Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said sport – and football in particular – is the shared language of Central Europe.
The prime minister made the declaration during the inauguration of the TSC Football Academy in Topolya in Serbia.
PM Orbán said it is natural that sport binds together the peoples of Central Europe – such as Serbs and Hungarians. Although, he said, “we have a difficult history”, the winds that are now blowing are “filling the sails of cooperation”.
The prime minister stressed that in Europe today those who unite their forces will gain in strength; those, however, who do not seek cooperation will weaken and disintegrate. He added that the Serbs and Hungarians have opted for cooperation in politics, the economy, culture and also in sport – for which he thanked President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.
During his speech, PM Orbán noted that the Topolya Football Academy is only the beginning. “There are many fine tasks ahead, sports complexes to be built […] and the organization of sport for many thousands of children,” he said.
Speaking about why this is being done in Serbia, the prime minister said that a large number of Hungarians live in Serbia, and their motherland has an interest in the success of those who live there.
He recalled that in the 1980s Serbia was a more advanced and freer country than Hungary, and “those who once managed to reach the top will be able to do so again; it is only a question of time. I am certain that we will live to see Serbia at the top,” he added.