In this column I would like to shortly comment upon the so-called „little news” of the world of sport from my point of view and a bit differently. I put every writing separated from each other with title and date, and the newest writings will always be put on the top, under this introductory. This way by reading the first writing you had seen before you would know that all the following lines had been read by you before. On the other hand, dear reader, you can also read the earlier writings again if you would like to.
October 12, 1999 – European Football Championship in Portugal in 2004
Unfortunately I was not wrong. According to the verdict Portugal can organize the European Championship in 2004. I am sorry about it but it would make me forget my bad feeling of today if Hungary would be there in Portugal by not the right of the organizer any more but by the right of its own following the successful qualifying rounds. Many of us feel the same about it, do not we?!
October 6, 1999 – European Football Championship in 2004
On the 12th of October the board of directors of the European football association will decide which of the three applicants can organize the European Football Championship in 2004. In his optimistic publications the Hungarian sport management daily states that the Austrian-Hungarian application is the most successful. The other two applicants are Spain and Portugal. Of course today I cannot tell what the final verdict will be. But I can imagine how the debate of the board will take place before the vote.
During the Hungarian reasons the mentioning of the Austrian-Hungarian world fair cancelled by the Hungarians barely one and a half years before the world fair will probably have a positive effect. The Hungarian football is placed in the hindmost third of Europe. The new management of the Hungarian sport association started its work with a debt of many hundred-millions and because of this all of its energy will probably be consumed by working it off in the following years. Close upon 40% of the members of the association still feels that the government removed the former president, supported by them, „by force” and for this reason they thought that the new management was pledged to the government. In the budget of the Hungarian government there is no reserved cover for the European Championship intended. The dismissed and elected president of the association has to face a future weighed by legal actions and official procedures. I know, our minister said that the recent past of the ISM and the Association did not have a negative effect on our application. But I believe that I should be befuddled at the least to put the Hungarian application in front of the applications of Spain or Portugal which both have millions of football-lovers and outstanding football-players. I would like nobody to misunderstand me. I am keeping my fingers crossed that should the whole deciding board get drunk before the vote and vote for us unanimously. It would mean a lot to the Hungarian sporting life, in which I had spent about the third of my life.
