At the press conference ahead of the European Championship play-off against Poland (today, 6.15pm), national team coach Irene Fuhrmann criticised the low level of fan interest in Austria. “We have to ask ourselves whether we did everything we could to promote the game properly” she said to the media.
Only 2,600 tickets have been sold so far (as of Monday) for the second leg against Poland, the first leg Austria lost 1:0. The Viola Park in Vienna has a capacity of over 17,500. By comparison, the match in Gdansk on Friday was watched by over 7,000 spectators.
Only the winner of the match still has a chance of qualifying for next year’s European Championship in Switzerland, which makes the spectator interest all the more incomprehensible.
Are the ÖFB women’s matches too expensive?
The past shows that Austria is generally in favour of women’s football. The Nations League match against France in September 2023 was watched by 10,000 spectators, a record fot the Women’s national team. However, apart from highlight matches, the ÖFB still seems to be struggling to fill the stadiums. Perhaps the ticket prices are a problem: if you want to see Puntigam, Zadrazil and co., you have to pay from EUR 16 (children from EUR 10) for a ticket, depending on the category.
Here, too, it is worth taking a look at neighbouring countries: at last Friday’s match between Switzerland and Germany in Zurich, children and young people were admitted to the stadium for CHF 12.80 (EUR 13.75), with children under the age of 6 even getting in for free.
Anyone wanting to watch the German national team against Italy on Monday could get a seated ticket for EUR 8 (children under 14), while standing tickets were available for the youngest fans for just EUR 6.
Fuhrmann’s statement before the start of the match certainly caused a stir. Viktoria Schnaderbeck, a long-time international player (83 caps) and current TV pundit, advertised the ticket sale on Instagram just a few hours before the start of the match.
Fuhrmann’s attention will perhaps drive ticket sales up a little more. However, the general problem in Austria seems to remain.
Photo: Tim Brünjes
