Hungary: Filling the Gaps in the Strategic State Sector

The aim of this article is to introduce the evolution of the private sport sector in Hungary. First, taking a historical viewpoint into account, the emergence of the private sport sector will be sketched from the 1800s to date. It is reasonable to say that with some exceptional periods such as the state socialist era, the private sport sector in Hungary has always been present, but its scope and forms of function have been adapted to the current social, political, and economic environments. Second, statistical data will be presented to show the structure and volume of the private sport sector using data from 2013. Third, the ‘development path’ of sport acts, which reflects the professionalization and commercialization processes in sport, will be demonstrated. Fourth, taking a global perspective, an example on football will be used to highlight the key features in the development of professional sport. The attributes of football academies, football stadium development projects and the contemporary way of stadium management will also be introduced. It can be concluded, that the private sector in Hungarian sport has emerged relatively early, dating back to the beginning of the 1800s. Its development, however, was fragmented due to the political and economic transitions storming through the national, European and global historical scenes. It is reasonable to say that the private sector in Hungarian sport has evolved through three main pathways: (1) in segments that were not covered by the state and civil sectors, (2) in gaps that were created by the reduction of municipality activities followed by outsourcing, and (3) in the field of professional sport, that has been shaped by the interaction of global and local/national processes.