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Revolution in football: Regional league reform brings big changes!
The article highlights the reform of the regional league in Austria, which is planned from the 2026/27 season, including new structures and promotion conditions.
Revolution in football: Regional league reform brings big changes!
The reform process of the regional league, initiated by the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), is taking concrete shape. How 90minuten.at reports, it was in particular the ex-president Klaus Mitterdorfer who is seen as the trigger for the changes. While there have been no significant changes since the 2018/19 league reform until 2024, a fundamental restructuring is now imminent.
From the 2026/27 season there will no longer be any direct promotion teams to the 2nd league, which represents a significant change in Austria's football pyramid. This decision is part of a comprehensive proposal developed by an ÖFB working group and should be finally decided in spring 2025 sn.at communicates.
Details on the regional league reform
As a first step, the Eastern League, consisting of Vienna, Burgenland and Lower Austria, will be retained. The remaining federal states are to play in their own federal states in a newly designed structure both in the fall and partly in the spring. Afterwards, encounters with teams from other federal states are planned. The best teams from Salzburg will compete against each other in the spring, creating exciting competition. Vorarlberg and Tyrol, as well as Carinthia and Styria, form the other leagues.
A central goal of the reform is to minimize the differences in performance levels between the leagues. Kreissl, an expert in this field, points out that the large differences in levels reduce the overall quality of football in Austria. The regional league is currently struggling with challenges that result, among other things, from the relatively high number of clubs compared to other European countries. Compared to its population, Austria has a high number of clubs in the top four divisions, a total of 215. For comparison: England has 92, Germany 146 and Denmark only 48 clubs.
| country | Number of clubs |
|---|---|
| Austria | 215 |
| England | 92 |
| Germany | 146 |
| Denmark | 48 |
| Switzerland | 88 |
| Belgium | 110 |
Impact and next steps
The number of teams in each competition is currently unclear. However, a precise reform plan will be drawn up in the next few weeks. The working group, which met in the summer, has met monthly since August 1, 2024 to discuss the various aspects of the reform. It is important that all those involved, including the federal state representatives and representatives of the ÖFB and the Bundesliga, continue to work closely together until the final decision is made in spring 2025.
The reform is necessary to raise football in Austria to a new level and to make match results sustainable. The current structures, which combine a large number of clubs and a wide range of performance levels, need to be made more efficient and competitive.
The Austrian football league system is organized hierarchically and includes different levels, ranging from the Bundesliga to regional amateur leagues. The federal structure of the league organization and the commitment of the ÖFB, as in Wikipedia set out, support the continuous development of Austrian football and ensure that both amateur and professional top support remains guaranteed.