The fourth Advantage Ladies FE&MALE Sports Conference as part of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz set the tone for more gender equality in sport. Under the motto „United for Change“ at the Design Center Linz, the conference organised by the Reichel Business Group (RBG) and Sport Austria brought together around 200 decision-makers from sport, media and science to promote allyship across disciplines, sports and functions - to take responsibility together, exchange perspectives and initiate concrete changes for a significant improvement in gender equality in sport.
High-calibre representatives from a wide range of sports such as Olympic skeleton champion Janine Flock, national football player Sarah Zadrazil and tennis coach Judy Murray joined experts from socially relevant areas such as the media (European Broadcasting Union) and science on stage to discuss the topics of equal opportunities, gender balance and structural changes in sport in an interdisciplinary and practical manner.
The results of an exclusive market research study conducted among Austrian citizens by Sport Austria and the Reichel Business Group in cooperation with the IMAS Institute were also presented at the conference. The study sheds light on key questions regarding equal opportunities in sport, the role of role models, sporting socialisation in childhood and social gender images.
In the second part of the FE&MALE Sports Conference, workshops were used to explore topics such as „Coaching & Training“, „Strategy & Structures“, „Media & Communication“, „Research & Science“ and „Respect & Safety“ in greater depth and to develop concrete solutions.
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
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 | |
|---|---|
| Normal price | 165,00€ |
| VIP | 399,00 € |
| Pupils & students | 50,00€ |
| Wheelchair users | 50,00 € |
Normal price
165,- €
VIP
399,- €
Pupils and students
50,- €
50,- €
The conference ticket includes:
As part of the conference, participants can also take advantage of a special hotel offer at the nearby Courtyard by Marriott Linz.
If you are interested, please contact bk@matchmaker.at (Note: Advantage Ladies participation). Please note that there is only a limited contingent and the offer is only valid while stocks last.
Cost single room: 175€
Cost double room: 200€
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.
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.
Prof Dr Markus Hengstschläger
Dr Lara Vadlau, Olympic sailing champion
Fran Longstaff, PhD, Head of Research, More Than Equal
Yana Bokareva, Sports Marketing Manager at ASICS EMEA
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
Bettina Baer, Client Service Director, Two Circles
David Pfarrhofer, Institute Director, MARKET
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
Saman Soltani, IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024
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
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
The event will once again be hosted by ORF journalist Alina Zellhofer, who has just been voted Sports Journalist of the Year in Austria.
