WAC votes twice

Strange! These clubs elect the KFV president

Have you ever heard of the Carinthian soccer club "Sevdah, Kunst, Kultur, Tradition"? Hardly. But as the competition for the presidency of the Carinthian Football Association enters the hot phase, things are getting really bizarre for the clubs that are (still) eligible to vote! It is also surprising that one club is even allowed to vote twice. . .

Martin Mutz versus Manfred Mertel - the Carinthian Football Association's presidential election is just around the corner and the election campaign is already in the hot phase. On March 15, a vote will be held at Lakeside Park in Klagenfurt to decide the future holder of the KFV throne. So who will be in charge for the next four years? The current interim boss Mutz or the only opposing candidate Mertel? A total of 173 clubs in Carinthia are allowed to vote on this very question. And that's where things start to get really bizarre. . .

Martin Mutz (right) is the current interim boss.(Bild: Kuess)

There are some real curiosities among the clubs eligible to vote: Such as the East Tyrolean club Union Anras (which only has an U13 team), FC Riegersdorf (which is new to the KFV, but only plays in a hobby league against FC Waldsiedlung & Co.) or Futsal Spittal, which does not appear in any championship. .

Manfred Mertel (left) is the only opponent.(Bild: Kuess)

However, the favorite club of the "Krone" sports editorial team is clearly "Sevdah Kunst, Kultur, Tradition". Which, in the person of chairman Mensur Imsirovic, is also allowed to march to the ballot box in all seriousness. A club that played one season of futsal in the Carinthian league in 2017/18, but since then has been as far removed from a soccer club as the sun is from the moon. "It's wrong that people like me are allowed to vote because they're too far away from the action," says Imsirovic himself. And he's right.

WAC can vote twice
Still not bizarre enough? Then let's continue! The WAC even has two votes. Once as a Bundesliga club and once as the so-called "WAC old" with chairman Jürgen Schratter! No well, a presidential candidate will be doubly pleased - fair is something else.

And even a traditional club suddenly comes back to life for a day: FC Kärnten! Which is why legendary official Joe Steindorfer has already duly registered as chairman for the AGM.

Why are so many "ghost" clubs allowed to vote at all? "Yes, it's something that needs to be changed in the long term," admits KFV managing director Richie Watzke. "But you need a separate general meeting for this - and this has always been neglected in recent decades. It's okay for clubs that have a new generation to vote. But it's rather pointless for clubs that have closed down." And Rangersdorf, Reißeck/Kolbnitz, St. Veit/Def, Steinfeld and Ulrichsberg still have such clubs.