August 12 – Hungary’s Ferencvaros took charge of their new stadium in Budapest this week, and inaugurated it with a friendly against English Premiership opposition Chelsea.
The Groupama Arena has a 22,600 capacity and is the second biggest stadium in Hungary. It was opened by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán who said: “Sports will show you who you are and what you can become if you work for it, and children must be made to understand that.”
Hungary’s clubs have embarked on a government-backed programme in 2013 to modernise and expand 27 football stadiums by 2016. Of the 27 stadiums, four facilities are to be fitted with a seating capacity of between 8,000 and 14,000, and a further four or five stadiums with a seating capacity of between 6,000 and 8,000.
The stadia are being trumpeted as commitment by the government to provide facilities for its people and also as an example of Hungarian strength in adversity. Orbán thanked Hungarians for raising the funds necessary for building the stadium, saying “four years after the country was on the edge of bankruptcy”, adding “Hungarians showed that they will never give up.”
Hungarian constitutional judge Georgi Markov, said: “This is the third stadium Viktor Orbán will open in 2014 […]. It is obvious the Hungarian government’s policy in the field of sports is yielding results and will probably play a big role in the local elections, which will be held on October 12 this year,” Markov commented.
Groupama Arena will be one of the most modern stadiums in Hungary with a cashless access control system linked to cards enabling supporters to pay for food and drink within the stadium.
Fans have been critical of the system which requires name, address, date of birth and a form of personal identification for registration. These details are checked on entry to the stadium, including a biometric test. The stadium management has said that this will filter out supporters who only attend football to cause violence.
The opening game resulted in 2-1 win for Chelsea over Ferencvaros, though the victory was marred for the visiting Londoners after newly returned Didier Drogba limped off after 30 minutes with an injury.
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