Hungary's men's national team are to play the first ever match in the all-new Puskás Aréna against Uruguay on Friday. 

The Hungarian capital is currently being transformed into a major sporting destination. Eurostat data shows that Hungary spends more on sports and recreation than any other European Union member at around 2.5 percent of government spending. This amounts to 80 percent more in spending than Estonia, which is the second highest EU spender. 

The Puskás football stadium was demolished three years ago, and it's cost over 600 million euros to develop the new site, which will be the venue of a friendly match between Hungary and Uruguay in mid-November. It's one of many new stadiums being built in Budapest. 

Several games are also scheduled to be hosted at the site during the 2020 European Championships. 

Whilst analysts say projects like these are important to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Budapest's newly elected Mayor has criticized such large investment in the development of sports stadiums. 

Budapest has won bids to co-host the World Handball Championships in 2022 and the World Athletics Championships the following year. Hungary also dropped a bid for the 2024 Olympics, following public pressure and the possibility of a referendum on the issue.