“It breaks my heart”
Insolvency proceedings: Eleven-time champions are bankrupt
April 2, 2026 – 1:12 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
He had determined events in Austrian women’s football for years. But now the USV Neulengbach is on the verge of a sporting abyss. Even a German reality star couldn’t help.
A once dominant club in Austrian women’s football is threatened with extinction: USV Neulengbach is apparently on the verge of financial collapse. On Wednesday evening, the association made it public that it was filing an application to open insolvency proceedings. “It breaks my heart,” said club chairman Thomas Wirnsberger. The application should be submitted after Easter.
It is unclear whether the team can finish the current season. Parallel to the current precarious situation, plans are already underway for a new beginning. At least the youth and men’s areas should be retained, coordinated with the municipality of Neulengbach. City Councilor for Sports Wolfgang Süss (ÖVP) says: “Our common goal is to quickly create clarity.” The insolvency application should be submitted after Easter.
It is the next episode of a decline: the club shaped women’s football in Austria for years. Between 2003 and 2014, Neulengbach won eleven championship titles and the cup ten times. In 2014, the team even reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Players like goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger and record goalscorer Nina Burger played for the club.
However, with the sporting rise of local rival St. Pölten from 2015 onwards, the club’s situation increasingly deteriorated. After the death of club boss Bruno Mangl in 2017, the situation worsened further. Sponsors withdrew and promised funds failed to materialize.
Even strange personnel changes did not bring about a turnaround. Cheyenne Ochsenknecht, daughter of actor Uwe Ochsenknecht, took over as president in the summer of 2025, but the hoped-for stabilization did not materialize. The preliminary low point finally followed on April 1, 2026.
