Széchenyi István University has a strong international community, as shown by the fact that students from 65 countries have already joined one of the nine faculties. The same is true of the Uni Győr-Mély Út women's basketball team, which plays its matches in the Győr City-University Hall and has close links with the institution. The Hungarian first division championship team, which also qualifies for the European Cup year after year, has three international players, two of whom are American and one Slovakian.

Perhaps the best known of these is Jordin Canada, who won the WNBA twice with the Seattle Storm team, has been a member of the All-Star team several times and is one of the ten female ambassadors of the Air Jordan brand. She is equally proud to have played with the legend of the sport, five-time Olympic champion Sue Bird.

"It's my first time in Hungary and so far I've had a positive experience. I like Győr, it's a great city, I love walking its streets. Being from Los Angeles, it's a bit colder here at this time of year than I'm used to, but I don't have a problem with that. People are very nice; they come up to me and talk to me. It's one of the best experiences I've had overseas," said the 27-year-old, nicknamed JC, who made her debut for Győr in January this year and has previously played in Europe for Poland's Wisła Kraków and Turkey's Hatay.

Her compatriot, Beatrice Mompremier, who came to Győr from another sunny US state, Florida, is in her second season. In the past year and a half, she has had more time to get to know the country, and she has taken advantage of the opportunity.

"Győr has many advantages: it's one of the biggest cities in Hungary, its University has many students, the people are friendly and I've made many friends here. Another good thing is that it is relatively close to Budapest, where I particularly like the famous thermal baths and the Castle." she said.

Szabina Oroszova, Jordin Canada and Beatrice Mompremier at the team's home venue, the Győr City University Hall. (Photo by József Csaba Májer)

Also happy to play in Győr is the Slovak national team’s centre, Szabina Oroszová, who has been a member of the Uni Győr-Mély Út team since the summer of 2021.

"I feel very comfortable here. Hungary has always been close to me and since I speak Hungarian, I feel at home here. In Győr, I especially like how sporty and supportive the people are. If I have some free time, I like to go to a good café or walk with my dog along the river banks of the Mosoni-Danube.” said the player.

András Fűzy, the club's president, says it has always been easy to attract international players to the team: the Hungarian women's basketball league is one of the strongest in Europe and the country is welcoming.

"The latter is especially true for Győr, which is a university town. Moreover, our club is based on the university campus, where the players can meet a lot of young people, including many international students. As a result, life here is more colourful, the English language skills of the residents are better, and catering facilities are of a high quality," András Fűzy explained. The manager also said that since Győr is only an hour and a half's drive from both Budapest and Vienna, between matches, visiting the historic Hungarian and Austrian capitals is a highlight for their foreign players.