Advantage Ladies, the FE&MALE Sports Conference, goes into her 2026 fourth edition and is a platform for diversity, justice and exchange in sport. In co-operation with Sport Austria and the RBG Reichel Business Group GmbH it brings together people who shape sport - on and off the pitch.
FE&MALE consciously stands for female and male - and above all for the & in between: Connection, responsibility and mutual learning. Diversity is more than a binary system - yet the focus in 2026 is on a central lever for change: male allyship.
Embedded in the international women's tennis tournament Upper Austria Ladies Linz the conference is unique in its visibility and open to all sports. Participants from sport, politics, media, business, science and education exchange experiences and learn from each other.
Design Center Linz
8 April 2026
One ticket. A whole conference day.
Advantage Ladies, the FE&MALE Sports Conference 2026 offers for the first time an extended conference experience over the entire day. The conference ticket includes the full programme - from inspiring keynotes and high-level panels in the morning to in-depth workshops in the afternoon that enable exchange, practice and knowledge transfer.
| 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Early-Bird-Ticket | 135,00€ |
| Normal price | 165,00€ |
| VIP | 399,00 € |
| Pupils & students | 50,00€ |
| Wheelchair users | 50,00 € |
Ticket
Early-Bird-Ticket
135,- €
Normal price
165,- €
VIP
399,- €
Pupils and students
50,- €
50,- €
The conference ticket includes:
- Participation in the entire conference day
(morning: keynotes & high-level panels | afternoon: workshop programme) - Participation in two freely selectable workshops from various sport-specific subject areas
(Workshop registration takes place after ticket purchase, shortly before the conference | allocation on a first come, first serve basis) - Lunch and drinks during the conference day
- Access to the FE&MALE networking area
- Seating ticket at centre court for the evening match of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz | WTA 500
Sharing responsibility:
Male allies
Advantage Ladies, the FE&MALE Sports Conference, 2026 moves closer Male Allyship - male allies into focus. After all, it is still predominantly men in key positions who decide on resources, funding and the direction of sport. It is not about segregation by gender, but about the fact that People in these influential positions - predominantly men - take responsibility, listen and act. When they become active, it changes how teams are managed, how young talent is promoted and how culture is lived. FE&MALE offers a space for this: for dialogue, inspiration and conscious Support for - to make sport fairer for everyone.
PROGRAM
What you can expect:
Sports
comprehensive
network
Practical experience
Give impulses
Share the excitement live
What's new?
More room for exchange, depth and knowledge transfer.
Based on the experience of the last three years and feedback from our participants, we are expanding Advantage Ladies, the FE&MALE Sports Conference, to include in-depth afternoon workshops for the first time in 2026.
The conference brings together people with very different roles and responsibilities in sport - from decision-makers to coaches, operational experts in the field of youth and sports development, media and communication managers to active and former competitive athletes - and many others who help shape sporting events from a wide variety of perspectives and bring enormous expertise to the table themselves.
In the workshops, we create targeted spaces for dialogue, specialist input and transfer into your own sports practice - beyond frontal lectures. The aim here is not just to take away content, but to reflect together, learn from each other and develop specific ideas for your own system.
Because real change happens where knowledge is shared, responsibility is thought through together and experience is brought together - United for Change.
PROGRAM
What you can expect:
Sports
comprehensive
network
Practical experience
Give impulses
Share the excitement live
Quotes
Voices that have moved:
That was the FE&MALE Sports Conference 2025
Speakers who have made a difference:
Hengstschläger
The programme on 29.01.2025
9.00 - 9.30 a.m.
Arrive, check in, have a coffee: Welcome!
9.30 - 9.45 a.m.
Opening
9.45 - 10.25 a.m.
OPENING PANEL
Dialogue of possibilities
Prof Dr Markus Hengstschläger
Dr Lara Vadlau, Olympic sailing champion
Driving Change
#Collaboration
10.30 - 11.00 a.m.
KEYNOTE
Formula One and the 50-Year Gender Barrier: Why the Wait, and How to Change the Race
Fran Longstaff, PhD, Head of Research, More Than Equal
11.05 - 11.35 a.m.
KEYNOTE
Beyond Words - How sports brands take impactful decisions in sports sponsorship
Yana Bokareva, Sports Marketing Manager at ASICS EMEA
11.35 - 12.15 h
PANEL TALK
Value of Collaboration: Creating a Supportive Environment in Sport
Fran Longstaff, PhD, Head of Research, More Than Equal
Yana Bokareva, Sports Marketing Manager at ASICS EMEA
Barbara Schett-Eagle, former WTA No. 7 in singles, TV-
Expert
12.15 - 13.15
Lunch break
New horizons
#Perspectives
1.25 - 1.55 pm
KEYNOTE
Hype or sustainable growth? The change illustrated with figures and case studies.
Bettina Baer, Client Service Director, Two Circles
14.00 - 14.30
KEYNOTE
Women's sport in Austria: Between hurdles and flying high
David Pfarrhofer, Institute Director, MARKET
14.35 - 15.10
PANEL TALK
Women's sport through the eyes of men: Perception versus reality
Nico Langmann, wheelchair tennis player
Marcel Meinert, TV commentator, Sky Germany,
Jürgen Irsigler, CEO, Admiral Sportwetten GmbH
Marc Philippe, PhD, Head of Competence Centre Science, Olympiazentrum Vorarlberg GmbH
3.15 - 3.45 pm
Let's Stretch & Smile
Power of Sport
#Visions
3.50 - 4.10 pm
KEYNOTE
Unleashing Potential: Saman's Journey to a Stronger You
Saman Soltani, IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024
16.15 - 16.55
PANEL TALK
Sport as a game changer for a more equal world?
Alexandra Tschacher, Teamlead External Communications and Social Media, Plan International
Lena Millonig, track and field athlete, sports ambassador for Plan International
Damir Djukic, former national handball player, coach and Plan International ambassador
17.00 - 17.30
PANEL TALK
Dream. Achieve. Inspire: The next generation in sport
Magdalena Lobnig, Rowing, Olympics
Bronze medallist2021
Isabella Frint, volleyball player, Oberbank Steelvolleys Linz-Steg
Ivonn Simeonova, Development Driver, More Than Equal
Yara Maria Kandlbinder, football referee
Charlize Mörz, gymnast of the year 2024
From 5.45 pm
Networking
From 18.00 hrs
Evening match
The event will once again be hosted by ORF journalist Alina Zellhofer, who has just been voted Sports Journalist of the Year in Austria.