By Lex Sailer
The Austria women’s national team failed to qualify for the 2025 Euros, on the same day that the Austrian news outlet ORF claimed a club official in Dornbirn (Vorarlberg) threatened players of the country’s Frauen Bundesliga with a firearm right before a game. Is it even possible to talk about ‘standards’ for Austrian internationals when basic safety and respect are failed in the domestic league?
After a 2-0 aggregate loss to Poland in the two-legged qualification play-off, Austrian head coach Irene Fuhrmann reflected on both the lack of quality in the performance of her team, and the structures within the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB).
“From nothing will come nothing. We are one of the last nations to only have two junior teams, which do not have any professional structures in between camps; more ‘manpower’ is needed.
“Given our resources, we have selectively achieved success. Women’s football develops extremely fast and we must step up to keep up.
“Now is the time to decide whether we should invest, in order to regain success.”
Earlier this year, Austria twice played against Poland in the qualification’s group stage; both games, in April and May, ended 3-1 in their favour. Austria are currently ranked 9th in Europe, while Poland are 32nd. We are not looking at a simple lack of quality or talent: Austria’s squad holds names such as Sarah Zadrazil (Bayern München), Laura Wienroither, Manuela Zinsberger (both Arsenal), Marie Höbinger (Liverpool), and Barbara Dunst (Eintracht Frankfurt). Just a few weeks ago, Austria’s 18-year-old Valentina Mädl (SKN St. Pölten) scored against current Champions League holders FC Barcelona in front of a record crowd.
In the 2017 Euros, Austria knocked out Spain in the quarter-finals before losing to Denmark in the semis on penalties. Five years later in England, they reached the last eight, ultimately falling short to Germany. Now the team has neither qualified for the World Cup in 2023 nor the upcoming Euros. The lack of consistency and the failure to build on recent achievements are obvious, but who is to blame?
Frauen Bundesliga players threatened with firearm by club official
Almost ironically, on 3rd December – the same day that the ÖFB-team missed out on a ticket to next summer’s tournament – Austrian news outlet ORF Vorarlberg and other local media published reports of a club official of the syndicate (a team comprising players from two separate clubs) FC Lustenau / FC Dornbirn allegedly threatening players with a firearm in the changing room right before a league game. He had supposedly also laid out cartridges on a table and invited them to a bet: if the game was lost, the players were to pay 500€ each.
Some players involved have reportedly already left the club, and Wolfgang Ties (SPG Ladies FC Dornbirn / FC Lustenau) confirmed that five players have terminated their contracts. According to chairman Gerhard Ölz, the responsible club official has been dismissed from his position. In their official statement, they condemn any form of psychological violence. Despite the events and multiple absences, the team played their scheduled league game on Sunday December 8th against FC Blau-Weiß Linz / Kleinmünchen. There are ongoing police investigations.
Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, the incident has barely made any local, let alone international, news. Public response is confined to little outrage on X (formerly Twitter) and sexist Instagram comments such as: “They probably think a nail file is a weapon.” Arguably, the incident itself, but much more the almost non-existent public response, represents everything within women’s football in Austria that must improve; lack of engagement, and subsequently, care, is the norm.
Women’s football ‘standards’ in Austria
Until the Champions League clash between St. Pölten and Barcelona on 21st November broke it, third-division team SK Rapid Frauen held an attendance record of around 7,300 for a club game in Austria, for a friendly against FC Nürnberg’s Under-20s. Attendance for the play-off against Poland in Vienna was roughly 3,200. The crowd for the first leg in Gdansk a few days earlier was more than double that number, at around 8,000. For further comparison, Portugal and Czech Republic’s play-off in Porto held a crowd of 40,189, while England’s friendly against the USA that same weekend saw 78,346. When measured against other international women’s teams, the fan engagement in Austria, specifically for the women’s national team, is massively lagging behind. Games broadcasted on channels like ORF Sport, such as last season’s friendly against England in Marbella, are commentated on by people who sound like they are about to fall asleep and cannot pronounce household women’s football names – Euro winners, World Cup silver medalists and Champions League players – correctly. The Frauen Bundesliga title holders St. Pölten travelled to Barcelona earlier this season to play their Champions League group game with only four substitutes.
ÖFB needs to seriously question what is going wrong
Without question, there are multiple factors that play into the Austria team’s underperformance in the qualification for the Euros. However, the lack of investment by the ÖFB is evident, as otherwise, a team that in recent years did considerably well in major tournaments would not have had to compete in play-offs in the first place. The incident in Dornbirn shows once again how little player welfare and league standards are talked about in Austrian sports media, as well as highlighting the lack of pressure on decision-makers. It is another brutal reminder of insufficient effort to popularise the women’s game domestically. If this had happened at a mid-table club in England’s WSL, the public response would be a different one. Basic safety and respect should be a given before we can even talk about setting standards. We cannot expect our women’s team to get results internationally if we cannot keep up with the structural quality of female-football leagues and support by the association, as it is – at least to some degree – evident in other countries.
ÖFB sporting director Peter Schöttel reacted to Fuhrmann’s critique of the association’s structures by saying it should be regarded with nuance. He does support her statement of two junior teams not being sufficient and also claims that the association has invested a lot over recent years, and that certain processes simply take long. Furthermore, he states that there will have to be discussions in a comfortable environment away from the public, and that Irene Fuhrmann continues to have his full trust. If the processes mentioned take so long, why does a country (Spain) that the Austrian team went head to head with just a few years ago now hold World Cup gold, while Austria fails to qualify for the Euros?
The ÖFB must seriously question what has and continues to go wrong in domestic women’s football. Fans should not be ‘disappointed’, they should be outraged.
