Scandals shake Hungarian baseball as teams prepare for the 2028 Olympics

Baseball – a national pastime. Not Hungary’s, obviously, but a national pastime, nevertheless. And yet, in Hungary – where only a handful of teams play – the sport has been mired in controversy. An ongoing power struggle in Hungarian baseball may be a result of th fact that the game will return to the Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles—potentially allowing Hungary’s national teams to compete and recieve significant public funding.

Just before the Hungarian National Baseball and Softball Federation (MOBSSz)’s president’s mandate was to expire, dozens of new members joined the federation. The leadership election held with their participation was challenged in court by long-standing members. The new leadership then excluded four large and long-established member organizations from both the federation and from domestic and international competitions. This led to further lawsuits, and some athletes transferred to foreign teams.

It was a coup d’etat with revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries, an existing power that didn’t want to let go, dissidents and those who stayed behind.

The Hungarian National Baseball and Softball Federation (MOBSSz) held a leadership election on June 1st last year. Both the incumbent president, Roberto Morua, and the other presidential candidate, Mária Oggné Gál, received 9 votes each.

As the general assembly failed to elect a new president, a repeat election was scheduled for June 26. Just one day before the second vote, it was revealed that, based on a written vote by the board on June 24, MOBSSz had admitted five new member organizations—including associations and companies previously unknown in the sport.

One organization that joined supports people with disabilities. Another company that joined specializes in fountains and irrigation. It is unclear why these members joined the baseball federation – only one new team has actually joined since 2021.

The five new members’ appearance has raised concerns that the firmer president is attempting to retain his position by smuggling in votes – manipulating the electoral constituency to win (the real national pastime, perhaps).

The June 26 leadership election was cancelled just 45 minutes before it was set to begin,

despite the looming deadline, as the old board’s mandate expired on June 30. Meanwhile, 14 more organizations applied for membership, including several sports clubs that had never had a baseball division before, along with more companies.

To become a MOBSSz member, applicants must declare that they conduct sports activity in the given discipline. We contacted several new members to ask why they wanted to join the federation.

The owner of the Lókötő Horse Club hung up the phone after hearing where we were calling from and didn’t answer subsequent calls. Zoltán Paska from White Sharks HC said they wanted to introduce baseball as a complementary sport during the off-season but decided against involvement after seeing what was happening in the federation. Home Fragrance Ltd. said they were interested in Baseball5 (a simplified version of baseball), while the First Steps Foundation for Supporting Children with Disabilities explained they joined because a baseball field is very close to their daycare center.

Lawsuits, expulsions, and a leadership election of questionable legitimacy

At the second leadership election that was held eventually on July 25, Tamás Pethő, managing director of Pethő Bau Ltd., represented his own company along with four other organizations. According to the meeting minutes, by this time the Budapest Reds Baseball and Softball Association and the Jászberény Baseball and Softball Club had already challenged the federation’s June 28 decision—accepting 14 new member organizations—at the Metropolitan Court of Budapest.

“They noted that if the court finds this membership expansion illegal, then all decisions made at the current general assembly will be null and void,” reads the minutes. On August 22, the court suspended the execution of this board decision, and on January 25 this year, it officially suspended the entire court case pending the outcome of another related lawsuit.

At the July 25 general assembly, three presidential candidates were nominated: Steve Benkő, Mária Oggné Gál, and Dr. Nándor Tordai.

Dr. Tordai, previously unknown in baseball circles and not a player himself, was elected president with 18 votes in favour and 10 against.

The board members were also elected at that meeting.

In light of the Metropolitan Court’s decision, the new board rescinded the previous board’s decision to admit the 14 new organizations at its October 4 meeting. They then immediately readmitted 10 of them. This decision was also legally challenged by the Jászberény club, but their appeal was dismissed this March.

At the October 4 meeting, the board decided to expel four of the largest clubs in Hungary—Budapest Reds, Debrecen Tigers, Érd Aeros, and Szentendre Sleepwalkers—from the federation.

The reason given was that these teams had “repeatedly and seriously violated the federation’s Statutes and Competition Rules, thereby committing disciplinary offenses.”

All four expelled teams appealed the decision at the November 11 general assembly, but all appeals were rejected. The teams have again turned to the courts, and the legal proceedings are currently in the pre-trial phase.

The dispute spills over to the international stage

The renewed Hungarian federation has notified the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and its European division that the four expelled teams are barred from international competition due to lack of approval from the national federation. They also requested official guidance from the WBSC and announced potential new disciplinary actions against the two expelled clubs (Szentendre and Érd) participating in the Slovak league, citing a blind baseball tournament.

In response, the four expelled teams wrote to the international federation as well, stating that the Budapest court had suspended the new leadership’s powers last October 7, so they should not be making decisions in the first place.

Mária Oggné Gál, who has personally done much for Hungarian baseball and supported the national team over the years, posted on Facebook on March 25, noting that something is seriously wrong within the federation. She revealed that Hungary is withdrawing from the 2025 European Softball Championship, and players had not been informed about this decision since February 28—despite training with the expectation of attending the tournament.

The post by the coach.

The MOBSSz also withdrew the senior women’s softball national team’s registration from the September 2025 European Championship, as well as the senior men’s baseball national team’s registration from the Prague Baseball Week preparation tournament in June 2025. It’s an open question who will play at the U-12 European Baseball Championship, which is set to be held this year in Jánossomorja.

They aren’t the only ones barred from playing: in December last year, the new MOBSSz leadership notified the Croatian federation that four teams had been expelled, and thus the MOBSSz would not permit them to participate in any international tournaments. In a letter sent this February to both the Croatian and Slovak federations, they specifically banned the Budapest Reds from competing in the Croatian Open Championship, where the team has played for years.

In March, the MOBSSz also contacted the organizers of the international friendly softball tournament in Zagreb, indicating which athletes they had approved to participate. Meanwhile, several players from the expelled teams have joined Slovak clubs just to be able to play somewhere.

Olympics henanigans and public funds may be behind the power grab

Why is control of the baseball federation so important in a country that, in truth, barely watches or plays the sport, and many often confuse it with American football and cricket?

The answer may lie in the fact that baseball, alongside softball, will return to the Olympic Games in 2028 in Los Angeles—potentially allowing Hungary’s national teams to compete. This could result in a significant increase in state funding compared to current levels.

In this context, it’s also worth mentioning the Budapest Baseball and Softball Federation (BUBSSz), chaired by Ferenc Miskolczi, who also serves as the facility manager for the Óbuda Baseball and Softball SE. That club’s president is Roberto Morua, the former president of the MOBSSz. Although Miskolczi holds no formal position in the national federation, several sources report that he maintains a close relationship with Morua.

According to a resolution passed in April 2023—under the previous MOBSSz leadership—the federation entered a long-term cooperation agreement with the BUBSSz for the 2023–2029 Olympic preparation cycle. The Budapest federation was tasked with securing financial backing:

“Sponsorships and targeted funding for youth European Championships and qualifiers, as well as support for organizing participation—starting already with the youth events of 2023.”

The BUBSSz seems to be doing something right: according to its annual report, it received 1.6 million forints in central government support in 2022 – that figure jumped to 35 million forints in 2023. Ferenc Miskolczi was managing director and part-owner of Umbrella-Holding Ltd. from 2011 to 2022. The company has been notably successful in winning municipal park maintenance contracts and has often made headlines due to suspicions of cartel activity.

We attempted to get the MOBSSz’s perspective on these matters, but they did not respond to our questions by the time of publication.