Before the start of training:

Altach coach anything but happy with league reform

The Altach girls start again today.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

A single goal against Vienna cost Altach's women their dream of qualifying for the Champions League last season. Today sees the start of preparations for the new season, in which everything is set to improve. So far, however, the Vorarlberg club has waited in vain for reinforcements - but there have already been some departures.

"We won't be having a familiarization week, we're going full throttle straight away," explained Berni Summer, coach of the Altach ladies ahead of today's training kick-off. But that's not necessary - no reinforcements have been officially announced following the departures of Rebecca Lins to Dornbirn and top scorer Linda Natter to Vienna.

However, it should be clear to everyone that the Rheindörflerinnen - who have also lost their team manager Oliver Jakob "in-house" to the men's team - will certainly not manage without new additions. Especially as the Admiral Women's Bundesliga begins for the Altach girls in 37 days' time with an away game in Bergheim and the first test against Grasshopper awaits this Saturday in Zurich.

Clear opinion
Either way, the new season will not be any easier for last season's third-placed team. "It's going to be brutally tight at the top," says Summer, who is anything but a fan of the league reform. In the 2024/25 season, the league will be split after 18 rounds. The top four will fight for the title in the champions' group without sharing points, but with a first and second round. The other six clubs will play against relegation in a first round.

"Hopefully we'll make it into the championship group, because the qualifying group is not very attractive," says Summer. "I would have liked a twelve-team league. The quality would certainly have been there, as you can see from the clubs like promoted LASK, who are pushing into the league."