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Central Europe
July 27, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
just another example of the corruption engulfing Hungarian football, ruled by political aspirations.
Taxpayers pay for Orban's passion
Orban, an avid football fan, has built a stadium next to his house in Felcsut, his home village, and has begun a large-scale stadium construction programme. Over the past eight years, the government has spent hundreds of billions of forint on upgrading or building new stadiums, even in small towns with only a second or third division team.
In 2011, parliament approved legislation to allow companies to sponsor sports clubs directly through tax deductions, commonly known as the TAO-scheme.
In the past eight years, the budget’s shortfall from the TAO-scheme reached HUF500bn. Not surprisingly, the football academy operating
in Felcsut has been a major beneficiary of the
programme, receiving tens of billions of forints of corporate money.
Despite the flashy stadiums popping up in small towns, and the generous state subsidies, football fans do not have much to celebrate as Hungary is placed 51st on the FIFA rankings and its top clubs rarely go through the second or third rounds in international championships.
The maker of the 2Rule brand has received some marketing support from state news television, which broadcast the company's press briefing live when the products were showcased last week,
a rather unusual gesture in favour of a privately run business. State television may have breached ethical and legal rules, experts say.
Despite all the publicity, the 2Rule brand got off to a shaky start as all the first division clubs wearing their shirts were defeated in the first matches of the season.
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