Paksi FC

Paksi FC (Paks; ) is a Hungarian professional football club based in Paks. Since its founding in 1952, it has played at either a county or national level. In 2006, it ascended to Borsodi Liga, or NB I, the top division in Hungarian football, for the first time. It plays its home games at Fehérvári úti Stadion. The team colors are green and white. In the 2010–11 Hungarian Division, the team finished second and qualified for the Europa League 2011–12 season. The club is known for its policy of signing only Hungarian players.

Early years
Football first came to Paks in August 1912 with a team composed entirely of students. Soon thereafter the Paksi Atlétikai Sport Club was formed which played locally. In 1952, the Paksi Sportegyesület was formed and began competing at a county level in Tolna county. They would continue to compete in county level competitions from 1954 to 1964. In 1966, the team opened their new all grass playing field to a crowd of 500.

In 1970, the team won the county championship and ascended to NB III, in the central division. On July 25 of the same year, they hosted Ferencváros and although the team lost 7–2, it played before a crowd of 5,000. It would spend three more years in NB III before being relegated back to the county championship level.

1976 was the club's most impressive year in county play as it won the championship with an impressive goal difference of 119–21 and again returned to NB III, but this was not the end of its success. It would win the Szabadföld Kupa 4–2 at the Népstadion in Budapest, easily the team's greatest victory up to this point.

From 1981 to 1982, the team participated in the NB III Dráva group, but it was short-lived and team returned to county level play. In the 1983–84 season, however, they won the championship in convincing fashion and returned to NB III. Throughout the 1980s, the team would come close several times to breaking into NB II, often battling against the other team from Paks, ASE, but always fell a few pieces short.

In July 1993, the two teams, Paksi SE and ASE United, giving the young players of PSE opportunities to learn and grow by learning from the more experienced ASE side.

2000s
In 2001, the team won the NB III Duna group as an unexpected black horse, and then in 2005–06 Nemzeti Bajnokság II season they would win the NB II Western division with 25 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses, with a point difference of 66–22, earning them their first berth in NB I. Paks' first season in NB I started with a 2–0 win against Dunakanyar-Vác FC – this was followed by three draws and a loss before their next win. Looking back at the season as it draws to a close, Paks was able to get strong wins at home against MTK Budapest and ZTE, teams who had spent most of their time atop the table. They won their final home game of the season 4–2 against Vasas, guaranteeing that they would not be relegated back to NB II, and staying in NB I for the 2007–08 season.

2010s
In the 2010–11 Hungarian Division the team finished second and qualified for the Europa League 2011–12. Paks played their first international match in the Europa League 2011–12 season in Andorra where they beat UE Santa Coloma 1–0. The only goal of the match came in the 14th minute when Gábor Vayer scored. At home, they debuted with a four-goal win in Videoton's stadium, the Sóstói Stadion. József Magasföldi scored twice, one in each half. Dániel Böde and Norbert Heffler also contributed to the result. In the second round Paks faced the Norwegian Tromsø at home in front of 1,800 spectators, again in the Sóstói Stadion, in Székesfehérvár. The first goal of the match was scored by Magnus Andersen, with an equaliser from Hungarian Gábor Vayer. The match finished 1–1. In the second leg in Norway at the Alfheim Stadion Tamás Kiss scored to give Paks the lead in the 59th minute. Two more goals by Dániel Böde and again Tamás Kiss on the night gave Paks a 4–1 aggregate win over Tromsø. In the third round Paks were drawn against Scottish club Hearts. In the first leg in Hungary, Paks took the lead in the 32nd minute with a stunning lobbed goal by István Sipeki. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, Finnish referee Mattias Gestranius awarded Hearts a soft penalty, which was scored by Jamie Hamill to equalise and end the scoring on the night at the Sóstói Stadion.

Paks were eliminated by Puskás Akadémia FC on 3–5 aggregate in the round of 16 of the 2018–19 Magyar Kupa season.

2020s
On 14 February 2023, György Bognár was appointed as the head coach of the club. In the winter break of the 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season Paks was on the top of the table. The spring brought a tough competition between Paks and Ferencvárosi TC. On the game week 18, Paks beat Puskás Akadémia FC 2–1 at home and on game week 19 Paks beat Mezőkövesdi SE away 1–0. On the last match day, Paks beat Kisvárda and finished second in the 2023–24 season.

Paks entered the third round of the 2023–24 Magyar Kupa season. On 16 September 2023, Paks eliminated BKV Előre SC 7–0. Paks beat Budapest Honvéd FC on penalties at the Bozsik Aréna on 2 November 2023. In the round of 16, Paks beat Újpest 2–1 after extra time at the Szusza Ferenc Stadion on 29 February 2024. The winning goal was scored by Norbert Könyves in the 110th minute. Paks beat Vasas 5–2 at the Illovszky Rudolf Stadion to reach the semi-finals on 3 April 2024. On 23 April 2024, Paks beat Kisvárda FC 2–1 at home and qualified for the final of the Magyar Kupa for the second time in the club's history. On 15 May 2024, Paks beat Ferencváros 2–0 in the 2024 Magyar Kupa Final and won the trophy for the first time in the club's history. Papp scored in the 98th minute, while Haraszti secored the victory in the 122nd minute.

On 11 July 2024, Paks were defeated (0–4) by the 2023–24 Cupa României winner CS Corvinul Hunedoara in the first round of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League at home. Before the match György Bognár said that he would be satisfied only with a victory. After the defeat, Bognár said that his players thought more about themselves and he did too. Péter Szappanos, the goalkeeper of Paks, said that Paks players lost every single duel against Corvinul. József Windecker said that the whole match was a catastrophe.

Stadium
The home of the club is the Fehérvári úti Stadion which is a multi-use stadium in Paks, Hungary. Its capacity is 5,001. In the Europa League 2011–12 season the club played their home ties in Székesfehérvár at the Sóstói Stadion.

Colours, badge and nicknames
The colours of the club are green and white. This combination is one of the most popular in Hungary – many clubs use it, such as Ferencváros, Szombathelyi Haladás, and Győr. The nickname of the club is Atomcsapat (in English "Nuclear Team") which stems from the fact that the only nuclear power in Hungary is based in Paks.

Leagues

 * Nemzeti Bajnokság I
 * Runners-up (2): 2010–11, 2023–24
 * Nemzeti Bajnokság II
 * Winners (1): 2005–06
 * Nemzeti Bajnokság III
 * Winners (1): 2000–01

Cups

 * Magyar Kupa
 * Winners (1): 2023–24
 * Runners-up (1): 2021–22
 * Szabadföld Kupa
 * Winners (1): 1976
 * Ligakupa
 * Winners (1): 2010–11
 * Runners-up (1): 2009–10

Managerial history

 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Lengyel (1 July 2004 – 23 September 2007)
 * 🇭🇺 Imre Gellei (28 August 2007 – 12 April 2010)
 * 🇭🇺 Károly Kis (12 April 2010 – 1 August 2012)
 * 🇭🇺 Csaba Máté (caretaker) (1 August 2012 – 29 August 2012)
 * 🇷🇸 🇭🇺 Tomislav Sivić (30 August 2012 – 1 June 2013)
 * 🇭🇺 Ferenc Horvath (24 June 2013 – 9 January 2014)
 * 🇭🇺 Aurél Csertői (9 January 2014 – 21 May 2019)
 * 🇷🇸 🇭🇺 Tomislav Sivić (27 May 2019 – 3 November 2019)
 * 🇭🇺 Gábor Osztermájer (4 November 2019 –21 September 2020)
 * 🇭🇺 György Bognár (21 September 2020 – 15 May 2022)
 * 🇭🇺 Róbert Waltner (26 May 2022 – 13 Feb 2023)
 * 🇭🇺 György Bognár (14 Feb 2023 – present)

Record by country of opposition
P – Played; W – Won; D – Drawn; L – Lost
 * Correct as of July 11, 2024