Kecskeméti TE

Kecskeméti Testedző Egyesület, commonly known as Kecskeméti TE or simply Kecskemét, is a sports club based in Kecskemét, Hungary. It is most famous for its football team which competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. Kecskeméti TE's highest achievement to-date is winning the Magyar Kupa in the 2010–11 season, and gaining entry into the Europa League. The team won a silver medal right after its promotion back to the first league in 2022-23, earning the right to compete in the Europa Conference League qualification matches.

Early years
A local newspaper of Kecskemét wrote on 6 May 1871, "an elderly citizen wants to establish a company of men to play soccer in our city, doing exercises twice a week, practicing throws and running." In 1904, the first football match was played in Kecskemét, when the Budapest III. District High School defeated the team of local Piarist High School. In May 1910, the first football game between proper clubs was held in the town.

Kecskeméti TE was founded on 11 June 1911, and attracted primarily local workers as players in the early years. The first managing director was Ferenc Kéry. The first colours of the club were red and green. The current purple and white colours have been in use since 1913. The first match was played on 15 August 1911, in which Kecskeméti TE lost to KSC by 1–0. The second match was won 5–1 against Szolnoki MÁV.

On 29 July 1913, Kecskeméti TE merged with the other team from Kecskemét, KSC. On 11 April 1926, the team's stadium was inaugurated, and the first match was played against the rival Ceglédi RC. During World War I, the mainly consisted of under-18 players. From 1945 the team played its matches near the local railway station.

Under Socialism
In the 1946–47 season the team was promoted to the Nemzeti Bajnokság II (the second division) for the first time in the history of the club. On 28 June 1949, the two teams of Kecskemét, KTE and KAC were merged. The new name of the team became KszTE, playing in red and blue. Máté Fenyvesi, later a key player of Ferencváros, started his career in KTE. On 11 January 1954, the team changed its name to Kecskeméti Kinizsi, and got its original colours back on 2 December 1956.

In 1961, a torchlight parade was presented to celebrate that the club's 50-year anniversary. In 1964, the team fell back to the county-level championship, but in 1966, it was back in the third tier. KSC, the other club in town, was founded in 1972. The two teams became archrivals in the second and third league, their "derby" was always a big event for the town.

After the regime change
In 1990, Antal Tóth coached the team to win their group in NB III, but the club was not able to stay in the Second Division.

In 1995, for the third time KTE got promoted to the second league, once again winning the NB III. This was trainer József Linka's era, the newly promoted team even reached first-place in the autumn. The club moved its home grounds to Széktói Stadion.

In 1999, after the merger between KTE and KSC, the new club by the name of KFC was created, thanks to a known entrepreneur and main sponsor, János Jámbor. Under head coach László Nagy, the team came close to getting promoted to NB I in the 2000–01 season, but the hopes were futile. Jámbor lest Kecskemét football, and transferred the right to play to a revived Vasas.

In 1998, under the club president, István Pinczés, the KTE name was given back to the team, starting in the third tier again.

Recent years
The first years of the third millennium brought confusion and many troubles to the football team in Kecskemét. However, this ended in 2006 when Pál Rózsa and János Versegi became the chairmen of KTE. They started to build a strong and successful club, with great support from Dr. Gábor Zombor, then-mayor of Kecskemét. The promotion to NB I was finally achieved in 2008, and KTE became the first football club from the city of Kecskemét to play in the Hungarian first league.

The first season in the top Hungarian league was considered successful for the team, finishing fifth in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I 2008–09.

The centenary year of 2011 saw an unprecedented success in the 100-year history of the club. KTE reached new heights by winning the Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup) on 17 May 2011, beating Videoton 3–2 in the final held in the Puskás Ferenc Stadium in Budapest. The victory meant that the club was able to play their first international matches, namely qualification games of the Europa League. The first international match was played at home in front of 3,400 spectators at the Széktói Stadion in Kecskemét against the Kazakh Aktobe, resulting in 1-1. The second game ended as a 0–0 draw, meaning that KTE fell out of the competition due to the away goals rule.

After the 2014–15 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, the Hungarian Football Federation relegated Kecskemét to the Bács-Kiskun county first division due to financial reasons. In the 2017–18 season, Kecskemét got promoted to the third division, NB III. KTE spent four seasons in the third tier, and was promoted to Nemzeti Bajnokság II, the second-level championship in 2021.

Surprisingly, Kecskemét finished in second place, earning another promotion right away, and reaching the top tier again after a seven-year hiatus. Despite being the ultimate underdogs, with the smallest budget in the league, KTE earned a podium finish in the 2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I. In the more than 120-year long history of Hungarian football championships, this was only the fifth time that a club reached the podium in the first tier immediately after being promoted.

The 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I did not start well for the club. However, they beat Ferencvárosi TC 2–1 at home on 5 November 2023.

On 7 January 2024, the club sold one of their key players, Gábor Szalai, to Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport.

Stadium
Kecskeméti TE plays its home games at Széktói Stadion, built in 1962. With 4,300 seats, and standing room for 2,000 in the standing-only sections, it is the largest football stadium in Kecskemét. In 2002, it was completely renovated. The lighting installation consists of 128 floodlights mounted on four masts 38m in height, and the average vertical illuminance is 1200 lx.

Honours

 * Nemzeti Bajnokság I
 * Runners-up (1): 2022–23
 * Magyar Kupa
 * Winners (1): 2010–11
 * Ligakupa
 * Runners-up (1): 2011-12
 * Nemzeti Bajnokság II
 * Winners (1): 2007–08
 * Runners-up (2): 2000–01, 2021-22
 * Nemzeti Bajnokság III
 * Winners (4): 1945–46, 1957–58, 1989–90, 1994–95
 * Runners-up (3): 1958–59, 1991–92, 2020-21
 * Megyei Bajnokság I
 * Winners (1): 2017–18

Managers

 * 🇭🇺 János Magó (1937)
 * 🇭🇺 Ernő Singer (1938)
 * 🇭🇺 János Steiner (1947)
 * 🇭🇺 József Fehérvári (1948)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Horváth (1949)
 * 🇭🇺 János Nagy (1951)
 * 🇭🇺 Imre Serényi (1952)
 * 🇭🇺 János Horváth (1952)
 * 🇭🇺 Gyula Dragollovich (1952)
 * 🇭🇺 Károly Kósa (1953)
 * 🇭🇺 Gyula Dragollovich (1953)
 * 🇭🇺 Béla Jánosi (1953)
 * 🇭🇺 Jenő Weisz (1957)
 * 🇭🇺 József Garamszegi (1958)
 * 🇭🇺 Jenő Hauser (1961)
 * 🇭🇺 Károly Kósa (1961)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Molnár (1963)
 * 🇭🇺 József Fejes (1965)
 * 🇭🇺 András Dombóvári (1965–66)
 * 🇭🇺 Jozsef Nemeth (1966)
 * 🇭🇺 Antal Lyka (1967)
 * 🇭🇺 Béla Varga (1971–73)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Máté (1975)
 * 🇭🇺 Rezső Bánáti (1976)
 * 🇭🇺 József Bánhidi (1976)
 * 🇭🇺 István Vereb (1978)
 * 🇭🇺 Gyula Czimmmermann (1983)
 * 🇭🇺 Antal Tóth (1984–91)
 * 🇭🇺 József Linka (1994–97)
 * 🇭🇺 Tibor Gracza (1999)
 * 🇭🇺 László Nagy (1999 – Nov 01)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Gabala (Nov 2001 – May 2)
 * 🇭🇺 József Kiprich (May 2002 – July 3)
 * 🇷🇴 Ioan Patrascu (July 1, 2003 – Oct 1, 2003)
 * 🇭🇺 Tibor Gracza (Oct 2003 – April 4)
 * 🇭🇺 Robert Glázer (April 13, 2004 – Sept 18, 2004)
 * 🇭🇺 György Gálhidi (Sept 8, 2004 – Sept 28, 2004)
 * 🇭🇺 Zoltán Leskó (Sept 2004 – March 5)
 * 🇭🇺 Tibor Gracza (March 2005–05)
 * 🇷🇴 Ioan Patrascu (2005 – Nov 05)
 * 🇭🇺 László Török (Jan 2006 – Sept 06)
 * 🇭🇺 István Varga (Sept 2006 – Jan 07)
 * 🇭🇺 Tamás Nagy (19.01.2007 – 12,.04.2007)
 * 🇷🇸 Tomislav Sivić (p1.08.2007 –21.10.2009)
 * 🇭🇺 Aurél Csertői (28.10.2009 –08.04.2010)
 * 🇭🇺 István Urbányi (08.04.2010 –27.09.2010)
 * 🇭🇺 István Szabó (interim) (Sept 27, 2010 – Oct 13, 2010)
 * 🇷🇸 Tomislav Sivić (Oct 13, 2010 – Nov 23, 2011)
 * 🇭🇺 István Szabó (Dec 13, 2011 – June 30, 2012)
 * 🇭🇺 László Török (July 1, 2012 – Sept 17, 2012)
 * 🇭🇺 István Szabó (interim) (Sept 17, 2012 – Sept 28, 2012)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Horváth (28.09.2012 –24.06.2013)
 * 🇭🇺 Balázs Bekő (24,.06.2013 –30.06.2015)
 * 🇭🇺 István Szabó (01.06.2021 –)