Violets start their pre-season

The summer break is over and the Violet women are back. On Monday evening, the obligatory tests in the Generali-Arena were on the programme. Numerous training sessions, a training camp in Retz and five international test matches await before the Bundesliga opener on 15 August.

Shortly after 4.30 pm, captain Verena Volkmer & Co entered the gym as one, the joy of meeting up after the break was great. After brief speeches by Lisa Makas and head coach Stefan Kenesei, the first exercises were already waiting for the Violets. The Violet women worked their way from one station to the next in groups - from bench presses and deadlifts to measuring jumping power and maximum hamstring load, everything was included.

Katharina Schiechtl, Yvonne Weilharter and new signing Gini Kirchberger, who are currently away with the national team, and the youngest academy players and students, who have an extra week's holiday, were not present. They will all make up for the tests in the coming week. Larissa Haidner, Florentina Satra and Alisa Ziletkina have been nominated for the last training sessions before the U20 World Cup in Colombia and will train with the ÖFB team from Wednesday in Lindabrunn.

Five international test opponents

The Violet women will take to the pitch for the first time on Tuesday, followed by their first test match on Saturday, 20 July, against Hungarian club Haladás Szombathely at the Girls' Academy powered by Harreither. As in 2023, a training camp will be held at Althof Retz from 23 to 27 July, including a test match against Sparta Prague (26 July). Other test match opponents are Diósgyőri VTK (31 July), MTK Budapest (3 August) and ETO Győri (9 August).

"I'm very pleased that things are starting again. We're still missing a few players, but the reunion today was still very nice. We have big plans together, the team has stayed together and has been strengthened at certain points, and now it's time to continue on our chosen path. Intensive weeks await us with a training camp and five international test matches, which we have deliberately decided in favour of", says Stefan Kenesei.

New league format brings more games

The ADMIRAL Women's Bundesliga will have a new format in the 2024/25 season: 18 rounds will be played as before, but the league will then be split in a similar way to the men's league. The top four teams will play six more matches in a round-robin format, while the bottom six clubs will have five additional rounds.

As a result, the final round in 2024 will be played on the weekend of 7/8 December, with the action resuming on 15/16 February in 2025. "On the one hand, the new format brings more excitement due to the division, but on the other hand it also means more matches, for which we have to prepare and adjust well", says Kenesei.

Timetable through the summer

• Saturday, 29 July, 5 pm - Test match: Haladás Szombathely (h, Girls' Academy)
• 23-27 July - Training camp in Retz
• Friday, 26 July, 5 pm - Test match: Sparta Prague (Retz)
• Wednesday, 31 July, 6 pm - Test match: Diósgyőri VTK (a, Győr)
• Saturday, 3 August, 5 pm - Test match: MTK Budapest (h, Girls' Academy)
• Friday, 9 August, 6 pm - Test match: ETO Győri (a, Győr)