Just a few days ago, Stegen celebrated an exhilarating relegation success, but now the future is more uncertain than ever.

Uncertain future: What will happen to Stegen?

Transfer rumors are currently booming in amateur football. Another, serious rumor comes from the league: Is Stegen no longer signing up for the new championship?

27 Maj 2024

From: det

Stegen is a club with tradition. And a club that has bravely stood up to the big and strong league clubs for three years. It was just two weeks ago that the Pusterers made it clear that they would stay in the league at the last minute and once again lived up to their reputation as a tight-knit group. But in the last few days there have been some rumors doing the rounds: Is Stegen no longer signing up for the new league season?

“We have to see what happens next,” says Werner Unterhofer, Stegen’s sporting director SportNews-Demand. Unterhofer explains exactly what is behind it: “There is a new regulation that says that all players are free.” This means: Previously, a homegrown player was tied to the home club until the age of 25, which is now changing with the new law – and thus opened the door for young players to change clubs. “For a club like us that relies heavily on youth, this is poison.”

“We don’t like the current development at all.” Werner Unterhofer

“Besides,” says the sporty creator, “we don’t like the current developments in amateur football at all. Unfortunately, today it is the case that a service must be rewarded immediately in monetary terms. So it's also a question of money. Sometimes you can’t be mad at the players, because if they get three times as much for the same performance elsewhere, what else can they do.”

Manuel Sullmann is no longer Stegen's coach. © David Laner

So these are uncertain times that Stegen is facing: “Our goal is to send a team into the race in September, but at the same time, given the current developments, we are also seriously considering whether we want to do something,” said Unterhofer, who also criticizes the massive increase in bureaucracy that the clubs have to deal with with the new law.

What about the players?

It is already a fact that coach Manuel Sullmann has left the club. The departure of striker Patrick Bacher (to Bruneck) is also considered fixed. And otherwise? “A good half of last season’s squad has currently confirmed their commitment. We've also had discussions about coaching," said Unterhofer, who also says: "We're definitely trying to get something going. But it’s anything but easy.”

Recently there were also rumors of a merger with Bruneck, but the sporty creator of Stegina has ruled that out. It will be interesting to see what happens next for the Oberliga club.