St. Pölten's Francis:

“I’m certainly not a normal investor”

SKN investor Paul Francis(Bild: Chris Thor)

His investment in second division club St. Pölten has been the subject of much discussion - now Australian financier Paul Francis has answered questions from the "Krone" newspaper. The 49-year-old wants to "get everyone on board" at the Traisen in future.

The transfer agreement will be signed at the end of June, when Paul Francis will officially become the new investor in second division club St. Pölten with a 49% stake. In the background, the Australian has long since shown his colors at the Traisen. Of course, after Wolfsburg's exit, the fear of a new fiasco is great among managers and fans. "With every change there is uncertainty. We don't want to change everything here, we want to help develop things," Francis assures the "Krone" during the site inspection. The 49-year-old is the CEO of the FC-32 Group, which will present further clubs in the coming months.

Paul Francis (right) in conversation with the "Krone".(Bild: Chris Thor)

"I'm certainly not a normal investor, I don't have a background in banking, I come from sport." Francis worked in management for Adidas and Nike and later worked as a performance consultant in the NFL and for various soccer clubs. "We have our own philosophy, we want to play attacking soccer." Aleksandar Gitsov is to get the club back on track and was confirmed as coach yesterday.

Gitsov is different
"We scouted all over Europe," says Francis, "he has approaches that others don't have and can get the maximum out of the players." Who sold themselves short last season. "The team is good, had a lot of bad luck with injuries," says Francis, who is well prepared for the new season. "But I'm not going to talk up any targets. This is a long-term project, we trust in the process."

Here to stay: Paul Francis.(Bild: Chris Thor)

And in the long term? "We can become a top 5 club in Austria." The long-suffering fans are happy to hear that. "It shouldn't be the case that our home games feel like away games," he says, referring to the low stadium capacity. "We're looking at how we can help the fan club and are now getting everyone on board!" This also applies to the SKN women, who will now also play their home games in the NV-Arena.