Austrian Football Bundesliga

Austrian Football Bundesliga

Founded	1974
Country	Austria
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Austrian Football First League
Domestic cup(s)	Austrian Cup Austrian Supercup
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	Red Bull Salzburg (11th title) (2016–17)
Most championships	Rapid Wien (32 titles)
TV partners	ORF, Sky Sport Austria
Website	www.bundesliga.at
2017–18 season

The Austrian Football Bundesliga (German: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga [ˈøːstɐʁaɪ̯çɪʃə ˈfuːsbal ˈbʊndəsliːɡa], Austrian Football Federal League) is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA. Since Austria stayed in sixteenth place in the UEFA association coefficient rankings at the end of the 2015–16 season,^[1] the league gained its first spot for the UEFA Champions League.

The Austrian Bundesliga, which began in the 1974–75 season, has been a separate registered association since 1 December 1991. It has been most won by the two Viennese giants Austria Wien, who were national champions 23 times, and Rapid Wien, who won the national title 32 times. The current champions are Red Bull Salzburg. Hans Rinner is president of the Austrian Bundesliga.

The Austrian Football Bundesliga is currently known as tipico Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons.

History

1900–1938

Football has been played in Austria since around 1890. Around the turn of the twentieth century two attempts were made to start a national championship. From 1900 onwards, a cup competition was played in Vienna, the Neues Wiener Tagblatt Pokal. This cup was actually played in league format.^[2]

The efforts to create a football league succeeded in 1911, with the introduction of the first Austrian football championship. The competition for this championship, the 1. Klasse (First Class), was created and organized by the Niederösterreichischer Fußball-Verband (the Lower Austrian Football Federation), and the participants played for the title of Niederösterreichische Landesmeister (Lower Austrian National Champion). From 1924, the league was considered professional and changed its name to I. Liga (First League).^[3]

In 1929, an all-Austrian amateur championship was first played, won by Grazer AK. Clubs from the professional league in Vienna were not part of this competition.^[4] Teams from the other states of Austria were first allowed to join the highest division with the introduction of the Nationalliga (National League) in the season of 1937–38.^[5]

In 1941 Rapid Wien won the German championship final against Schalke 04 with 4–3

1938–1945

Austria's annexation by Germany in 1938 brought the Austrian Nationalliga to an early end. Numerous teams were disbanded and some players fled out of the country. The Austrian Nationalliga was integrated into the system of the NSRL, the Sports office of the Third Reich as the Gau XVII section under Gaufachwart Hans Janisch. Despised by Nazis as unworthy of a true German, professionalism in sports was outlawed in May 1938. "Innovations" like the Hitler salute were introduced as compulsory before and after every game. Teams, like Hakoah Wien were banned and others, like Austria Wien were first closed and then renamed. Finally, the operation of the junior teams was handed over to the local Hitlerjugend units.^[6]

The new highest league in what had been Austria, the Gauliga Ostmark, was an amateur league and covered the whole of the former country except Tyrol and Vorarlberg, which were added to the Bavarian league system.^[7] The league champions now qualified for the German football championship, which Rapid Wien won in 1941. From 1941, the league was renamed Gauliga Donau-Alpenland to further eradicate the memory of Austria as an independent country.

Following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II and the disbandment of the NSRL, Austria's teams were excluded again from the German league.

1945–1974

The league returned to a Vienna-only format in 1945, briefly named 1. Klasse once more before changing to just Liga in 1946.

Only upon the introduction of the all-Austrian Staatsliga A in 1949 did teams from the whole federal territory finally play for the Austrian Championship. However, the road to organising the Staatsliga proved difficult. A conflict between the representatives of the amateur and the professional aspects of the sport led to the separation of the Viennese league from the football federation, and to the establishment of its own competition on 30 June 1949. At the statutory Presidential Election Council of the Austrian Football Association only a few days later a surprising turn took place – upon the request of Lower Austria, the introduction of the Staatsliga was finally and unanimously confirmed. The organization was in the hands of the Fußballstaatsliga Österreich, created for this purpose.^[8] A Staatsliga B, the second division of national league football, was formed in 1950. This league, however, was disbanded again in 1959, whereby the Staatsliga A dropped the A from its name, the need for differentiating having been gone.^[9]

In 1965, however, the Austrian Football Association again took over the organization of the top division, with the (second) introduction of the Nationalliga.^[10]

On 21 April 1974, against the vote of the Vorarlberg association, the introduction of the Bundesliga was decided. The Nationalliga remained as the second division, for now.^[11]

Gerhard-Hanappi-Stadion, Rapid Wien

UPC-Arena, Sturm Graz

Generali Arena, Austria Wien

Red Bull Arena, FC Salzburg

1974 to current

In the 1974–75 season the Bundesliga was introduced which, still led by the Austrian Football Association, aligned both of the highest divisions in Austria. In 1976, the Nationalliga was renamed to Bundesliga – Second Division while the Bundesliga was now called Bundesliga – First Division.^[12]

From 1974 to 1982 the league operated with ten clubs with each club playing the other four times during the season. From 1982 to 1985 it played with sixteen clubs with each club playing the others twice. The league's modus was changed in 1985 to a twelve team league which played a home -and away round in autumn. The top eight clubs then advanced to the championship round (Officially: Oberes Play-off) who again played each other twice. The bottom four of the autumn round played the top four of the First League to determine the four teams to play in the Bundesliga in the following season. This modus was used for the next eight seasons until 1993 when the league returned to the ten team format it originally operated in.^[13]

26 years after dissolution of the independent Staatsliga on 17 November 1991, the Austrian Football Bundesliga was reconstituted as a federation and admitted on 1 December 1991 to the Austrian Football Association as its 10th member.

Tasks and legal form

Since 1991 the Bundesliga has carried its own responsibility as a separate association, and organises the championships of the two highest divisions in Austria. Both are named after their sponsors; at present the Bundesliga is named after T-Mobile and Tipp3. The "Erste Liga" is sponsored by Sky Go and is called "Sky Go Erste Liga". In addition the Bundesliga is responsible for the Toto Jugendliga, leagues for under 15/17/19 Teams of professional Clubs and academies. The Bundesliga also represents professional football in Austria, in co-operation with the football clubs themselves.

The Bundesliga is legally a non-profit organisation. The twenty-two teams of the T-Mobile Bundesliga and the Red Zac first division constitute the members of the Bundesliga. The Bundesliga is represented by an acting executive committee, which supports a supervisory board. Each association of the two professional leagues is represented in presidential conferences; these have advisory function in all affairs concerning the Bundesliga.

Scopes of responsibility of the senates

The 'senates' are organising committees which consist of honorary and committee-members independent of the clubs. The first senate is responsible for suspensions and for the running of championship games. The second senate functions as an arbitration board for financial disagreements, the third senate is responsible for all financial concerns and the fourth senate is the panel of referees for the Bundesliga.

The evaluation of a club's economic competency which is required in order to obtain a playing license for the two professional leagues takes place at the fifth senate, the Bundesliga license committee.

Objectives

The Austrian Bundesliga carries the obligation for a positive development of football as a sport at the élite level, as well as for the advancement of the next generation of players in co-operation with the teams at the junior levels of the sport. To accomplish this, the Bundesliga requires economic audits of the teams, the introduction of laws particular to professional football, TV marketing, centralised sponsorship and collective marketing for all teams.

Tipp 3 Bundesliga

In the Tipp 3 Bundesliga, 10 teams play a "double championship" with each team playing every other twice at home and twice away during a championship year which is divided into an autumn and a spring season. The season typically lasts from July to June of the following year. At the end of the season, the team finishing in last place in the table is relegated to the ADEG Erste Liga, the champion of which is promoted to the Tipp 3 Bundesliga.

Member clubs for the 2016–17 season

The Bundesliga champion qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, and the clubs at positions 2 and 3, as well as the Austrian Cup winner, enter the qualification rounds for the UEFA Europa League. In the event that the Bundesliga champion is also the Austrian Cup winner, the fourth placed team enters the UEFA Europa League.

Admira

Austria

Graz

St. Pölten

Rapid

Ried

Salzburg

Mattersburg

Wolfsberg

Altach

Location of teams in the 2016–17 Austrian Football Bundesliga

List of champions

Performance

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Seasons
Rapid Wien	32	26	1911–12, 1912–13, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1995–96, 2004–05, 2007–08
Austria Wien	24	19	1923–24, 1925–26, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2012–13
Red Bull Salzburg	11	7	1993–94, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
Wacker Innsbruck (5) (4) Swarovski Tirol (2) (1) Tirol Innsbruck (3) (–)	10	5	1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02
SK Admira Wien (8) (5) SC Wacker Wien (1) (7) Admira Wacker Wien (–) (1) *	9	13	1926–27, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1965–66
First Vienna	6	6	1930–31, 1932–33, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1943–44, 1954–55
Wiener SK	3	7	1921–22, 1957–58, 1958–59
Sturm Graz	3	5	1997–98, 1998–99, 2010–11
Floridsdorfer AC	1	3	1917–18
Wiener AF	1	2	1913–14
VÖEST Linz	1	2	1973–74
Grazer AK	1	2	2003–04
Wiener AC	1	1	1914–15
Hakoah Vienna	1	1	1924–25
LASK Linz	1	1	1964–65
SpC Rudolfshügel	–	1	–
Brigittenauer AC	–	1	–
FC Wien	–	1	–
SV Ried	–	1	–

Notes:

• All teams are defunct clubs from Innsbruck, Tirol. Wacker Innsbruck (1915–99), Swarovski Tirol (1986–92) and Tirol Innsbruck (1993–02). They are considered to be the continuation of the each other.
• The Red Bull company bought the club on 6 April 2005 and rebranded it. Prior 2005 the team was known as SV Austria Salzburg or Casino Salzburg. They also changed the colours from white-violet in red-white. The Violet-Whites ultimately formed a new club, Austria Salzburg.
• * Admira Wacker Mödling was formed after the merger of SK Admira Wien and SC Wacker Wien in 1971, under the name of Admira Wacker Wien, the merge with VfB Mödling in 1997 and the merge with SK Schwadorf in 2008. The new team play in Mödling.

Performance by city

City	Clubs	Winners	Runners-up
Vienna	Rapid Wien (32) (26), Austria Wien (24) (18), First Vienna (6) (6), Wiener SK (3) (7), Floridsdorfer AC (1) (3), Wiener AF (1) (2), Wiener AC (1) (1), Hakoah Vienna (1) (1), SpC Rudolfshügel (–) (1), Brigittenauer AC (–) (1), FC Wien (–) (1)	69	67
Salzburg	Red Bull Salzburg (10) (7)	10	7
Innsbruck	Wacker Innsbruck (5) (4), Swarovski Tirol (2) (1), Tirol Innsbruck (3) (–)	10	5
Mödling	SK Admira Wien (8) (5), SC Wacker Wien (1) (7), Admira Wacker Wien (–) (1) *	9	13
Graz	Sturm Graz (3) (5), Grazer AK (1) (2)	4	7
Linz	VÖEST Linz (1) (2), LASK Linz (1) (1)	2	3
Ried im Innkreis	SV Ried (–) (1)	–	1

Top Scorers in Bundesliga

Season Player Goals Club 1974–75 Helmut Köglberger 22 LASK Linz 1975–76 Johann Pirkner 21 Austria Wien 1976–77 Hans Krankl 32 Rapid Wien 1977–78 Hans Krankl 41 Rapid Wien 1978–79 Walter Schachner 24 Austria Wien 1979–80 Walter Schachner 34 Austria Wien 1980–81 Gernot Jurtin 20 Sturm Graz 1981–82 Božo Bakota 24 Sturm Graz 1982–83 Hans Krankl 23 Rapid Wien 1983–84 Tibor Nyilasi 26 Austria Wien 1984–85 Toni Polster 24 Austria Wien 1985–86 Toni Polster 33 Austria Wien 1986–87 Toni Polster 39 Austria Wien 1987–88 Zoran Stojadinović 27 Rapid Wien 1988–89 Peter Pacult 26 Swarovski Tirol 1989–90 Gerhard Rodax 35 Admira Wacker 1990–91 Václav Daněk 29 Swarovski Tirol 1991–92 Christoph Westerthaler 17 Swarovski Tirol 1992–93 Václav Daněk 24 Tirol Innsbruck 1993–94 Nikola Jurčević Heimo Pfeifenberger 14 SV Salzburg SV Salzburg 1994–95 Souleyman Sané 20 Tirol Innsbruck 1995–96 Ivica Vastić 22 Sturm Graz

Season Player Goals Club 1996–97 René Wagner 21 Rapid Wien 1997–98 Geir Frigård 23 LASK Linz 1998–99 Eduard Glieder 22 SV Salzburg 1999–00 Ivica Vastić 32 Sturm Graz 2000–01 Radosław Gilewicz 22 Tirol Innsbruck 2001–02 Ronald Brunmayr 27 Grazer AK 2002–03 Axel Lawarée 21 Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz 2003–04 Roland Kollmann 27 Grazer AK 2004–05 Christian Mayrleb 21 SV Pasching 2005–06 Sanel Kuljić Roland Linz 15 SV Ried Austria Wien 2006–07 Alexander Zickler 22 Red Bull Salzburg 2007–08 Alexander Zickler 16 Red Bull Salzburg 2008–09 Marc Janko 39 Red Bull Salzburg 2009–10 Steffen Hofmann 20 Rapid Wien 2010–11 Roland Linz Roman Kienast 21 Austria Wien Sturm Graz 2011–12 Jakob Jantscher Stefan Maierhofer 14 Red Bull Salzburg 2012–13 Philipp Hosiner 32 Austria Wien 2013–14 Jonathan Soriano 31 Red Bull Salzburg 2014–15 Jonathan Soriano 31 Red Bull Salzburg 2015–16 Jonathan Soriano 21 Red Bull Salzburg

All-time top scorers

As of matches played 14 April 2017.^[14]

Rank	Name	Club	Years	Goals	Apps	Ratio
1	Hans Krankl	Rapid Wien, Wiener SK & First Vienna	1970–89	270	361	0.75
2	Ivica Vastić	Sturm Graz, Austria Wien, FC Admira Wacker, LASK Linz, VSE St. Pölten & First Vienna	1991–09	187	441	0.42
3	Peter Pacult	Rapid Wien, FC Wacker Innsbruck, Austria Wien, Wiener SK & Blau-Weiß Linz	1980–96	186	396	0.47
4	Christian Mayrleb	FC Wacker Innsbruck, Austria Wien, FC Admira Wacker, LASK Linz, Austria Salzburg & SV Pasching	1992–06	186	494	0.38
5	Alfred Drabitz	Austria Wien, Wiener SK & First Vienna	1978–91	155	365	0.42
6	Mario Haas	Sturm Graz	1992–12	145	451	0.32
7	Christoph Westerthaler	FC Wacker Innsbruck, LASK Linz & SK Vorwärts Steyr	1983–97	131	378	0.35
8	Christian Keglevits	Rapid Wien, LASK Linz, Austria Salzburg & Wiener SK	1979–93	129	405	0.32
9	Walter Knaller	FC Admira Wacker & Blau-Weiß Linz	1980–92	127	333	0.38
10	Toni Polster	Austria Wien & FC Salzburg	1982–00	122	158	0.77
11	Jonathan Soriano	FC Salzburg	2012–17	120	144	0.83

• Bold denotes players still playing in Bundesliga.

See also

• Football in Austria
• Austrian Cup
• Gauliga Ostmark – the highest division in Austria from 1938 to 1945

References

External links

• Bundesliga site (in German)
• OEFB (in English)
• League321.com - Austrian football league tables, records & statistics database. (in English)
• Austria - List of Champions, RSSSF.com

Football in Austria
Austrian Football Association
League competitions	men: Bundesliga First League Regional League East Central West Landesliga 2. Landesliga women: ÖFB-Frauenliga
Cup competitions	Austrian Cup Austrian Supercup Ladies Cup Lower Austrian Football Cup
National teams	Men Women U-21 U-19 U-17
Regional associations	Burgenland Football Association Lower Austrian Football Association Upper Austrian Football Association Salzburg Football Association Styria Football Association Tirol Football Association Vorarlberg Football Association Vienna Football Association
Lists and categories	Clubs Players Stadiums Champions
Austrian Football Association