Grazer AK

The beginning

The club arose from an informal association of local academics around the medical student Georg August Wagner from Prague, later a professor at Charles University and the Charité in Berlin. Acquainted with football from his hometown, he organised the first public match in present-day Austria on 18 March 1894 in the Graz municipal park. The Grazer Athletik-Sport-Club – modeled after the Wiener AC – was established eight years later on the 72nd birthday of Emperor Francis Joseph.

European football and the golden start to the new millennium

Between 1962 and 1983, GAK was involved in European competitions. Their first match was against Odense BK in the Cup Winners Cup in 1962. The club has made regular appearances in European cups ever since, with regular UEFA Cup appearances since the 1980s, but the highlight came on the domestic scene in 1981 when they won the Austrian Cup. The golden years arrived in the first half of the 2000s, when GAK won the Austrian Cup twice more, in 2000 and 2002. Their biggest success was in 2004 where they did the double – they managed to win the cup yet again along with the Austrian title, finishing the league season one point ahead of Austria Wien. Their last appearance in Europe was a disappointing 5–0 away defeat to RC Strasbourg in Round 1 of the UEFA Cup in the 2005–06 season.

Financial troubles and bankruptcy

During the 2006–2007 season, 'Grazer AK' went into administration. The club was docked 28…

Austrian Bundesliga (I) Winners (1): 2003–04 Runners-up (2): 2002–03, 2004–05 Austrian Cup Winners (4): 1980–81, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04 Runners-up (2): 1961–62, 1967–68 Austrian Supercup Winners (2): 2000, 2002 Runners-up (1): 2004 Austrian First League (II) Winners (4): 1974–75, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2023–24 Austrian Regionalliga Mitte (III) Winners (2): 2011–12, 2018–19 Landesliga Steiermark (IV) Winners (1): 2017–18 Oberliga Mitte/West (V) Winners (1): 2016–17 Unterliga Mitte (VI) Winners (1): 2015–16 Gebietsliga Mitte (VII) Winners (1): 2014–15 1. Klasse Mitte A (VIII) Winners (1): 2013–14