Our supporters' forum held on Tuesday, 22 July attracted similarly strong interest to the one in February. Five club representatives – managing director Árpád Séllei, sporting director Sándor Fórizs, head coach Tamás Feczkó, press officer Dávid Kungli and first-team captain Szilveszter Hangya – attended together with around 150 Honvéd supporters.
The forum focused on the roughly six-month period behind us, particularly the summer changes to the squad and the spring half-season.
"I believe we fully achieved our objectives for the spring. Tomi's (Tamás Feczkó – ed.) prediction was a little more optimistic than mine, but in the end he was right that the team would finish in the top three of the spring table. We were not satisfied with the final result of the season, however. We managed to build a united and good team, which is thanks to the professional staff led by Feczkó Tomi. This is what a dressing room should look like: everyone can fight for one another, and I believe this team can be successful next season" – our sporting director began his assessment, before also discussing the background to the transfers.
"In my opinion, these signings have made our team stronger. Two defenders arrived. Signing Kevin Kállai was very important after Zsombor Bévárdi left, while we also needed a player who can properly replace Szilveszter Hangya if our captain has a problem. It can be a major advantage for us that this team has been playing together for half a year. There are not many teams in the league whose core has remained this intact. At the same time, the new players have integrated very well into the group. It was extremely important to me that the people joining us genuinely wanted to play football here and also met our standards as people. Players with an excellent mentality have arrived. We are stronger than we were last March. We are working to achieve the best possible result and we want to bring joy to our supporters. There are many factors in football, however, and you cannot simply declare things or take them for granted."
Tamás Feczkó thanked the supporters for the trust they showed in February and for their support during the spring, then spoke about the objectives as well.
"This was only the first step we took together with you. The team can hardly wait for the season to start on Monday. We want to carry forward the momentum and the many celebrations we experienced together in the spring. We really needed your support to remain successful until the end of the league campaign. In February I said we would finish no lower than eighth. I think Vasas, Vidi, Kecskemét, Mezőkövesd, Szeged and Szentlőrinc all clearly have to be taken seriously, and there is always a surprise team too. I would like our final home match against Vasas to still have something at stake for us."
"The management signed players for positions where we needed reinforcement during the summer. Our players know the responsibility that comes with putting on the Honvéd shirt. The squad has improved in quality. The players who have arrived recently are not yet at the same physical level as those we have been working with, but they will become major strengths for us."
Szilveszter Hangya – now officially – spoke in his role as team captain.
"We fought for one another, and we needed you for that too. It was an incredible feeling for us that so many of you followed us week after week to both our home and away matches. I highlighted that to the team several times after the warm-ups. Every away match felt like a home game. That level of commitment is the minimum that can be expected from us now as well. This season, however, we will no longer give our opponents a half-season head start. Already against Videoton we want to show what we are going to fight for and make our goals clear to everyone. We will fight for the team, for you supporters, and to return to the top flight" – our 31-year-old defender concluded.
Our managing director Árpád Séllei highlighted the club's development path and potential.
"Our outlook is very encouraging. We have managed to achieve change at every level. Serious professional work is under way, and we have many good players in the youth system as well."
Those present were most interested in the objectives for the 2025/26 season and in why the pre-season matches were played behind closed doors; one of the first questions addressed the latter topic. Regarding this issue, our sporting director cited the Academy's limited capacity and the financial cost of renting Bozsik Aréna as the main reasons, while stressing that the matches could be followed live on our online platforms.
The forum also covered players who had featured less during pre-season, the injured Kevin Kántor, our new signings Ádám Gyurcsó and Kevin Kállai, the effects of the youth-player rule, and the Hungarian Football Federation's new disciplinary regulations.
As is known, the federation has announced zero tolerance for racist and discriminatory expressions, including the use of the term 'cigányozás'. In the league campaign beginning this weekend, clubs whose supporters commit racist or discriminatory offences during matches can expect even stricter punishment than before. In the event of an offence, the disciplinary committee can sanction clubs by closing sectors and subsequently ordering matches behind closed doors. According to the disciplinary ruling, it is prohibited to violate 'the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or a group of people on the basis of race, skin colour, ethnic group, nationality, social origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or any other opinion, wealth or birth'.
You can watch our supporters' forum again here:
