Meisl was born in the Bohemian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born to a Jewish family. At the age of 12, he went to Vienna and developed an interest in the new football sport in Austria. He became member of the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club in 1895 but did not play regularly, because he was often out of the country for schooling. He became a bank clerk in 1905 and started his career as football official.