RAIDERS DROP TO D1 IN DOMESTIC RESET

Craig Llewellyn World Football

SWARCO Raiders Tirol will drop out of Austria’s top domestic league in 2027 as part of a restructuring designed to strengthen the player pathway feeding Shuan Fatah’s EFA team.

The Innsbruck organisation has confirmed that its senior men’s programme will comprise an EFA team, which remains under Fatah’s overall control, and a Division 1 side led by newly-appointed head coach Nick Kleinhansl. The move means the Raiders will no longer field a team in the Austrian Football League next season, although the club has made clear that it intends to return to the AFL in the longer term.

Tirol said the decision had been prompted by developments across its various age groups and levels, and would allow it to build a healthy and competitive roster over several seasons while continuing to prioritise the development of homegrown players. Division 1 will effectively become the bridge between the Raiders’ youth programme and their EFA roster, providing younger players with senior football and an opportunity to develop towards the level required by Fatah’s team.

“The decision to compete in Division 1 next year came after a careful process and was by no means an easy one,” said Florian Grein, who took over as the Raiders’ sporting director for tackle and flag football on September 1st. “However, in our view, Division 1 is currently the right platform to sustainably develop our young talent. We are fully committed to taking this path, growing together as a team, with the long-term goal of playing in the AFL again.”

Grein’s appointment forms part of a wider restructuring of the football operation, with the former Raiders player working closely alongside Fatah while Alexander Achammer assumes a significant role in organising the club’s youth programme. Fatah, who returned to Tirol ahead of the inaugural EFA campaign, believes the changes will create a clearer pathway throughout the organisation.

“Florian Grein knows the club inside and out and I’m looking forward to working closely with him,” he said. “The clear structure in the youth programme is the right step to build an even stronger bridge from the U9s all the way through to our EFA team. A comprehensive and varied education provides the foundation for our club’s future. With Florian leading our sporting operation for tackle and flag, we are ideally positioned.”

The Raiders will continue to combine tackle and flag development at U9 and U11 level before players begin specialising from U12 and U13 respectively. The Raiders women, meanwhile, will continue to compete in AFL Women under Peter Wurzer.

The restructuring comes after Tirol missed the playoffs during the inaugural EFA season despite winning two of its final three games. The Raiders finished 2-8, ending their campaign with a 33-12 defeat by the Paris Musketeers which cost them the chance to progress to the BIG4 semi-finals before Innsbruck staged the first EFA Championship Game.