Three Locations, Three Unique Events
Budapest, Hungary: 23 March 2024 / Magyarmecske, Hungary: 27 April 2024 / Ózd, Hungary: 11 May 2024
Organised by Oltalom Sports Association as part of the MARIO programme, the Fair Play Football Roadshow visited three locations in Hungary during the first half of 2024: Budapest IX. district Nehru Bank, Magyarmecske in Baranya County, and Ózd in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County.
The Fair Play Football Roadshow is a series of championships without a referee or whistle, instead, participating teams, with the assistance of mediators, collaboratively establish the rules for their matches, which consist of three “halves”: the first half is dedicated to rule-setting, followed by two 10-minute matches, and concluding with a feedback session where players evaluate the match and their adherence to fair play principles; victory is determined not only by goals scored but also by fair play points awarded by the teams.
The Budapest IX. district Roadshow was held on March 23, 2024, in collaboration with the Ferencváros Municipality. It was a significant success in terms of integration, as the Ferencváros representative body, the Municipal Policing Group, and the Police Department accepted the invitation to participate. This collaboration helped form a genuine bridge between different social groups, which are often in conflict.
On April 27, 2024, the event in Magyarmecske was organized together with the FreeDrom Association. Although only three teams participated, and there were no official organizations present, the event was considered a success. Last year was the first time the Oltalom Sports Association introduced the football3 method in Magyarmecske, and the locals expressed enthusiasm for a return visit for a championship.
The championship in Ózd on May 11, 2024, was held in cooperation with the Van Helyed – You Belong Foundation. There was significant interest in this event, although unfortunately not from official bodies. This year, the games took place on a well-maintained pitch, with more teams and players participating. One highlight was the seven-year-old Ricsi, who remembered the essence of the football3 method—that there are no referees, no whistles, and the players create the rules. The team that finished second last year prepared rigorously to secure the top position this year, and one team of younger children even created their own goal celebration.
In each location, new mediators effectively facilitated communication among the teams during discussions and helped develop exciting fair play rules, including double point goals, silent football, and a two-minute no-contact game.
This content is a guest post from one of our partner organizations about their work as part of our ‘Minorities, Accountability, Rights, Independence and Organisational Development’ programme. This article reflects the opinion of its author only and does not engage MRG’s responsibility. Learn more >
MARIO is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (2021-27) of the European Union (ref: 101091387).