Frank Stronach was always a fan of soccer, since he played actively in his youth. In the year 2000 he founded the Austrian Soccer Academy.
This institution provided a professional training and support environment for young talents produced such renowned international soccer players as David Alaba and Aleksandar Dragovic, but eventually fell victim to the soccer union fuctionary politics customary in Austrian soccer. Bureaucracy and political scheming have always a source of irritation for the free spirited Frank Stronach – this endeavor is one prominent example, of what happens, when free entrepreneurial spirit goes head to head with bureaucratic systems.
Here are a few links to (german language) media coverage of the projects beginning and end:
Press release for the start of the soccer academy
Article in the Magazine “NEWS” with infos to the political sabotage of the successful soccer academy