Austria - Football Bundesliga

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The Austrian Bundesliga, or Tipico-Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier football league in Austria. This league has changed its name and format on several occasions, but the name “Bundesliga” has been established since 1994 up to this day.

The new format in this league was established in the 2018-19 season. Twelve teams play a regular season against each other, which adds up to 22 games. Then, two groups of six teams are formed. The group with the top six teams fight for the title, while the other six teams fight against each other to avoid relegation. Only one team is relegated to the Austrian Football Second League by the end of the season.

Added to the title, the winner of the Austrian Bundesliga earns a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The runners-up also get to play in that competition, but they qualify to the third preliminary round of the tournament.

The Austrian Bundesliga also awards three spots in the subsequent UEFA Europa League. The third-best team earns a spot in the tournament’s group stage, while the fourth-best side and the winner of a playoff between the fifth-best side and the two best teams in the relegation round also earn spots in the preliminary rounds of said competition.

The 2018-19 season was the first one to be played under the new format, but the end result was the same, as Red Bull Salzburg claimed the championship trophy for the sixth straight season. LASK ended the tournament as runners-up and made it to the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Champions League, while Wolfsberger, Austria Wien, and Sturm Graz (winner of the Europa League playoff) made it to the UEFA Europa League. Wacker Innsbruck was relegated to the Austrian Football Second League after all 32 games were played.

The 2019-20 Austrian Bundesliga season kicks off on July 26, 2019. The final match of the season is set to be played in May of 2020. WSG Wattens took over for the relegated Wacker Innsbruck as the new team in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Did you know? Red Bull Salzburg’s six-year winning run in this league is the longest in the history of Austrian football. Nevertheless, Die Mozartstader are not the most winning side in Austrian football history, as Rapid Wien still owns that spot with 32 titles to their name.