Many innovations

Reform! This is what Carinthian soccer will look like from 2025

(Bild: Sobe)

It's fixed now! From the 2025/26 season, there will be three lower leagues in the Carinthian lower house. The 1st divisions will be condensed. Furthermore, Carinthian league and lower league clubs will be merged into one challenge team. 

As "Krone" readers already knew, a major reform is due to take place in the Carinthian lower soccer league in the 2025/26 season. The lower division will be increased to three leagues - and the middle division will be introduced. The lower leagues will be home to a total of 44 teams. In the 1st division, there will only be three leagues with 44 teams. The constellation in the 2nd division is still unclear - this depends on how many 1b teams there will be in the coming seasons.

U20+6 teams will be mandatory
From 2025/26, Carinthian League clubs will also be required to field an U20+6 team (six players may be older), which will compete against each other in a separate Challenge competition. Lower league clubs will also be able to field more than six older players - although this will no longer be a junior team.

Changes are also being made to the youth system
Starting in the fall, clubs in the Carinthian league will have to field at least four youth teams - in the lower leagues it will have to be three. The question is what the sanctions will be if this is not feasible. As things stand, some clubs do not meet this requirement. From the 2025/26 season, there will be a switch to the U12, U14 and U16 age groups. The previous U17 competition will be discontinued.