Controversy about Corona grants: Pröll's challenger in the ÖFB!
Controversy about Corona grants: Pröll's challenger in the ÖFB!
On Sunday, May 15, 2025, Josef Pröll in Bregenz is to be elected as the new President of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB). At the same time, he will also take over the position of the chairman of the supervisory board. Pröll takes up his office in a tense situation, which is shaped by controversy around funding, which was shaped from the "NPO Fund Act" during the Corona pandemic. The discussions about the legality of these funds throw a shadow on Pröll's taking office.
Six of the nine regional associations of the ÖFB have received a total of almost 1.7 million euros in funding, which according to reports from the . The presidents of the state associations from Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Vorarlberg, Vienna and Lower Austria applied for these funds, while the associations from Tyrol, Salzburg and Upper Austria waived the financial aid. The latter do not want to "illegally" and instead support Ralf Rangnick, the team leader of the Austrian national team.
controversy about funding
The funds from the NPO fund should actually compensate for loss of revenue from non-profit organizations during pandemic. However, the affected state associations report that they did not suffer any financial losses during the Corona crisis. On the contrary, many could even save money. Tyrol's association president Josef Geisler as well as the presidents from Upper Austria and Salzburg also confirmed that their associations did not need help and did not appear with any scale.
The criticism is also directed against the external auditors, who allegedly worked negligently or inaccurate in the applications of the six associations. These allegations urgently must be informed by the state presidents and the auditors concerned in order to advance legal consequences and possible resignations. In this tense situation, Pröll is under enormous pressure as the new president before even taking office.
internal tensions in the ÖFB
The allegations regarding the unjustified funding could reveal internal conflicts within the ÖFB. While the presidents of the associations who applied for money benefit from the positive financial effects of Corona policy, the negative associations could find their procedures unethical. These tensions within the association could have a negative impact on cooperation in the Presidium, especially against the background of the current challenges.
In summary, the situation around the Corona funding is not only a challenge for the affected state associations, but also for the entire structure of the ÖFB, which could suffer from the tensions and the pressure caused by such undesirable developments. It remains to be seen how Pröll will tackle this situation and what consequences will result from the current allegations.| Details | |
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| Ort | Bregenz, Österreich |
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