In terms of promoting talent, the general manager, Martin Scherb, sees a need to catch up, especially in the goalkeeper area. There, with Günter Kreissl as “Head of Goalkeeping”, the first pegs were hammered in. Project 12, which many prominent ÖFB footballers have gone through as an individual support program, has also “changed in a revolutionary way,” said Scherb. “The biggest lever there was that we designed the watering can system differently.” Isabel Hochstöger, head of the department for women’s and girls’ football, hopes to be able to use the European Championship in England in the summer as a catalyst. Currently, only seven percent of those active in Austria’s clubs are women. “We have not yet succeeded in significantly increasing this number.” In popular sports, the main focus is on keeping children involved in sports for longer, explained Stefan Gogg, who is responsible for this at the ÖFB.
