2023–24 SK Sturm Graz season

The 2023–24 SK Sturm Graz season was the club's 118th season in existence and its 58th consecutive season in the second division of Austrian football. In addition to the domestic league, Sturm Graz participated in this season's edition of the Austrian Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. The season covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

SK Sturm Graz
2023–24 season
ManagerChristian Ilzer
StadiumMerkur-Arena
Austrian Bundesliga1st
Austrian CupWinners
UEFA Champions LeagueThird qualifying round
UEFA Europa LeagueGroup stage
UEFA Europa Conference LeagueRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague:
Otar Kiteishvili (9)

All:
Tomi Horvat
Otar Kiteishvili
(11 each)
2024–25 →

In the 2023–24 season, Sturm Graz clinched their fourth league title after a 2–0 win over Austria Klagenfurt on the final matchday, ending Red Bull Salzburg dominance for the last decade, in addition to securing a Champions League group stage berth for the first time since 2000–01.[1]

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 19 January 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
1GK  NEDKjell Scherpen (on loan from Brighton)
2DF  SCOMax Johnston
4DF  SVNJon Gorenc Stanković
5DF  SUIGregory Wüthrich
6DF  AUTAleksandar Borković
8MF  AUTAlexander Prass
9FW  POLSzymon Włodarczyk
10MF  GEOOtar Kiteishvili
11MF  AUTManprit Sarkaria
14MF  ESPJavi Serrano (on loan from Atlético Madrid)
15FW  DENWilliam Bøving
17FW  CPVBryan Teixeira
18FW  DENMika Biereth (on loan from Arsenal)
19FW  SVNTomi Horvat
20FW  NORSeedy Jatta
21MF  AUTSamuel Stückler
No.Pos. NationPlayer
22DF  BIHJusuf Gazibegović
23MF  AUTVesel Demaku
24DF  BELDimitri Lavalée (on loan from Mechelen)
25MF  AUTStefan Hierländer
27DF  AUTGabriel Haider
28DF  AUTDavid Schnegg
29FW  GHAMohammed Fuseini
31GK  AUTLuka Marić
35DF  AUTNiklas Geyrhofer
38FW  AUTLeon Grgic
40GK  AUTMatteo Bignetti
42DF  AUTDavid Affengruber
43GK  AUTHenry Timothy Obi
44DF  MLIAmadou Danté

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
MF  AUTChristoph Lang (at Hartberg until 30 June 2024)
No.Pos. NationPlayer
FW  AUTLuca Kronberger (at Tirol until 30 June 2024)

Transfers

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Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFeeDateSource
DF [[ ]] [[ ]]1 July 2023
Pos.PlayerTransferred toFeeDateSource
DF [[ ]] [[ ]]1 July 2023

Pre-season and friendlies

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  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

v Sturm Graz
26 July 2023 Friendly Strasbourg 3–0 Sturm Graz
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)
v SV Lafnitz
8 September 2023 Friendly Sturm Graz 3–1 SV Lafnitz
14:30 CEST (UTC+2)
v Floridsdorfer AC
13 October 2023 Friendly Sturm Graz 4–1 Floridsdorfer AC
14:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Competitions

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Overview

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CompetitionFirst matchLast matchStarting roundFinal positionRecord
PldWDLGFGAGDWin %
Austrian Bundesliga30 July 202319 May 2024Matchday 1Winners32191035623+33059.38
Austrian Cup22 July 20231 May 2024First roundWinners5500218+13100.00
UEFA Champions League8 August 202315 August 2023Third qualifying roundThird qualifying round200227−5000.00
UEFA Europa League21 September 202314 December 2023Group stageGroup stage611449−5016.67
UEFA Europa Conference League15 February 202414 March 2024Knockout round play-offsRound of 16421165+1050.00
Total492712108952+37055.10

Source: Soccerway

Austrian Bundesliga

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League table

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Red Bull Salzburg2215524512+3350Qualification for the Championship round
2Sturm Graz2213723715+2246
3LASK229852618+835
4Austria Klagenfurt2281042927+234[a]
5Hartberg229763328+534[a]
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Matches won; 6) Away matches won; 7) Away goals scored.[2]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head to head points: Klagenfurt 4, TSV Hartberg 1.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationSTURBSLINRWIHARAKL
1Sturm Graz (C)32191035623+3344Qualification for the Champions League league stage0–11–01–01–12–0
2Red Bull Salzburg3220757429+4542Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round[a]2–27–11–15–14–2
3LASK32141084333+1034Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[b]2–23–15–01–31–0
4Rapid Wien32111294735+1228Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round1–32–00–00–31–1
5Hartberg32129114952−328Qualification for the Conference League play-offs1–31–51–20–33–2
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points with (possible) half points subtracted due to rounding; 3) Head-to-head points ; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won; 9) Away matches won; 10) Away goals scored.[3]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the Europa League winners, Atalanta qualified for the Champions League via league position, Red Bull Salzburg were promoted from the Champions League second qualifying round to the third qualifying round as one of the two teams with the highest coefficient in the second qualifying round.
  2. ^ The 2023–24 Austrian Cup winners qualified for the Europa League play-off round. Since the cup winners (Sturm Graz) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the third-placed team.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationWOLAWIBWLALTWATLUS
1Wolfsberger AC321210104139+231Qualification for the Conference League play-offs0–10–20–03–11–1
2Austria Wien (O)321210103534+1290–40–02–23–01–1
3Blau-Weiß Linz32711143348−15220–01–22–13–20–0
4Rheindorf Altach32613132740−13210–11–12–20–02–2
5WSG Tirol3275202955−26191–11–02–10–10–0
6Austria Lustenau (R)3249192258−3616Relegation to Austrian Football Second League1–22–01–00–11–2
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points with (possible) half points subtracted due to rounding; 3) Head-to-head points ; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Matches won; 10) Away matches won; 11) Away goals scored.[2]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated

Results summary

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OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
2213723715 +2246731196 +13641189 +9

Results by round

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Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
GroundAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHA
ResultWWDWWWDDWWWLLWWDWDDWWD
Position1122222221112222222222
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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The league fixtures were unveiled on 27 June 2023.[4]

30 July 2023 1 Austria Wien 0–3 Sturm Graz Vienna
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)Report
Stadium: Generali Arena
Attendance: 13,088
Referee: Stefan Ebner
5 August 2023 2 Sturm Graz 2–0 LASK Graz
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 14,740
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer
12 August 2023 3 Sturm Graz 0–0 Austria Klagenfurt Graz
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Merkur–Arena
Attendance: 13,328
Referee: Markus Hameter
19 August 2023 4 Austria Lustenau 0–1 Sturm Graz Lustenau
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Planet Pure Stadion
Attendance: 4,064
Referee: Josef Spurny
26 August 2023 5 Sturm Graz 4–1 Blau-Weiß Linz Graz
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: Harald Lechner
Referee: 13,594
2 September 2023 6 Rheindorf Altach 1–2 Sturm Graz Altach
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)
ReportStadium: CASHPOINT Arena
Attendance: 5,760
Referee: Gerhard Grobelnik
16 September 2023 7 Sturm Graz 2–2 Red Bull Salzburg Graz
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)Report
Stadium: Merkur–Arena
Attendance: 15,500
Referee: Julian Weinberger
24 September 2023 8 Rapid Wien 1–1 Sturm Graz Vienna
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Allianz Stadion
Attendance: 21,600
Referee: Stefan Ebner
1 October 2023 9 Sturm Graz 1–0 WSG Tirol Graz
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 14,876
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer
8 October 2023 10 Wolfsberger AC 1–2 Sturm Graz Wolfsberg
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
ReportStadium: Lavanttal-Arena
Attendance: 5,844
Referee: Walter Altmann
21 October 2023 11 Sturm Graz 2–1 Hartberg Graz
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 15,607
Referee: Christopher Jäger
29 October 2023 12 Sturm Graz 0–1 Austria Wien Graz
12:30 CET (UTC+1)Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 15,460
Referee: Alan Kijas
5 November 2023 13 LASK 3–1 Sturm Graz Linz
15:00 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Raiffeisen Arena
Attendance: 15,249
Referee: Markus Hameter
12 November 2023 14 Austria Klagenfurt 0–3 Sturm Graz Klagenfurt
12:30 CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: 28 Black Arena
Attendance: 6,448
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer
25 November 2023 15 Sturm Graz 2–0 Austria Lustenau Graz
15:00 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 14,608
Referee: Arnes Talic
3 December 2023 16 Blau-Weiß Linz 1–1 Sturm Graz Linz
12:30 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Hoffmann Personal Stadion
Attendance: 5,595
Referee: Josef Spurny
10 December 2023 17 Sturm Graz 1–0 Rheindorf Altach Graz
15:00 CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 15,002
Referee: Achim Untergasser
9 February 2024 18 Red Bull Salzburg 1–1 Sturm Graz Salzburg
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Wals–Siezenheim
Attendance: 15,239
Referee: Harald Lechner
17 February 2024 19 Sturm Graz 1–1 Rapid Wien Graz
17:00 CET (UTC+1)Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 15,500
Referee: Walter Altmann
24 February 2024 20 WSG Tirol v Sturm Graz Wattens
TBD CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Tivoli Stadion Tirol
2 March 2024 21 Sturm Graz v Wolfsberger AC Graz
TBD CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
9 March 2024 22 Hartberg v Sturm Graz Hartberg
TBD CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Profertil Arena

Championship round

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Sturm Graz (C)32191035623+3344Qualification for the Champions League league stage
2Red Bull Salzburg3220757429+4542Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round[a]
3LASK32141084333+1034Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[b]
4Rapid Wien32111294735+1228Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
5Hartberg32129114952−328Qualification for the Conference League play-offs
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points with (possible) half points subtracted due to rounding; 3) Head-to-head points ; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won; 9) Away matches won; 10) Away goals scored.[3]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the Europa League winners, Atalanta qualified for the Champions League via league position, Red Bull Salzburg were promoted from the Champions League second qualifying round to the third qualifying round as one of the two teams with the highest coefficient in the second qualifying round.
  2. ^ The 2023–24 Austrian Cup winners qualified for the Europa League play-off round. Since the cup winners (Sturm Graz) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the third-placed team.

Results summary

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OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
32191035623 +33671042248 +169613215 +17

Results by round

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Round12345678910
GroundAHHAHAAHAH
ResultWLWWWWDDDW
Position2222211111
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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Austrian Cup

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The draw for the season's first round took place on 25 June.[5]

22 July 2023 First round SAK Klagenfurt 2–7 Sturm Graz Klagenfurt
16:30 CEST (UTC+2)
  • Kamsek 34'
  • Sredojevic 82'
ReportStadium: Sportplatz Welzenegg
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Achim Untergasser
27 September 2023 Second round SV Leobendorf 0–3 Sturm Graz Leobendorf
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Franz Haas Stadion
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Dominic Schilcher
2 November 2023 Third round Grazer AK 2–3 Sturm Graz Graz
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 16,500
Referee: Harald Lechner
2 February 2024 Quarter-finals Sturm Graz 2–0 Austria Wien Graz
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 12,025
Referee: Christopher Jäger
4 April 2024 Semi-finals Red Bull Salzburg 3–4 Sturm Graz Wals-Siezenheim
20:45 CETSolet 11' (Daniliuc)
Ratkov  41'
Sučić 79' (Fernando)
Terzić 90' (Sučić)
Koïta  90+3'
ReportBøving 25' (Horvat)
Horvat 52' (Gazibegović)
Wüthrich  66'
Schnegg 71' (Biereth)
Geyrhofer  77' 81' (Horvat)
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 11,494
Referee: Walter Altmann
1 May 2024 Final Sturm Graz 2–1 Rapid Wien Klagenfurt
15:00 CETQuerfeld 49' (o.g.)
Horvat 81' (Kiteishvili)
Seidl 43'Stadium: Wörthersee Stadion
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer

UEFA Champions League

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Third qualifying round

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v Sturm Graz
8 August 2023 First leg PSV Eindhoven 4–1 Sturm Graz Eindhoven, Netherlands
19:30 CEST (UTC+2)
ReportStadium: Philips Stadion
Attendance: 31,500[6]
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
v PSV Eindhoven
15 August 2023 Second leg Sturm Graz 1–3
(2–7 agg.)
PSV Eindhoven Graz
19:30 CEST (UTC+2)Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 12,571[7]
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)

UEFA Europa League

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Group stage

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The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification ATA SCP STU RAK
1 Atalanta6420124+814Advance to round of 161–11–02–0
2 Sporting CP6321106+411Advance to knockout round play-offs1–23–02–1
3 Sturm Graz611449−54[a]Transfer to Europa Conference League2–21–20–1
4 Raków Częstochowa6114310−74[a]0–41–10–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference used as a tiebreaker.
v Sporting CP
21 September 2023 (2023-09-21) 1 Sturm Graz 1–2 Sporting CP Graz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 13,517[8]
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
v Sturm Graz
5 October 2023 (2023-10-05) 2 Raków Częstochowa 0–1 Sturm Graz Sosnowiec, Poland
17:45 CEST (UTC+2)ReportStadium: Zagłębiowski Park Sportowy,
Attendance: 8,993[9]
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
Note: Raków Częstochowa played their home matches at the Zagłębiowski Park Sportowy, in Sosnowiec, instead of their regular stadium, the Miejski Stadion Piłkarski "Raków", in Częstochowa, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
v Atalanta
26 October 2023 (2023-10-26) 3 Sturm Graz 2–2 Atalanta Graz
17:45 CEST (UTC+2)Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 14,167[10]
Referee: Duje Strukan (Croatia)
v Sturm Graz
9 November 2023 (2023-11-09) 4 Atalanta 1–0 Sturm Graz Bergamo, Italy
19:00 CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia
Attendance: 14,739[11]
Referee: Jérôme Brisard (France)
v Raków Częstochowa
30 November 2023 (2023-11-30) 5 Sturm Graz 0–1 Raków Częstochowa Graz
16:45 CET (UTC+1)Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 12,517[12]
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
v Sturm Graz
14 December 2023 (2023-12-14) 6 Sporting CP 3–0 Sturm Graz Lisbon, Portugal
19:00 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Estádio José Alvalade
Attendance: 24,733[13]
Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

UEFA Europa Conference League

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Knockout phase

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Knockout round play-offs
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The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 18 December 2023.

v Slovan Bratislava
15 February 2024 First leg Sturm Graz 4–1 Slovan Bratislava Graz
18:45 CET (UTC+1)
ReportStadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 12,817
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim
v Sturm Graz
22 February 2024 Second leg Slovan Bratislava 0–1
(1–5 agg.)
Sturm Graz Bratislava
21:00 CET (UTC+1)ReportStadium: Tehelné pole
Attendance: 19,870
Referee: Orel Grinfeld
Round of 16
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v Lille
7 March 2024 First leg Sturm Graz 0–3 Lille Graz
18:45 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Merkur Arena
Attendance: 13,825[14]
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)
v Sturm Graz
14 March 2024 Second leg Lille 1–1
(4–1 agg.)
Sturm Graz Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
21:00 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Attendance: 17,888[15]
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Note: Lille won 4–1 on aggregate.

References

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  1. ^ "Salzburg entthront: Sturm zum vierten Mal Meister!" (in German). Kicker. 19 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Bundesliga.at - Tabelle" [Bundesliga.at - Table] (in German). Austrian Football Bundesliga. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Bundesliga.at - Tabelle" [Bundesliga.at - Table] (in German). Austrian Football Bundesliga. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Admiral Bundesliga 23/24: Das ist der neue Spielplan!". Bundesliga | ligaportal. June 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Eliasch, Christoph (June 25, 2023). "Erste ÖFB-Cup-Runde 2023/24 ausgelost". Sky Sport Austria.
  6. ^ "PSV Eindhoven vs. Sturm Graz" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Sturm Graz vs. PSV Eindhoven" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Sturm Graz vs. Sporting CP" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Raków Częstochowa vs. Sturm Graz" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Sturm Graz vs. Atalanta" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Atalanta vs. Sturm Graz" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Sturm Graz vs. Raków Częstochowa" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Sporting CP vs. Sturm Graz" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Sturm Graz vs. Lille" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Lille vs. Sturm Graz" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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