Future of Carinthian Football: Talent promotion needs new ways!

Future of Carinthian Football: Talent promotion needs new ways!

Carinthia faces a fundamental change in football. The country is investing around one million euros annually in the young academies of WAC and Austria Klagenfurt, but this generous funding could soon be on the brink. State sports director Arno Arthofer once again made it clear that given the low success rate of only one percent of the academy players who get into professional football, a rethink was necessary. In the current discussion about the future of promoting young talent, considerations to merge the two academies were also made. For example, the clubs also have to keep an eye on the financial burdens of other sports, as kaernten.orf reported.

The logistics of the academies are also complex. WAC academy manager Walter Kogler expressed that her players often have to take long distances to St. Veit, which makes the organization and lessons even more difficult. This is not an ideal environment for the promising talents of the region. The main concern of those responsible is to improve the training and at the same time strengthen youth loyalty to football in Carinthia. Robert Micheu, head of the Austria Klagenfurt Academy, hopes for a paradigm shift in the professional area to give the talents more chances before "a foreigner is bought", as he says. The only solution seems to be the closer cooperation of all participating institutions to tackle the challenges of football in Carinthia, to introduce scientifically well -founded concepts and to promote training for girls, as Martin Mutz, President of the Carinthian Football Association, explained.

tradition and change

The tradition of Carinthian football goes far back: With the founding of the 1st Football Club Klagenfurt in 1909, everything started, and today the view of over a hundred years of club history, including the naturally success and challenges. The Bundesliga, in which the Wolfsberger AC (WAC) has established itself as a figurehead, has changed football in this region sustainably. The rise of the WAC was a "high altitude", while Austria Klagenfurt even won the ÖFB Cup in 2001. In recent years, however, the focus has increased more and more on the development of young talent to ensure that Carinthia will continue to play an important role in Austrian football, such as Notice.