President Gollowitzer:

“New era! Austria has come back to life”

In sporting terms, things are going well for the Veilchen this season with second place.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Austria president Kurt Gollowitzer talks at the training camp in Turkey about the challenging and important year, the stadium deal and Werner ...

The "Krone" reports from Belek.

Mr. Gollowitzer, last year was another turbulent one, how do you look back on it?
It was one of the most difficult years in Austria's history, also for me in my voluntary work. However, I am firmly convinced that it was the most important year for the continued existence of Austria in recent decades.

Liabilities were reduced to 55 million, and the debt cut at Bank Austria resulted in an annual profit of almost twelve million ...
The negative equity was greatly reduced, but the balance sheet profit is only reflected in the books, so liquidity is not automatically guaranteed.

The ball is now in the City of Vienna's court and the purchase of the Generali-Arena still has to be approved by the internal committees. The purchase price is 45 million euros, and Austria will pay two million euros a year in rent in Favoriten. How excited are you about the project?
At the end of the day, it's a win-win situation for everyone involved. Once the stadium deal has been completed, Austria will be back on a solid economic footing. We will then be in a position to reduce most of our liabilities. Operationally, however, we will of course have to operate positively in the future. Transfer income and reaching an international group stage are clearly very important factors in this respect. We need to improve our sponsorship income.

Home of the Veilchen: the Generali-Arena

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Once the stadium sale has finally gone through, then ...
 we have the opportunity to move into a secure future. Austria has come back to life, the new start has already begun in recent weeks, we are embarking on a new era, but remain humble because of the past.

The club was on the verge of "dying" financially, why did you still want to become president?
Because Austria is very important to me personally. I've been in office since May 2023 and it was inconceivable to me that the club would cease to exist at some point. Because every third apartment in Vienna has a purple jersey hanging in a cupboard. I was convinced that with the right people, hard work and a bit of luck, I would manage the 'turnaround'. My goal is to be able to hand over Austria to my successor in a renovated state and on a healthy footing.

The sale of the Generali-Arena marks the start of a new era for Austria. President Gollowitzer (right) looks forward to this during the "Krone" interview.

(Bild: Lukas Schneider)

The club will pay 7.5 million euros to buy back the shares held by investors "WTF", led by sporting director Jürgen Werner, with a payment deadline of the end of March or beginning of April. Does that take a load off your mind?
There has been a lot of discussion about my relationship with Werner, I make a very clear distinction between his role as an investor and as sporting director. I'm very good with Jürgen Werner as a person. A good solution was found for everyone involved. The investors are winners, but the club itself will also retain its independence in the future ...