Nyíregyháza

Two fixtures on the calendar carry more weight than anything in the table. Against Diósgyőri VTK, both clubs from the same corner of north-eastern Hungary, the atmosphere has a habit of tipping over into trouble on the terraces. Against Debreceni VSC the tie has its own name, the Keleti rangadó, the Eastern derby.

The club on the pitch today is not, strictly, the one whose name it carries. Nyíregyháza Spartacus traces its badge to the Nyíregyházi Vasutas Sport Club, founded in 1928, which merged with Nyíregyháza Spartacus Petőfi in 1977. The football side ran for a stretch in the 1990s as Nyírség Spartacus, and when money ran out in 2003 the old structure was wound up. Nyíregyháza Kertváros FC took over the ground and the name, and has played under it since.

Red and blue, taken from the city's flag and coat of arms, remain the colours; white sits alongside them. The club has never won Hungary's top flight or its cup, and its best league finish stands at seventh, back in 1980-81. Its currency instead is the second tier, Nemzeti Bajnokság II, which it has won five times, most recently in 2023-24, along with two NB III titles. The nearest it has come to silverware at the top level was a semi-final run in the Magyar Kupa in that same 2023-24 season.

György Cséke and József Kozma share a line in the club's history: between them they scored Nyíregyháza's first-ever goals in the top division, against Diósgyőr, in 1980.

The team plays now at the Városi Stadion, opened on 25 August 2024 to replace the ground of the same name that had stood since 1958. The old stadium held 10,500. The new one holds 8,150.