The Styria Football Association (, StFV) is the umbrella organization of the football clubs of the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. The StFV was founded in 1911 and has its headquarters in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. The StFV is one of 8 regional organizations of the

Austrian Football Association The Austrian Football Association (; ÖFB) is the governing body of football in Austria. It organises the football league, Austrian Bundesliga, the Austrian Cup and the Austria national football team, as well as its female equivalent. It is b ...

(, ÖFB). In 2015, StFV had 137,904 members from 335 football clubs with 2,293 teams.

History

The time before the establishment of the Styria Football Association

1893 Georg-August Wagner of Graz, brought the sport of football from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He was able to quickly inspire students about this new sport. Just one year later, the first football division of the ATRV Graz was founded in Styria. The first football league game between two teams of the ATRV was played on March 18, 1894, in Graz. On October 31, 1895, a game between 1894 founded

First Vienna FC First Vienna FC is an Austrian football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly known to Aust ...

and a team of Graz ATRV took place, in which Vienna took the win 5–0. In 1900, the Graz SV was founded and in 1902 the

Grazer AK Grazer Athletiksport Klub (; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section was once among Austria's most popular clubs, enjoying s ...

(GAK). The later important Grazer Sportklub "Sturm" (Storm) – which is better known today as the

SK Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

– was founded in 1909. The first significant competition in Styria, in 1907, was won by

Wiener Sport-Club The Wiener Sport-Club, sometimes abbreviated as WSC, was established in 1883 in Vienna, Austria and is one of the country's oldest athletics clubs. Their traditional home is in the Dornbach quarter of the city ( 17th district). History At vari ...

by a Final victory in the "Herbstmesse-Pokal" (Autumn Fair Cup) over the GAK. The ''Deutsch-Alpenländische Fußball-Verband'' (German-Alpine Football Association) was founded as one of the five sub-organizations of the

. However, it was the only association that could not organize a championship for the teams of

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, the littoral,

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

and

Founding and first year

In May 1921 the ''Deutsch-Alpenländische Fußball-Verband'' broke up. After the Carinthian clubs left, only the Styrian teams remained and the Styrian Football Association was founded. The first records of the Styrian Championships, which were recorded as of 1921, was the Amateur Championship of Austria through the GAK in 1929, 1932 and 1933. In 1934, the

won. 1937 the professional team

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

took the win over the selected Styrian Football Association team with a score of 4–2. 1947 was the first decision to make a total Austrian Cup competition, then in 1949 the

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

were established with an A and B league. This first championship was won by

FK Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German language in Europe, German-speaking countries, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vi ...

. The first Styrian participants, the SK Sturm Graz, placed 10th.

Success of the Styrian Clubs in Professional Football

In 1955 the Steiermark attained a one time record: Playing in the A League was the SK Sturm Graz, the Grazer AK, the

Kapfenberger SV Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg, Styria. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and were promoted to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The nam ...

and ESV Austria Graz four Styrian teams. In 1959 the B League was disbanded and replaced by the Regionalliga Mitte. In 1962 the GAK managed as the first Austrian club outside Vienna to participate in the European Cup. In 1974, the new Zehnerliga (ten-League) was introduced (as a 1st Division) and the professional 2. Division. The Donawitzer SV Alpine and GAK went to the 2nd Division and only the SK Sturm Graz remained in the 1st Division. In 1973 the relegation of SK Sturm Graz was only prevented by a special decision of the Association. In 1981 the GAK won their first major title, the ÖFB Cup. In 1998 the SK Sturm Graz became the first Styrian football club to receive the title of Austrian Football Champion, in 1999 they defended their title successfully. 2004 the GAK became the second Styrian club to win the Austrian Football Championship. In 2011, once again the Austrian Championship was awarded to a Styrian team, the SK Sturm Graz.

References

External links

StFV website
{{Football in Austria Football in Austria Sport in Styria 1911 establishments in Austria-Hungary Establishments in the Empire of Austria (1867–1918)