In the rainy final stretch of the preseason, the two partners signed an agreement, and with the sunny start to the 2024/25 season, they are implementing it: SK Rapid and the International Football Institute (IFI) based in Munich/Ismaning are collaborating. The cooperation, which is managed at the Austrian location of IFI in Vienna, encompasses the fields of “training and education” as well as “consulting”.
In the area of “training & education,” the agreement includes, for example, that SK Rapid will provide instructors for selected IFI courses. Daniel Seper (assistant coach), Daniel Schmitt (match analyst), Willi Schuldes (head of the coaching academy), Simon Brandstätter (sports psychologist), and Nino Rauch (head of the scouting department) will share their knowledge in the IFI courses “Scouting & Squad Planning (CAS)” and “Match Analyst in Professional Football (CAS)”. Additionally, selected IFI courses will take place in facilities of SK Rapid. The modern spaces of the Austrian record champion are located in the Körner Training Center powered by VARTA, which opened at the end of June 2023, in the second district of Vienna, close to the Ernst Happel Stadium, and in the Allianz Stadium in Hütteldorf in the 14th district.
In return, the IFI offers its partner a comprehensive portfolio of consulting services as well as scientific research and studies. Moreover, the IFI provides SK Rapid the opportunity to “scientifically analyze practical sports questions through the IFI and derive actionable recommendations,” says Markus Brunnschneider, IFI Head of Department “Game & Tactics Analysis, Scouting, and Squad Planning”.
“We have clearly positioned ourselves as a training club, not only concerning our players but also want to promote training and further education at all levels in our club. Therefore, we look forward to the cooperation, which definitely represents a win-win situation for both sides,” says Steffen Hofmann, Managing Director of SK Rapid, about the collaboration.
“The cooperation with SK Rapid is intended to bring advantages to both sides. The collaboration, which we have been living for some time, has now been formalized with the contract, and we will deepen it in the future. I am very pleased that we can provide advantages for the participants of our training courses through this cooperation, and that Rapid will be advised on selected topics,” explains Christoph Oberlehner, Managing Director Austria at the International Football Institute.
The International Football Institute IFI
The International Football Institute in Ismaning is an academic consulting and research institution specializing in elite football in the German-speaking region, part of the university network IUNworld.
The IFI aims to view football holistically to create professional structures for optimal performance development, both in professional football and at the amateur level. The IFI stands for market-specific and target group-specific offerings as well as top expertise in the area of practical training and education, focusing on individual and tailored solutions in football management, sports sciences in football, and training & education.
In these central areas of action, the IFI develops application-oriented solution strategies for its various partners in the football business. Building on its core competencies, the integration of interdisciplinary expertise, and the experience from numerous research and consulting services as a partner in an international university network, the IFI offers consulting services for top clubs, associations, and companies in the football industry.
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