Football beyond state borders – The story of the emerging Hungarian football clubs in the Carpathian Basin_x000D_
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In the last decade more ethnic Hungarian football clubs started to emerge in the Carpathian Basin, beyond the current borders of Hungary. Football clubs like Sepsi OSK in the Romanian league, DAC Dunaszerdahely in Slovakia or TSC Topolya in Serbia – enjoying the generous financial and determined moral support of the Hungarian Government, as well as the Hungarian state-owned companies – achieved various successes not only in their given domestic leagues but also in international competitions. These results started to attract the local Hungarian communities, various fanclubs were formed. New stadiums, youth academies were built by the support of Budapest. The VIP sections of these stadiums are often locations of bilateral political meetings. _x000D_
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This was the result of a long and conscious work of the Hungarian Government and a visible intention of promoting Hungarian football beyond the borders. These clubs are – for obvious reasons – tools of national politics with the intention of preserving local Hungarian communities as well as decreasing local ethnic tensions. But was this a success story? Do we have stronger communities and less tensions with our neighbors? Is this a good soft-power tool to protect and preserve our own people in minority? After more than a decade we can perhaps draw the balance. _x000D_
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In my presentation I’ll talk about the network of Hungarian sport clubs across the Carpathian Basin; how they are related to the Hungarian government, and I’ll try to explain the government’s aims to strengthen the Hungarian national identity in neighboring countries. _x000D_

Szabó Balázs
Hungarian Sport Journalists’ Association

 
ID Abstract: 582