WAF Vorwärts Brigittenau
Ground: WAF Gruam
Capacity: 1,500
Club Founded: 1910
League: Wiener Stadtliga
A Historic Vienna Football Club
Its origins began in 1910 when playing members of Wiener Athletiksport Club, such as Adolf Fischera, Johann Andres, Richard Kohn, Karl and Felix Tekusch, all decided they wanted a bigger say in the way the club was run. They decided to form their own club, Wiener Associationfußball-Club, which was changed to Wiener Association Footballclub.
This was to ensure an abbreviation of WAF rather than WAC to avoid being confused with their former club. WAF became a founder member of the Vienna-based Austrian championship when the club opened their new Allgemeine Sportzeitung ground on Hütteldorfer Platz, finishing as league runners-up.
WAF became national champions in 1913-14 with international striker Johann Schwarz top scoring. World War I stalled the club at the same time as players were ageing. Despite this, the side remained consistent with Leopold Neubauer, a star player of the time.
‘Das Rote’, as the club is nicknamed, won the national ÖFB Cup in 1921-22. Forward player Klein scored both goals in the 2-1 victory against Wiener Amateur SV, who would become Austria Wien a few years later, in front of 15,000 fans at Hohe Warte.
Relegation, Mergers, and a New Ground
Important players, Maximilian Gold and Fischer, departed as WAF were relegated, leading to further departures. Down in II Liga, the club entered the first of several mergers by joining forces with SC International Wien to form International AF Wien in 1926.
This was followed a year later by another amalgamation with SC Libertas Wien, as the club became known as IAF-Libertas Wien, avoiding a further relegation. The mergers hadn’t worked, so the team withdrew from the league and dropped down to play in the amateur divisions.
An Upturn Halted by World War II
The grandstand was transported from Hütteldorf and erected at the new venue at Brigittenauer Lände 236, with the football team winning their league, as players were attracted to join the club in its new facility. Richard Marischka's goals took the team to another title the following year.
Other clubs became subtenants along with sections for athletics, handball and ice hockey, making WAF Platz a local sporting hub. World War II led to all the club assets being confiscated while players were called to arms. The ground required huge repairs from bomb damage after the liberation of Austria from Germany.
Nurturing Youngsters and Progress
WAF were relegated once peace returned, with club officials slowly nurturing the young players who gradually progressed, with future international Ewald Wieger among them, before his move to Austria Wien. Coach Willi Streichsbier led his team to their league championship in 1962-63 to rise to another level.
Further Mergers
The club had benefited from sponsorship from the Südland company before they withdrew, as the club had changed its title to WAF XX in January 1964, as the team was reprieved from relegation on a couple of occasions before going down in 1966-67.
The club recruited young players from the youth hostel on Obere Augartenstrasse who teamed together to win promotion. The club was renamed WAF Neuchrist in January 1970 after the involvement of Opel car dealer Frank Neuchrist.
Promotion to the top Vienna league was secured. A merger took place with the more successful club FK Leopoldstadt to form WAF KL Leopoldstadt. This was changed in a short time to WAFKL Neuchrist in 1973 at a time when the football club were looking for a new home as WAF Platz was being converted for other sports.
Another Change of Location and Upturns on the Pitch
The club moved to Leopoldstadt’s ground at Spenadlwiese in Prater. The changes proved beneficial as the side won promotion to the Wiener Liga, which was the fourth tier of Austrian football at the time. Club president Neuchrist retired in 1980.
Player-coach Satorina led his team to runners-up in 1979-80 before the club was retitled WAF Leopoldstadt from August 1981, continuing to struggle on and off the pitch as rent at Spenadlwiese was increased.
A New Ground
The local football authorities gave a solution by offering the Brigittenauer Gruabn ground on Meldemannstraße, which the club moved into. 500 fans attended the first game there. The emergence of player, Wolfgang Eisen gave them reason to cheer.
Karl Wimmer, the owner of a local car dealership, came on board, leading to another change of club name, this time to WAFKL Wimmer in the autumn of 1984. Experienced players Robert Sara and Hans Pirkner joined talented youngsters in Brigittenau. The club cashed in by selling some of them to receive transfer fees.
Ground Improvements
This helped with the escape from relegation the following campaign. WAF striker Voglsinger finished as the league's top scorer in 1987-88. A couple of years later, WAF remained unbeaten at home all season before an artificial pitch was laid at the Gruabn as the teams’ steady performances continued in front of consistently reasonable attendances.
However, WAF were relegated after two decades in the Wiener Liga after the retirement of the President and sponsor Wimmer in 1992-93. The club was retitled WAF Procar in a new sponsorship deal, winning promotion at the first attempt while a new clubhouse was opened.
On the pitch, the side went down from the Wiener Liga, while floodlights were turned on for the first time at the Gruabn in a farewell game for loyal servant Eisen. Werner Menzel scored the goals at WAF Platz as the side narrowly escaped relegation on several occasions before the Procar moniker was dropped.
Decline and Rebirth
A group of youths formed Club06 around the same time, playing as a subtenant at WAF Platz with former Rapid Wien youth trainer Harald Haselmayr in charge of team affairs. The new side proved successful, winning promotion.
However, the whole club moved to join FK White Star, who were struggling badly with no players, officials or sponsor. Kick-offs were changed back to 10.30am on Sunday mornings, WAF’s traditional time, to try to attract supporters.
Peter Schrimpl looked after club affairs, as three steady seasons were completed before the club title was changed to WAF in the summer of 2010. The team continued to consolidate, with Rene Eisen, son of Wolfgang, among the star players.
Junior teams were added to the club portfolio for the first time, as Franz Maresch was appointed as trainer before Andreas Denk returned, which saw crowds flock to the Gruabn.
The Vorwärts Brigittenau Merger
Meanwhile, the youngsters of another local club, Vorwärts Brigittenau, joined WAF’s set-up. WAF were placed in the fifth-tier 2. Landesliga following a restructure of the Vienna FA league system with a full merger with Vorwärts, taking place in the summer of 2015, with the club becoming WAF Vorwärts Brigittenau.
WAF won their divisional title in 2017-18 under trainer Khajik Jerjes to go up to the Wiener Stadtliga. Once things had got back to a semblance of normality following the worldwide pandemic, WAC were trained by Peter Schrimpl, Christian Schweigler, and then Andreas Schneider, who led the side to fourth place in 2024-25 as Milan Milovanovic scored the goals.
Sponsorship Rebranding and WAF Pinova Telekom
Before the start of the 2025-26 season, the club signed a sponsorship deal, which saw their name change to WAF Pinova Telekom. The historic WAF identity and Brigittenau location remained the same.
My visit
DSG SK 10 3 DSG Pötzleinsdorf 1. SC 4
DSG Liga - Monday 9th March 2020
👨👨👧👧 c15 🎟️ Free
Monday night matches are generally light on the ground in the lower leagues of Europe. I thought that I was going to draw a blank for the final night of my long weekend based in Vienna.
That was until I delved deep into the website of the Vienna FA. I noticed a drop-down menu for the Diözesan Sport Gemeinschaft, which was translated to the Diocesan Sports Community or church sports. This gave details of the first ten team divisions, with matches usually being played at night at the venues of clubs in the FA set up.
Football Before the Pandemic
There was a temptation to take in the encounter between DSG ISG Stammtisch and DSG Salzachsturm the previous evening in the second-tier Oberliga at the home of Dynamo Helfort. However, tiredness and yearning for a few beers won out on that occasion.
It was still in the balance whether I’d bother with a visit to WAF Gruabn on Monday teatime. I’d gone across the border into Slovakia to visit Bratislava, enjoying a few hours sightseeing and visiting football venues along with some obligatory cheap beer. Indeed, the pub opposite the ground of FC Petržalka saw me finish off in style rather than return to the city.
Getting to WAF Gruam
A bus took me to Petržalka station from where the train went to Wien Hauptbahnhof, or so I assumed. The beer put me asleep for most of the journey. I decided to go to the game, while not being convinced that it was a great idea.
However, a train downstairs was due a few minutes later towards Handelskai, which sealed it. After losing my bearings, I got reconnected to Google Maps and headed along Stromstraße and then up Pasettistraße.
The Ground and Match Details
It was a relief to see the floodlights shining and the sound of the whistle of referee Kadir Özer as I walked behind one end of Schottenaustraße for the 8pm kick-off to find an open gate on the corner of Meldemannstraße. Admission was free to the game, which always assists my mood! WAF Gruabn was a tidy enough inner-city venue enclosed by a high metal fence.
Both sides and behind the goal where I’d entered were slightly above pitch level and banked with hard standing and then grass. The main side had an area of concrete steps with open seating. The far end, where the main entrance to the venue was found, contained all the facilities such as changing rooms, offices and the clubhouse as well as a decking area with picnic tables and chairs.
The Match
I hadn’t a clue what standard the game would be, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was unsure whether teams were made up of players who had other clubs on the weekend, but that seemed not to be the case. It was certainly a good competition for players who worked during the day. The weather was getting very chilly as the first half continued.
The visitors took the lead four minutes before the break, through Thomas Riedler, but were pegged back in no little time through a strike from SK’s Jakob Katzmayr. At the break, I was in two minds to have a beer and stay a bit longer, but I was feeling the cold, so I decided to pull the pin and head towards my hotel.
Vienna History Lesson
I took a bus to Heiligenstadt Bahnhof and then the U-Bahn, taking the opportunity of another look at the buildings outside that had intrigued me on my Saturday adventure on my way to Hohe Warte. A friend from back home, Mark Townsend, had mentioned Karl Marx Hof, so I read up about them and then took a few photos.
It had been a long day, and while I told the publican at Pub Schönbrunn that I intended to be back when I left at closing time the previous evening, I was spent and hungry. Instead, I went for a Burger King meal before returning to my room at the Star Inn Hotel Wien Schönbrunn.
A Final Fantastic Football Weekend Before the Worldwide Pandemic
My football adventure around Vienna and Bratislava had been absolutely first-rate, and I would recommend it to anyone. After a bit more sightseeing the following morning, I flew back to London to enter a very different world.
It transpired that I saw the last football in Austria until who knew when, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, while things started shutting down in England. I saw a game in the last round of non-league matches the following Saturday. Very sad and uncertain days. I had been most fortuitous with my timings.