The First Vienna Football Club 1894 is the oldest football club in Austria. The founding of Austria's pioneering football club goes back to British landscape gardeners who looked after the Rothschild gardens on the Hohe Warte at the time.
The club was officially founded on August 22, 1894, accompanied by the presentation of the club logo, which is still valid today. Designed by William Beale and inspired by his homeland, the Isle of Man, the logo features a football surrounded by three legs.
Baron Nathaniel Rothschild and General Director Schuster from the Rothschild Bank acted as sponsors at the founding meeting in the “Zur Schöne Aussicht” inn. The club colors blue and yellow are based on the coat of arms of the House of Rothschild.
The long history of the First Vienna FC is marked by significant successes and events, from the first championship title to the Mitropa Cup victory to relegations and the associated comeback of Vienna. Immerse yourself and experience the captivating history of Austria's oldest football club!
The First Vienna Football Club was founded in 1894 in the “Zur schönen Aussicht” inn, which is now the "Pfarrwirt". Founded on August 22, 1894, First Vienna is Austria's oldest football club and therefore an important part of Austrian sports history.
Vienna met the Vienna Cricket and Football Club on Saint Leopold's Day in the first ever official football game in Vienna. The guests won the game on the Kuglerwiese 4-0. The encounters with the "Cricketers" were characterized by great sporting rivalry right from the start.
With a 2-1 final victory over AC Victoria, First Vienna won the Challenge Cup for the first time. The Challenge Cup is seen as a pioneer of both the Austrian Cup competition and the international Mitropa Cup, which was introduced in 1927. In principle, the cup was open to all clubs in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire.
First Vienna celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1904. On this occasion, Rangers FC from Glasgow were the first British team to visit the Hohe Warte. Vienna lost to the superior Scots 2:7.
First Vienna took part in the first officially held Austrian championship. The Döblingers started their debut season with a 2-1 win over the Vienna Athletiksport-Club and ended up in sixth place.
At Pentecost, the club from Belfast played two games against a Viennese selection team at the Hohe Warte. The first encounter ended 1-1, the second game was won 5-0 by the Irish team. Glentoran received the "Vienna Cup" for the victory.
After a disappointing autumn round, the I.V.F.C. landed in the relegation zone. Despite reinforcements in the winter, First Vienna was unable to turn things around. The Döblingers managed to achieve two wins in the spring, but in the end a 1:2 defeat against their direct competitor ASV Hertha led to the relegation.
With a remarkable 5-1 win against Slovan, the I.V.F.C. secured the league title. In the end, Austria's oldest football club confidently won promotion to the first league with 14 wins from 16 games. During the First World War, promotion and relegation were suspended.
The new Hohe Warte Stadium was inaugurated with the championship game First Vienna vs. SC Hakoah. The visitor capacity was initially 50,000 people and was later increased to 85,000. This made the Naturarena Hohe Warte the largest football stadium in continental Europe at the time.
The (goalless) international match between Austria and Italy officially attracted 85,000 spectators to the Hohe Warte. This record still stands today. There were, however, actually far more people in the stadium, but due to the large number of visitors, entry controls had to be suspended.
In 1929, the I.V.F.C. achieved the first cup victory in the club's history. 35,000 spectators flocked to the Hohe Warte for the final against FC Rapid, which ended 3-2 in favour of First Vienna.
After two cup wins, the I.V.F.C. secured its first league title with a 4-1 victory in the last round over Austria Vienna. This also meant qualification for the Mitropa Cup.
After winning the league title at the Hohe Warte, First Vienna also secured the Mitropa Cup in front of 22,000 spectators, thus becoming the number 1 football team in Central Europe. At the time, the Mitropa Cup was the most important club trophy in European football, comparable to the UEFA Champions League today.
Two years after the first one, the I.V.F.C. secured the second league title in the club's history. At the end of the season, the Döblingers were at the top of the table with a two point lead over their pursuers FC Rapid.
The I.V.F.C. prevailed in the cup final against the Wiener Sportclub with a 2-0 win. This meant the third and last cup triumph in First Vienna's history. Josef Molzer scored both goals in the final at the Prater Stadium.
With the National Socialists seizing power in Austria, football in Vienna changed fundamentally. All Jewish footballers and Jewish members were immediately excluded from the sports clubs and persecuted by the Nazi regime. First Vienna was one of the football clubs with a very high proportion of Jewish members. MORE
In the final of the so-called Tschammer Cup in Stuttgart, I.V.F.C. met LSV Hamburg. In extra time, Hamburg guest player Rudolf “Rudi” Noack scored the deciding goal of a 3-2 victory for First Vienna. Between 1942 and 1944, First Vienna won the "Gauliga Donau Alpenland" league title three times in a row (1942, 1943, 1944).
In the final of the "Befreiungspokal" (Liberation Cup), I.V.F.C secured a 3-1 win over SC Helfort. 17,000 spectators watched the game on the “Pfarrwiese”.
Finally, the I.V.F.C. returned to the main pitch of the Hohe Warte stadium. In the home premiere, First Vienna beat LASK 3-1 (0-1). After renovation, the Hohe Warte now had a capacity of 32,000 spectators.
In the 1954/1955 season, First Vienna was in the top ranks of the table from the start – and in the end, they won the sixth Austrian league title due to the better goal difference compared to the Wiener Sport-Club. At that time, almost the entire Vienna team belonged to the A or B national team squad.
The Vienna floodlight premiere took place in the Hohe Warte stadium. In a double event, Austria Vienna met Wiener Sport-Club and I.V.F.C. met Admira Vienna.
At the end of the 67/68 season, I.V.F.C. relegated from the top division for the second time in the club's history. Vienna managed to get promoted straight back, but in the following years the club fluctuated between the first and second division.
After four years of construction and much turbulence, a roofed concrete grandstand with a capacity of 4,500 spectators opened in the Hohe Warte stadium. The construction was delayed for various reasons.
A sensational transfer to prevent the impending relegation: Hans Krankl joined on loan from FC Barcelona during the winter transfer window. But his 13 goals in 17 games were not enough to prevent I.V.F.C from relegating again. After the end of the season, Krankl leaves the club again. The average audience increased from 3,700 to 6,400 during his time at the club.
In the spring of 1986, a star transfer stunned the Viennese football world. The winner and top scorer of the 1978 World Cup, Mario Kempes, moved to the Hohe Warte. “El Matador” laced up his shoes for First Vienna for almost a year and a half.
With a win over Admira, the I.V.F.C made it into the UEFA Cup for the first time! Coach Ernst Dokupil is responsible for the Döblinger's success, forming a young, hungry team around a few established players. The “Young Wild Ones” include Peter Stöger and Andreas Herzog.
European Cup premiere in the Hohe Warte stadium: the I.V.F.C. welcomed Ikast FS in the first round of the UEFA Cup competition. The Döblingers win 1-0 (1-0) over the Danes thanks to a goal from Gerhard Steinkogler.
Under the leadership of Christa Hainzl, I.V.F.C was the first Bundesliga club to found a women's section. It existed until 1997 and was later reactivated in 2011. It has been developing successfully ever since.
Despite a 2-1 home win against Sturm Graz in the last round, it was ultimately not enough for First Vienna to stay in the league. Wiener Sport-Club scored the decisive point with a draw against GAK in the last round and so the Döblingers are forced to relegate.
After a dramatic penalty shootout against Austria Salzburg, the I.V.F.C sensationally made it into the Austrian Cup final to meet Sturm Graz. In the Ernst Happel Stadium, the Döblingers had to admit defeat with a narrow score of 1-2 (0-1).
After a catastrophic spring season and losing the relegation play-offs against FC Lustenau, the I.V.F.C. relegated to the third division (Regionalliga Ost) for the first time in the club's history.
After winning the finals 8-1 against Wiener Sportklub, I.V.F.C. became winners of the Wiener Stadthallenturnier for the first time in the 50-year history of this renowned indoor cup. Bundesliga clubs Austria and Rapid were already left behind in the preliminary round.
Under manager Peter Stöger, Vienna achieved promotion to the 2. Liga in 2009. After a few seasons in the second tier, First Vienna had to make the tough transition back to the third division in 2014.
Der Vienna Fan-Dachverband "First Vienna Football Club 1894 Supporters" gründet sich auf Initiative von verschiedener Viennafans. Der Fan-Dachverband bietet ein Forum für alle Vienna Supporters und ist ein Sprachrohr der Viennafans gegenüber dem Verein.
After being promoted in 2009, I.V.F.C. was able to stay in the second division for five years. After a turbulent season, First Vienna had to be relegated back to the Regionalliga East and thus say goodbye to professional football for some time.
UNIQA saved I.V.F.C. from bankruptcy and became the main sponsor. Thanks to this support, Vienna could conclude the insolvency proceedings positively. However, according to association regulations, the club had to be relegated and was moved to the 2nd Wiener Landesliga (5th tier). From there began the long way back.
After forced relegation to the fifth league, the team around Markus Katzer and Jiri Lenko played their first game. The fans organized a fan walk from the Hohe Warte to the NAC stadium. First Vienna's sporting comeback started on this day.
By taking over the place of the 1b team in the 2. Landesliga, the club also inherited its position in the table. All attempts to catch up in the spring were ultimately not enough for promotion. First Vienna ended the season in third place, one place behind the promotion ranks. The disappointment was huge.
With a 3-0 away win against Langenrohr, First Vienna Women also won the second leg of the promotion play-offs to the 2nd league. First Vienna's record player Sophie Neid played a key role in the victory by scoring two goals.
One year later, Vienna secured the title in the 2. Landesliga after a 6-0 win over Hirschstetten. This meant promotion to the Wiener Stadtliga. A small but important step had been taken.
After being suspended due to Covid, the ÖFB Executive Board decided to cancel all amateur competitions. All results were nullified, and First Vienna, as league leaders on course for promotion to the fourth division, had to stay in the Wiener Stadtliga for another season.
IMMOunited became co-main partner of First Vienna FC, with the main focus on promoting young talent. IMMOunited also pushed the use of new digital tools at First Vienna and, in the person of Roland Schmid, leading the expansion of the First Vienna Football Campus.
After three seasons in the 2nd Women's Bundesliga, the I.V.F.C. Women confidently advanced to the highest Austrian performance level. Since the women's department was founded in 2011, the development of the Vienna women has been consistently upwards.
One round before the end of the season, First Vienna crowned themselves champions of the Wiener Stadtliga after the game in Schwechat. The oldest club in Austria is finally returning to where the journey began in 2017.
With one round to go, Vienna secured the league title in the Regionalliga Ost. This means that the Döblingers have managed to return to Austrian professional football eight years after their relegation.
