Solution is being sought

Carinthia’s talents are too expensive for the clubs

(Bild: F. Pessentheiner)

Training at the highest level! That's what the soccer academies of Austria Klagenfurt and WAC want to offer the local youngsters. And afterwards? Then it can be difficult to find a club. Because hardly any club can afford the transfer fees. . .

Young and good, but brutally expensive! These are the soccer academy graduates. On average, the talented players cost between 10,000 and 12,000 euros. "No club can afford that," sighs SAK General Secretary Silvester Kumer.

(Bild: Sobe Hermann)

The earlier a footballer starts playing sport, the more valuable he is. Because for every active year, up to the age of 28, there is a price premium! If a player wants to move to a regional league club after coming through the academy, they have to fork out around 12,000 euros (120%) for a permanent contract. In the league it is around 10,000, in the lower league 80%, in the 1st division 60% and in the 2nd division 40% of the fixed price.

Regional sports director Arno Arthofer.

(Bild: JOMO KG)

Parents buy the players out
Due to the insolvency of the new club, parents sometimes buy their children out of the contract themselves. The receiving club then pays the players back the transfer fee (over several years) in the form of salaries. "If a talented player transfers to the academy at the age of 13 or 14, the club receives around 500 euros. If you want to bring him back afterwards, you pay over 10,000. That defies all logic," Kumer is annoyed. "The legionnaires are cheaper. You get four from Slovenia. And that simply must not be the case. We need a regulation that Carinthian clubs have to pay less transfer fees for local academy players."

Provincial sports director intervenes
A problem that regional sports director Arno Arthofer is also aware of. "I'm on the side of the smaller clubs here. Something has to be done. A regulation can be written into the funding agreements between the state and the academy." However, this cannot be implemented until 2025/26 at the earliest, as the licenses for the coming season have already been issued. But there is also movement on the topic at a federal level. "We will be talking to all federal states and the ÖFB shortly," says Arthofer.