Puskás Akadémia FC


Puskás Akadémia Football Club is a professional football club based in Felcsút, Hungary. It competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of [Hungarian Association football|football league system|Hungarian football], where it has spent ten seasons, reached the Final of the 2017–18 Magyar Kupa season and finished third three times.
Puskás Akadémia has been described as a political project directly tied to Viktor Orbán. Founded in 2007 in his home village of Felcsút, the club has received massive state support, with over €370 million channelled into its operations through subsidies, tax schemes, and public sponsorships. Despite low attendance and limited tradition, it boasts elite facilities like the Pancho Arena and a strong youth system, reflecting Orbán’s vision of using football as a tool for political messaging.
WWW pfla.huIG puskasakademia

On the pitch history

The aim of the founders was to establish an academy for Fehérvár FC and to establish a team in memorial to the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás.

2010s

Puskás won the 2012–13 Nemzeti Bajnokság II and were promoted to the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. Puskás could win 21 matches and drew only seven times. The club were beaten only twice during the season.
In the first season of the top tier, Puskás finished 14th and escaped from the relegation. The club collected 31 point. On 28 September 2013, Puskás surprisingly beat Ferencváros 3-1 at home on game week 9 of the 2013-14 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.
In the 2014–15 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Puskás finished 10th and escaped from relegation. Puskás also received a license from the Hungarian Football Federation during the transformation of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. The transformation meant that the number of clubs were reduced to 12 from 16 and clubs such as Győr and Kecskemét were relegated even if they finished in the eighth and ninth position respectively.
On the 30th matchday of the 2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Robert Jarni was dismissed due to the defeat against Békéscsaba 1912 Előre at the Pancho Aréna on 16 April 2016 resulting Puskás Akadémia's last position and relegation for the first time in history.
On 22 December 2016, Attila Pintér was appointed as the head coach of the club. Pintér left Mezőkövesdi SE, playing in the 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, for Puskás Akadémia.
On 21 May 2017, Puskás Akadémia won the 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság II season after a goalless draw against Ceglédi VSE in Albertirsa. As a consequence, Puskás Akadémia got promoted to the 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. They could return to the first division after spending only one year in the second division.
On 12 June 2017, András Komjáti, previously manager of Vasas SC, was appointed as the club director.
Before the start of the 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Puskás Akadémia signed Molnár from Mezőkövesd, Radó from Ferencváros, thus becoming the third most valuable team in the 2017–18 season of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.
On 4 June 2018, Pintér was sacked after finishing 6th in the 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság I.
On 8 December 2018, after a 1–1 draw against Paksi FC Benczés was sacked due to the negative results. The club finished 9th before the winter break. Therefore, András Komjáti would be the interim manager on the last match day of the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság I.
On 29 December 2018, János Radoki, who was born in Mór, was appointed as the manager of the club. Radoki previously played 25 matches in the 1999–2000 Bundesliga in SSV Ulm as a player. He managed the U-17 team of FC Augsburg and the U-19 team of Greuther Fürth. On 7 April 2019, Radoki was replaced by András Komjáti after a shocking defeat at home against Kisvárda FC.

2020s

The first match of the 2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season was postponed after one player tested positive for COVID-19.
Puskás finished second in the 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. Therefore, they were eligible for playing in the 2021-22 UEFA Conference League season. In the first round, Puskás drew with FC Inter Turku and beat the Finnish team at home. However, in the second round Puskás were defeated both at home and away by the Latvian club FK RFS.
On 21 July 2022, Puskás lost 3–0 against Vitória S.C. in the first leg of the second round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães, Portugal.
In the 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Puskás Akadémia finished third. They won 15 matches, among which the most surprising victory was against title holders Ferencváros at the Groupama Aréna on 13 August 2023. Puskás Akadémia drew 10 times and lost eight matches. The biggest defeat was against Kecskemét on 26 August 2023.
Puskás entered the second round of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase. However, they could advance to the third round without playing against SC Dnipro-1 since the Ukrainian opponent forfeited due to bankruptcy. Puskás were awarded a 6–0 victory. On 28 July 2024, Puskás started the 2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I with a 2–1 victory over Újpest FC at the Szusza Ferenc Stadion. On 4 August 2024, Puskás beat Zalaegerszeg at home in the Nemzeti Bajnokság. On 8 August 2024, Puskás beat FC Ararat-Armenia 1–0 at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia. The only goal was scored by Mikael Soisalo in the 89th minute. On 11 August 2024, Puskás beat newly-promoted Nyíregyháza 3-1 at home in the Nemzeti Bajnokság. On 15 August 2024, Puskás drew with Ararat-Armenia at the Pancho Aréna. Puskás qualified for the play-offs on 4–3 aggregate. On 18 August 2024, Puksás beat MTK Budapest 1-0 at home. The club started the season with four victories. On 22 August 2024, Puksás were hosted by Serie A club ACF Fiorentina. Puskás took the lead and in the 12th minute Puskás were winning by two goals. The goals were scored by Zsolt Nagy and Soisalo. Just before the end of the first half, Ricardo Sottil scored a goal. In the second half, Fiorentina could equalize the result thanks to Lucas Martinez Quarta and took the lead in the 75th minute thanks to Moise Kean. In the 89th minute Wojciech Golla scored the equalizer. The match ended with a draw at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy. In the second tie, Puskás drew with Fiorentina at the Panho Aréna on 29 August 2024. Fiorentina took the lead in the 59th minute by Kean. Zsolt Nagy scored the equalizer in the 97th minute. In the extra time the teams did not score any goals. In the penalty shoot-out, Roland Szolnoki missed the penalty which meant that Fiorentina qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League league phase.
In the 2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Puskás was in close competition for their first title with major rivals Ferencvárosi TC and Paksi FC. On the 30th match day, Ferencváros hosted Puskás at the Groupama Aréna and the match ended with a 1–1 draw on 3 May 2025. In the next round, Puskás beat Debreceni VSC 4–2 at home, while Ferencváros beat Paks 3–2 away. Finally, Puskás finished in the second position and qualified for the UEFA Conference League.
On 9 May 2025, Zsolt Hornyák renewed his contract until 2027.
In June 2025, Ármin Pécsi sold to Liverpool F.C.. On 8 July 2025, the club signed former Hungarian national team and Hertha BSC coach Pál Dárdai's oldest son, Palkó Dárdai.
Puskás entered the second round of the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase. On 24 July 2025, Puskás were beaten 3–2 by Aris Limassol FC at the Alphamega Stadium, in Limassol, Cyprus. In the second, leg Puskás lost to Aris 2–0 at home and thus were eliminated from the European competition.
In the 2025–26 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Puskás started their campaign at home against newly-promoted Kazincbarcikai SC and they beat the Borsod team by 2–1. On game week 2, Puskás beat Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC 3–2 at home. Puskás's first away match ended with a 2–1 victory for newly-promoted Kisvárda FC.

Club Identity, supporters, and ties to Viktor Orbán

Puskás Akadémia is a football club in Hungary that operates less as a traditional sports institution and more as a political symbol, deeply entwined with the ambitions of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Founded in 2007 in the village of Felcsút, where Orbán grew up, the club was established on the 80th birthday of Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás and has since become a key feature of the prime minister’s long-term cultural and political vision. The club’s rise from obscurity to the top flight of Hungarian football has been fuelled by massive public investment, amounting to around €370 million since 2010, channelled through state subsidies, tax redirection schemes, and corporate sponsorships.
Unlike historic clubs with deep-rooted fanbases and city identities, Puskás Akadémia has no traditional supporters and very limited local engagement, with average attendances around 1,500. Its state-of-the-art Pancho Arena was built within view of Orbán’s childhood home and serves as a physical monument to his leadership and aesthetic tastes. Academics describe the club as one of the clearest examples in Europe of political instrumentalisation in football, designed to function as a vehicle for regime messaging rather than community sport.

Honours

Youth teams

Seasons

League positions


ImageSize = width:600 height:75
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2026
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:2013
Colors =
id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier
id:Second_tier value:yellow legend:Second_tier
id:Third_tier value:orange legend:Third_tier
id:Fourth_tier value:pink legend:Fourth_tier
id:Fifth_tier value:red legend:Fifth_tier
id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 color:yellow shift: text: "NB II"
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift: text:14
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift: text:10
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2016 color:green shift: text: "NB I"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 color:yellow shift: text: "NB II"
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift: text:6
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift: text:3
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift: text:3
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift: text:4
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift: text:3
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 shift: text:
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2026 color:green shift: text: "NB I"

European record

As of matches played 31 July 2025
;NotesQR: Qualifying roundPO: Play-off round

Players

Reserve team

''For the reserve squads, see Puskás Akadémia II''

Records

''As of 21 May 2025.''