steirischer Fußballverband (StFV) http://www.stfv.at
- Tiroler Fußball-Verband (TFV) http://www.tfv.at
- Vorarlberger Fußball-Verband (VFV) http://www.vfv.at
- Wiener Fußball-Verband (WFV) http://www.wfv.at
Performance
The Austrian national team qualified seven times for the World Cup tournaments and reached as best ranks 3rd (1954), 4th (1934), 7th (1978) and 8th (1982)place. In 1936, Austria's amateur team won the silver medal in the Olympic football tournament in Berlin.Former Presidents
- Dr. Leo Windtner (28.02.2009 - present)
- Kurt Ehrenberger (07.11.2008 - 28.02.2009)
- DI Friedrich SticklerFriedrich SticklerFriedrich Stickler is the former president of Austrian Football Association and Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup, and Austrian Lotteries. He was also the chairman of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee before 2007....
(07.04.2002 - 07.11.2008) - Beppo Mauhart (00.00.1984 - 07.04.2002)
External links
- Austrian Football Association
- Austria at FIFA site
- Austria at UEFA site