Second division club St. Pölten

Caution is advised when looking for investors

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

One should not immediately paint the devil on the wall, but the past teaches SKN St. Pölten to thoroughly examine every possible source of money.

Those responsible at SKN St. Pölten are eagerly awaiting the finalization of the deal with the investor who - as the "Krone" reported in mid-March - is to be flushed to the Traisen through the mediation of player consultant Frank Schreier. In his role as external advisor to SKN, the Salzburg native had already put the cooperation with Wolfsburg on track three years ago, thus saving the club from going under, at least in the short term.

SKN president Helmut Schwarzl & Frank Schreier (right)

(Bild: Hannes Steiner)

The German Bundesliga club famously pulled out due to a lack of prospects, leaving the question of what St. Pölten could actually offer a partner. A beautiful stadium and a youth academy, neither of which belong to the club? Or the big chunk of negative equity? There are better forms of dowry.
Investors bring skeptics onto the scene
If the US investment group Athletic Ventures, which conducts its soccer business via the Australian-based "FC32" group, does indeed invest a few million in SKN, it will have to be creative to turn a profit at some point. The fact that the company wants to cooperate with a second division club from Austria, of all places, naturally raises skeptics. But no one can blame anyone. This is probably one of the reasons why the club's top management is still keeping a rather low profile. The sad drama between Vienna's Austria and the Insignia Group is still fresh in our minds. 
Just no new Benjamin!
But St. Pölten itself is also a burnt child. A certain Benjamin Englisch, whose real name was Abramovici, promised the club millions in 1999, which the fairy-tale uncle was able to record on prison walls shortly afterwards. SKN needs money, no question about it. But it is well advised to check everything twice and three times to avoid jeopardizing its existence.