Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and world sailing champion Mária Érdi were named the sportsman and woman of the year 2023 in Hungary by the Hungarian Sports Journalists Association on January 8. The best in 11 categories were announced at Hungary’s Sportspeople of the Year Gala, which began with a red carpet parade in the magnificent Budapest Opera House.
THE 66TH EDITION For the 66th time, a record number of 471 Hungarian sports journalists voted for the best athletes, para-athletes, teams, and coaches of the year. The HSJA traditionally seeks to make the celebration of the country’s best athletes even more festive with the presence of world sports stars invited from abroad. For the second time, the President of the Republic of Hungary, Katalin Novák attended the Gala and took on the role of award presenter.
In his welcome speech, György Szöllősi, President of the HSJA and Vice President of AIPS Europe, not only highlighted the best of Hungarian sport but also commemorated the world-famous German footballer Franz Beckenbauer, who passed away on the day of the Gala.WORLD SPORTS STARS In 2023, the World Athletics Championships in Budapest was a huge success, with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe calling the event the best ever, and Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder in the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.45metres was invited to Budapest again to present the award himself in the Opera House, in front of nine hundred guests. Italian football legend, former Golden Ball winner, and World Champion Fabio Cannavaro, also accepted the invitation of the HSJA to present the award to his compatriot, the National Football Team’s coach Marco Rossi, who led his team to the top of their group in the European Qualifiers. There were famous invitees with Hungarian roots such as the Paralympic champion cyclist Joe Berényi, Timea Majorova, a multiple international fitness champion from Los Angeles, and Abraham Klein, a renowned football referee from Israel, who will soon be 90. The three-time Paralympic champion Marie-Amelie Le Fur, who is also the President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee was also a special guest at the Gala.
he HSJA’s annual awards gala is also a celebration of the international sports journalistic community, with invited guests from 18 countries coming to Budapest, including prominent members of the AIPS community such as European President Charles Camenzuli, AIPS Vice President Ioannis Daras and members of the AIPS Executive Committee, Joe Langer, Jozé Zidar, and guests from the European countries such as Michael Schuen, Erodotos Miltiadous, André Keil, Sandro Micallef, Sinisa Urosevic, Alexander Stojanovic, Oleksandr Hlyvynsky, as well as journalist members of the HSJA from the Hungarian minorities in the neighboring countries. Here are the winners of the eleven categories in 2023 in Hungary:Male Athlete of the Year
1. Dominik Szoboszlai (football) Female Athlete of the Year
1. Érdi Mária (sailor)
Team of the Year (traditional team sports)
1. men’s football team
Team of the Year (individual sports teams)
1. Men’s Sword Team
Coach of the Year
1. Marco Rossi (football)
Disabled Male Athlete of the Year
1. Péter Pál Kiss (kayak canoeist, para-athlete)
Disabled Female Athlete of the Year
1 Ekler Luca (athlete, para-athlete)
Disabled Team of the Year
1. men’s table tennis doubles (Bernát Bácsi, János Szendi – organ transplants)
Recreational Sports Event of the Year supported by the Sporting Nation Programme
1. Rear Grass Football Rescue Tour and Night of Ice Rinks
Sports Moment of the Year
Soma Vogel’s gold medal-winning penal save in the Hungary-Greece World Water Polo Championship Final
Lifetime Achievement Award of the HSJA
Pál Schmitt
