I was delighted last week to attend the match between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Football Club (“FCO FC”) against the Austrian Foreign Ministry Team (“FC Außenamt”).
FCO FC have been touring for years. I hosted them when I was Ambassador in Kiev in 2011 in the beautiful setting of the Dynamo Kyiv stadium when they played the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
So it was great to see FCO FC back in action, this time in Vienna. After FC Außenamt they played friendly games against the Austrian Ministry of Defence and the Austrian Interior Ministry.
A terrific atmosphere of sportsmanship pervaded all three games, as recorded in the local press.
Austria and the UK have been linked by football since 1912, when British coach Jimmy Hogan worked with the Austrian Olympic Team and lead them to a 5:1 win over Germany (a feat shared by England in a famous 2001 match in Munich). Later he trained First Vienna FC and laid the foundation for what was later called the Wiener Fussballschule (“Viennese tiki-taka”).
Austria and Wales are in the same group for the 2018 World Cup Qualification. Last October I went, with my Mum, to watch Austria vs Wales in a thrilling 2:2 draw at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. The reverse fixture is in Cardiff on 2 September. My objectivity in these matters is legendary.
Many Austrians play in the English Premier League, including Christian Fuchs, who won the league with Leicester; Marko Arnautovic of Stoke; and Kevin Wimmer of Tottenham. Whenever Kevin is in possession, the Tottenham supporters sing “The Wimmer takes the ball” to the tune of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes it All”. Excellent.
Do you have anecdotes about Austro-British football, FC Außenamt, or FCO FC? I’d love to hear them.