Burgenland tourism campaign brings national-team legends back together

Burgenland Tourism is bringing former Austrian national-team footballers together with the current squad for a promotional campaign marking the approaching 30th anniversary of its partnership with the Austrian Football Association, ORF reported.

The partnership, which began in 1997, will feature football as the central theme. Former team captain Andreas Herzog is among the players who served as early promotional ambassadors for Burgenland.

“We were often in Burgenland before international matches, and we always enjoyed being together,” Herzog said.

Filming took place this week during the national team’s training camp in Upper Austria, with other former players including Didi Kühbauer. Although the former teammates had not seen each other for some time, Kühbauer said the banter had quickly returned to the way it was in earlier years.

Didi Tunkel, head of Burgenland Tourism, said a partnership lasting almost 30 years was unusual. He said Burgenland Tourism was the Austrian Football Association’s second-longest-serving partner after Puma.

The cooperation has delivered strong advertising value for Burgenland, particularly during major sporting events. According to the province of Burgenland, the value reached 11.2 million euros during the 2024 European Championship.

The current contract runs until December 31, 2028. Tunkel said the partners would hold talks at the appropriate time, adding that he believed the cooperation worked well for both sides.

Further filming for the football campaign is scheduled to take place in Burgenland this week.