Sándor Csányi: 'In Hungary, football is part of our culture'

Sándor Csányi has been president of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) since 2010, overseeing a revival in the country's love affair with the game thanks to strong leadership and sound investment.

A banker, financier and economic expert, Csányi was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee in 2015 and appointed vice-president in 2019. Since 2025, he has held European football's highest financial position as UEFA treasurer, and has also served on the FIFA Council, now as a vice-president, since 2017.

In an exclusive interview, he reflects on his own passion for the sport, some of the issues facing European football and the prospect of Hungary staging its first-ever UEFA Champions League final at the end of this season.

Sándor, can you talk us through your personal journey to becoming president of the MLSZ and joining the UEFA Executive Committee?

Football has always been part of my life. In the small village where I grew up, we played on the streets. During my school years and later while working, this sport was a great pleasure and joy for my generation.

I had already held various positions in football when – in 2010 after several calls and encouragements – I decided to run for the presidency of the Hungarian Football Federation. After my election, I wanted to make the most out of the position and used my financial and operational experience to help rebuild Hungarian football, which has once been among the best in the world.

It was always clear to me that I wanted to be as close as possible to the decision-making bodies of European football. As a vice-president of UEFA’s Executive Committee, I was able to take part in decisions that had a broader impact on our sport.

I was chair of the National Team Competitions Committee and took part in the work of the Youth Committee. During this time, we launched the UEFA Nations League, reshaped the format of the EURO and youth competitions and introduced reforms to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, as well as creating the UEFA Conference League.

These measures have supported the structure of football at both national team and club level. I believe the impact of these decisions has also been very beneficial back home, where clubs, for example, continue to debate the structure of the professional leagues.

What were your early experiences of football, and what made you fall in love with the game?

I grew up in the 1960s, when Hungarian football was still rich in world-class players. Ferenc Puskás and his generation had already left the country or finished their career, but outstanding talents were still appearing on the pitch week after week.

One of my favourite memories dates back to 1964 – just a few days after my 11th birthday – when MTK defeated Celtic 4-0 at the Népstadion in the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup. The performance of players such as like Károly ‘Csikar’ Sándor were unforgettable. It is no surprise that the youth academy of MTK bears the winger’s name.

I could also mention Ferencváros’ victory over Juventus in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965, featuring stars such as the late Ballon d’Or winner, Flórián Albert.

I often watch videos of these historic matches on the MLSZ archive channel, and I believe that for example the defeat of Brazil at the 1966 World Cup still represents football of the highest quality.

Hungary celebrate their second goal during the 3-1 win over Brazil at the 1966 World CupMirrorpix via Getty Images

You were recently appointed UEFA treasurer. How do you reflect on the responsibility, and what are your thoughts on the financial health of European football?

Financial stability, predictability, transparency and reliable guidelines are key for the prosperity of European football at all levels – clubs, national associations and leagues.

A new challenge is increasing revenues by selling new media rights through opportunities such as streaming or social media highlights. It is in everyone’s interest to support investment, while maintaining financial balance between associations, top clubs, smaller youth clubs and grassroots teams.

We must ensure that as much income as possible remains within football rather than leaving the sport. As treasurer, it is also my responsibility to ensure that UEFA invests its financial resources in the best possible way, while also paying attention to costs right across the business. Every single euro that is spent unnecessarily is taken away from the sport's foundation: youth and grassroots football. So we must be cost conscious and, where appropriate, incentivise staff to spot opportunities to reduce administrative spend and therefore increase spend on what matters most.

I believe that we must also support clubs that are developing and educating young talents, while also providing a fair framework for top professional clubs. This is only possible through a holistic approach based on solidarity and long-term thinking.

Apart from the significant financial support that UEFA provides for the daily working and projects such as pitch-building, we should not underestimate the guidance provided to member associations. With so many different interests and visions, it is very important to have a strong and supportive UEFA overseeing European football.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing European football in 2026 and beyond, and how can we tackle them?

The world's best 100 players are members of around 20 top clubs in a few top leagues. This is an inevitable result of the huge revenues generated by the top leagues and competitions.

However, it also means that many excellent players are sitting on the bench instead of attracting fans to a different, perhaps slightly smaller, team.

Interest in football is enormous, but we cannot focus only on the global football world – we must also think locally. For me, local competitions, futsal, women's and youth football are just as important as the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League.

At the same time – and I know the President has already spoken about this on a number of occasions – the number of matches shouldn’t increase any further. It seems clear to me that the extremely high transfer fees and salaries of top football players and coaches could only have been financed by increasing the number of matches. Everyone needs to remember that, if we are to reduce the number of matches, there will be inevitable consequences if the game is to continue to thrive.

The MLSZ celebrated its 125th anniversary earlier this year – how proud are you to lead the organisation, and what have been the highlights of your tenure so far?

First, I am proud of our predecessors: the Hungarian clubs established our association very early, back in 1901. MLSZ was one of the first associations on the continent to be founded independently from larger, multi-sports organisations, focusing solely on the governance of football.

We were pioneers of the professional league and stadium development programmes in the region, which led to high spectator numbers.

We should also remember that in 1938, we reached our first FIFA World Cup final followed by the famous 1954 final in Bern. And I would also mention our record three men's Olympic gold medals.

The relationship between the Hungarian people and football has always been special: I believe that it is part of our culture, and the fact that we began playing this game and established the association 125 years ago has a deep impact on that.

I am proud that our Prime Minister and the presidents of UEFA and FIFA all accepted our invitation to Budapest when we celebrated the anniversary in January.

Hungary's players celebrate with fans at UEFA EURO 2016AFP via Getty Images

Hungarian football has made great strides in recent years – to what do you attribute this improvement?

We have restarted and rebuilt football in our country. Football stadia and pitches have been built or renewed and the number of registered players has almost tripled in less than a decade. We also cover around 90% of the operating costs of the youth and amateur teams to support their daily operation.

Hungarian clubs are also becoming increasingly competitive and successful in European level – especially Ferencváros, who qualified to the last 16 of the Europa League this season and has played in one of UEFA’s top club competitions for seven consecutive years.

I also believe that qualifying for three consecutive UEFA EUROs since 2016 and reaching the A League of the UEFA Nations League – where we defeated Germany and England – would not have been possible without these grassroot investments.

The reconstruction of the national stadium, the Puskás Aréna, inaugurated in 2019, has also had a major impact on our success. Marco Rossi’s team often records the highest attendance of the day when our national team plays.

What are your aims for Hungarian football over the next five years?

We would like to continue what we have started. First of all, we want to return to the top tier of the Nations League. We also aim to qualify for the next EURO, while our dream is to reach a World Cup final competition with our men’s national team.

Our men’s and women’s futsal teams have already reached European Championships – we would like to maintain this level, and I also hope that the women’s national team will reach its first ever major finals soon.

Clubs must follow the footsteps of Ferencváros at the European stages, and I hope that they will do so with many Hungarian talents in their squads.

We are just a couple of months away from the UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Aréna – how is planning going?

In just a few years, Budapest has hosted several major finals – the 2019 Women’s Champions League final, the 2020 Super Cup, and a year later, four matches of the postponed UEFA EURO 2020, then the UEFA Europa League final in 2023.

These events represented an important milestone in the venue’s continued development as a leading location for major European football events in Budapest.

An aerial view of the Puskás ArénaGetty Images

I believe that UEFA likes returning to our city and stadium, which I consider one of the best for football operations in the world. The local organisers – the stadium, the authorities and MLSZ – have gained valuable experience and I hope that thanks to these factors we will organise one of the best finals ever. The spirit of Puskás may help us as he remains the only player to have scored four goals in a European Cup final.

What effect will staging the match have on the nation, and can you talk about the legacy it will leave behind?

I am glad that we now have several players in the top leagues, especially because they serve as role-models for the younger generation. Whoever qualifies for the Budapest final will represent the highest level of the game, and I hope that the seeing the world’s best football players here in Budapest will give extra motivation to the young people in our country. It would mean even more for them if a Hungarian player could play in the final.