“A slap in the face for all lower house clubs that work sustainably”

Will this decision open the door to an arms race in the amateur sector? Like the Lower Austrian football association, the one in Upper Austria is now suspending the association player regulations from the spring season. In other words: From now on there are no longer any restrictions for players who come to Austria from abroad.

This decision was preceded by a decision by the ÖFB’s appeals senate, which followed a complaint from the SKN St. Pölten and overturned a decision by the protest committee of the NÖFV without replacement. Since the association player regulations are identical in Upper Austria, one had to react to the decision of the ÖFB appeals senate. Until now, a maximum of two non-association players were allowed to be used. An infringement resulted in a 0-3 defeat at the green table. Association players are those kickers who have been registered with ÖFB clubs for at least four years or who have had their registered main residence in Austria for at least two years. Young players also counted as association players from the time they first registered in Austria.

“Maintaining the provision would not have been effective, as any sanction that would have been imposed against a violation would have been repealed by the ÖFB Appeals Senate at the latest. Nevertheless, we appeal to all clubs to continue to rely on their own talents instead of recruiting players from outside”says OÖFV director Raphael Koch.

“For every club that cares about young talent, repealing this regulation is a slap in the face”says Werner Sickinger, sports director of the district league team Hohenzell, to the point. His club is one of the model students in Upper Austria and practically only competes in the district league with players from its own ranks: “Now the door is open again for those who only see sporting success at any price. That’s not sustainable. We won’t leave our path anyway.”

Rider: reward instead of punishment

The OÖFV gaming operations commission has now been commissioned to develop alternative solutions for the future. Stefan Reiter, group chairman of the Upper Austrian League, could well imagine a reward system: “I have always been against regulations. I see it the other way around: those clubs that do good and sustainable youth work should be rewarded.” He does not believe that the arms race in the winter transition period will be further fueled by the abolition of the association player regulation: “Unfortunately, that exists anyway. I don’t see how this could make it any more.” After all: The self-made player regulation remains in place, so that at least six players with self-made player status per club (note: kickers who have played for the club for at least three years) must be nominated on the match report.