Since the Second World War, the weakest attendance at an international match in Vienna where there were no capacity restrictions was 6,200 spectators on November 18, 1987 in the European Championship qualifier against Romania (0-0). As of Sunday afternoon, around 4,500 tickets have been sold for the game in the Prater.
After all, the all-time low mark for an international match without spectator restrictions is not undercut. On November 12 of the previous year, 1,800 fans came to the World Cup qualifying game Austria – Republic of Moldova (4:1) at the Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, although theoretically all of the almost 30,000 seats could have been allocated for this match. At that time, visitors had to comply with the 2G rule (vaccinated and/or recovered), this time there is neither a G rule nor an outdoor mask requirement.
Before Corona, 5,200 spectators on March 29, 1995 in the European Championship qualifier in Salzburg against Latvia (5-0) meant the minus record in an ÖFB compulsory game in their own country after 1945. Another 100 spectators fewer came a year later, on March 29 May 1996, for a friendly match against the Czech Republic (1:0), also in what was then the Lehen stadium. Until the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the 5,100 people were the smallest attendance of all ÖFB men’s international matches in Austria after the Second World War.
Ghost games were on the program during the pandemic. At the test match on October 7, 2020 in Klagenfurt against Greece (2: 1), according to official regulations, 3,000 spectators were allowed, but only 1,500 came. However, the 3,000 visitors allowed were exhausted at the EM dress rehearsal on June 6, 2021 against Slovakia (0-0) in Vienna. The best-attended ÖFB home games were comparisons with Spain (3-0 on October 30, 1960) and England (3-1 on May 27, 1961). In both games, the official number of spectators in Vienna’s Prater Stadium was 90,726.
Source: Nachrichten
