the birth of a new tournament
The Egri Erbstein Tournament was founded in 2019 but it is steeped in football history, dating back over 100 years. Its founding clubs, BAK and Corinthian-Casuals, are separated by 1,000 miles, but united by their shared ethos, proud histories and desire to create a truly international competition for like-minded amateur and semi-professional clubs.
When Budapesti Atlétikai Klub reformed in the summer of 2018, their club president Bertalan Molnár’s founding objectives was to establish an international tournament in memory of their most famous former player, and the man whose memory had inspired their reformation – Ernő Egri Erbstein.
BAK’s desire was that the competition be for like-minded clubs and would make an impression internationally, and so they began the process by looking for a suitable team with a global reputation to participate in the first Egri Erbstein Tournament. That meant finding a well-known club that shared BAK’s outlook, boasted a proud history and international renown.
Fortunately, BAK knew someone with just such a connection. Dominic Bliss, author of the biography of Egri Erbstein, became an ambassador for BAK shortly after their resurrection and believed his local team in south-west London would be the perfect fit for the tournament.
Corinthian-Casuals currently play in the Isthmian Premier Division – the seventh tier of English football – but over 100 years ago, they made an enduring impact on the development of the game across Europe.
In the early 1900s, the Corinthians – one of two amateur clubs that eventually merged to form Corinthian-Casuals – made several tours across the continent, popularising the sport in every country they visited and promoting their ethos of sportsmanship and playing for the love of the game, values still referred to today as ‘The Corinthian Spirit’.
Corinthian FC, circa 1900
On their maiden tour of Europe in 1904, Corinthian’s first stop was Budapest where they made quite an impression, defeating three local sides by an aggregate score of 27-0. Despite the ease with which they won their exhibition matches in Hungary, they were so taken by the enthusiasm of their opponents that they decided to present them with a lasting gift.
When they returned to London, the players had a solid silver trophy minted for the amateur teams of Hungary, which they asked their friends at Casuals FC to hand over during their own visit to Budapest the following year. The Corinthian Cup became a regular part of the Hungarian football calendar in the years that followed. Remarkably, when the first round of Corinthian Cup fixtures were played in 1906, BAK was one of the clubs involved.
Upon discovering this part of their history, the club’s management decided there was only one team that fitted so perfectly to co-found the Egri Erbstein Tournament; Corinthian-Casuals FC.
In November 2018, the two historic clubs agreed to arrange the tournament together, recreating history in the process. In a nod to the cyclical nature of the story, the south London club’s directors decided that they would bring a new Corinthian Cup trophy with them, to be presented to the tournament winners.
The original Corinthian Cup; a solid silver trophy gifted to the amateur teams of Hungary from Corinthian FC. Considered ‘lost’ for many years, Bliss tracked it down to the Sport Museum of Hungary where it had been kept in storage for several decades. It was kindly loaned to the tournament organisers and placed on display at the 2019 final.
Co-founders Dominic Bliss, John Forrest and Bertalan Molnár in November 2018, when the idea for the tournament was born.
duran duran lend their support
In the build-up to the first tournament, co-founder Bertalan Molnár decided our event should have an anthem, and settled upon the Duran Duran hit My Own Way, the title of which summed up the way Ernő Egri Erbstein had gone about his extraordinary career. He contacted the legendary new wave band and was amazed when they replied, granting permission for the song to become the tournament anthem and even requesting personalised shirts from the 2019 tournament hosts, BAK.
DAVID LUIZ BACKS CORINTHIAN-CASUALS
While BAK had Duran Duran in their corner, co-founders Corinthian-Casuals received a message of support from Brazil international defender David Luiz, who invoked the London club’s remarkable connection to his home country as he backed them to win the inaugural Egri Erbstein Tournament and bring home the Corinthian Cup.
