Grief for football legend Leo Windtner: A life for sport!

Grief for football legend Leo Windtner: A life for sport!

Sankt Florian, Österreich - Leo Windtner, long-time president of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), died on August 8, 2025 at the age of 74. From 2009 to 2021 he headed the ÖFB and leaves a significant legacy in Austrian football. Under its leadership, the women's national team reached the 2017 European Championship semi-final, while the men's national team reached the UEFA euro round of 16 in 2020. This testifies to its ability to advance and promote both men's and women's football, which is of great importance in a traditional sport and football.

Windtner set important accents in the development of women's football and social integration. He believed that football was more than just a sport. His motto "more than sport" reflects his conviction that football is to be understood as a social factor and connecting element. This view could be particularly relevant in view of the challenges that women's football still faces, like low salaries and prejudices against players who often have to exercise a second job.

Contribution to the development of football

Windtner, who was born on August 30, 1950, was not only active in football. In addition to his function in the ÖFB, he also worked as General Manager of Energie AG Upper Austria. His career in the company began in 1978 and he rose quickly until he became CEO in 1994. From 1989 to 1996 Windtner also held the Presidium of the Sport Union Upper Austria and was President of the Upper Austrian Football Association until 2009. His extensive experience and commitment finally made him President of the ÖFB in 2009 after the previous incumbent, Friedrich Stickler, stepped down.

After retiring in autumn 2021, Windtner remained connected to football as honorary president and was still actively in the development of sport. In March 2023, the same celebration of the ÖFB campus took place in Vienna Aspern, in which Windtner was present as a guest of honor. This shows that even after his active career, he was ready to invest his time and energy in the future development of football in Austria.

women's football and its challenges

The importance of Windtner's work in women's football is particularly evident against the background of the current challenges that this area faces. With the upswing of women's football worldwide, there are many players who still do not receive the same recognition as their male colleagues due to salary differences and prejudices. The average salary of a football player in the Austrian Bundesliga is around 600 euros gross, while men earn over 8,000 euros.

The Austrian women, however, had remarkable successes, so they made it into the quarter -finals of the European Championship in 2022. Players like Manuela Zinsberger, who is considered the best goalkeeper, and Sarah Puntigam, who is a record national player, are sending a sign of the future of women's football in Austria.

More about Leo Windtner and his numerous achievements you can in the reports from click Carinthia , the detailed biography on wikipedia and the context about women's football on read new time