Budapest Honvéd FC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Budapest Honvéd

Full name	Budapest Honvéd Football Club
Nickname(s)	Kispest Oroszlánok (Lions)
Founded	3 August 1909; 116 years ago (1909-08-03)
Ground	Bozsik Aréna, Budapest
Ground Capacity	8,200
Chairman	Tamás Leisztinger
Manager	Tamás Feczkó
League	NB II
2024–25	NB II, 8th of 16
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Budapest Honvéd Football Club is a Hungarian sports club. It is based in Kispest, Budapest. The club's colors are red and black.

The word Honvéd means "Homeland Defence" in Hungarian. The club is most famous for its football team. It was first called Kispest AC. In 1926, it became Kispest FC. Then, in 1944, it went back to its original name.

The team had a "golden age" in the 1950s. It was renamed Budapesti Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian Army team. Famous players like Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, Zoltán Czibor, and Gyula Grosics played for the club then. They helped the club win the Hungarian League four times in the 1950s. These players also formed the core of the amazing Hungary national team, known as the Mighty Magyars.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the club was very successful again. They won eight more Hungarian League titles. They also won both the league and the cup in 1985 and 1989. In 1991, the club changed its name to Kispest Honvéd FC. It got its current name, Budapest Honvéd FC, in 2003.

When the club started in 1909, it had teams for many sports. These included fencing, cycling, gymnastics, wrestling, athletics, boxing, and tennis. Later, other teams joined the Honvéd family. These included a water polo team, a 33-time basketball champion team, and a handball team. The handball team even won the European Champions title in 1982.

Club History

Budapest Honvéd FC started in 1909 as Kispesti AC. They first played in Hungary's top football league, the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, in the 1916–17 season. Their first big win was in the 1926 Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup). They beat Budapesti EAC in the final match. The club played in the first division from 1916 until 2003, when they moved down to the second division.

Home Stadiums

The first stadium was demolished in 2019

Budapest Honvéd's first stadium opened in 1913. The very last game played there was on August 5, 2018. Honvéd won against Paksi FC in that match. Danilo scored the only goal. The old stadium was taken down in 2019.

The club's new stadium, the Bozsik Aréna, opened in 2021. The first match played there was between Budapest Honvéd FC II and Szekszárdi UFC. The stadium was also chosen to host games for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Team Look: Crest and Colours

Budapest Honvéd FC crest used until 2020.

Kit Makers and Sponsors

This table shows the companies that made Budapest Honvéd FC's kits and the sponsors on their shirts over the years:

Club Achievements

• Nemzeti Bajnokság I (Hungarian First League)
  • Winners (14): 1949–50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2016–17
• Nemzeti Bajnokság II (Hungarian Second League)
  • Winners (1): 2003–04
• Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup)
  • Winners (8): 1925–26, 1964, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2019–20
• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter final (1): 1978/79 (Reached the last 8 teams)
• Mitropa Cup
  • Winners (1): 1959

Friendly Competitions

• Tournoi de Pâques du Red Star
  • Winners (1): 1932
• Trofeo Ciudad de Vigo
  • Winners (1): 1974

Youth Teams

• Puskás Cup:
  • Winners (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016

Seasons

League positions

• In 2003–04 the second tier league was called NB I/B.

Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 4 DF Alex Szabó 5 DF Dominik Csontos 8 MF Ákos Sigér 9 FW Sebestyén Ihrig-Farkas 13 MF Tamás Csilus 15 DF Bonifác Csonka 17 FW Patrik Pinte (on loan from Nyíregyháza) 22 MF Noel Keresztes 23 FW Zoltán Medgyes 33 DF Szilveszter Hangya 40 MF Ádám Szamosi

No. Position Player 44 DF Ákos Baki 47 DF Tibor Szabó 49 DF Branko Pauljević 55 MF Gergely Kocsis Fs player|no=74|nat=HUN|name=Benedek Simon|pos=FW}} 83 GK Tomáš Tujvel 93 MF Barna Kesztyűs 95 GK Gergő Rácz 99 DF István Pekár

Players on Loan

Retired Numbers

10 – Ferenc Puskás, Forward (1949–56). This number was retired in July 2000 to honor him.

Famous Former Players

These players have played for their country's national team. Players whose name is in bold played for their country while they were with Budapest Honvéd FC.

Club Staff

Management Team

As of September 15, 2024

Position	Name
Proprietor	Tamás Leisztinger
Managing Director	Árpád Séllei
Director of Sports	Sándor Fórizs
Director of Facility	Dávid Szabó
Director of Finance	Mária Takács
Director of Communications	Benedek Rác

First Team Staff

As of June 6, 2025

Position	Name
Head coach	Tamás Feczkó
Assistant coach	István Márton
Assistant coach	István Paulik
Goalkeeping coach	István Brockhauser
Fitness coach	Péter Tepliczky
Physiotherapist	Fanni Máriás

Club Ownership

In 2022, Chris Docherty became the new sports director for the club. He mentioned in an interview that the club could not sign new players. This was due to money problems during the 2022-23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.

On May 22, 2023, Chris Docherty left his role as sports director. George F. Hemingway, a former owner, spoke out. He criticized the club's management because the team moved down to the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. This happened after they finished 11th in the 2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. Hemingway said that having enough money is not enough if there isn't good leadership.

On April 27, 2024, it was announced that a business led by Tamás Lisztinger was interested in buying the club.

Owners Over Time

• 2006–2019: Quinex America LLC (George F. Hemingway)
• 2019–2024: Reditus Equity (Zoltán Bozó)
• 2024-present: ARAGO-SPORT Kft. (Tamás Leisztinger)

See also

In Spanish: Budapest Honvéd Football Club para niños

• History of Budapest Honvéd FC
• List of Budapest Honvéd FC seasons
• Budapest Honvéd FC in European football
• List of Budapest Honvéd FC managers