FC Balkan Botevgrad

FC Balkan
Full nameFootball Club Balkan
Nickname(s)Forest Boys
Founded1929 (1929)
29 September 2015 (2015-09-29) (refounded)
GroundStadion Hristo Botev, Botevgrad
Capacity8 000
ManagerIvan Redovski
LeagueSouth-West Third League
2020–21South-West Third League, 6th

FC Balkan Botevgrad (Bulgarian: ФК Балкан Ботевград, romanizedFK Balkan Botevgrad) is a Bulgarian football club based in the city of Botevgrad. The stadium of the club is "Hristo Botev" in Botevgrad with capacity of 8,000 people.

History

The club was established in 1929 with the name "Stamen Panchev".[1] In 1945, the club was renamed "Hristo Gurbov". Since 1947, the name is "Balkan". The main kit-colours of the team are green and white. Throughout its history, the club has participated in either the second or the third Bulgarian division. Currently the team is playing in the Southwest Third League. From 2005, the chairman of the club is Tihomir Ninov. In the 2007/2008 season, Balkan finished 2nd in the Bulgarian South-West V AFG, but won promotion, because of the changes from the 2008/2009 season in Bulgaria's West and East B Groups. From 2008, the chief executive is the famous Bulgarian footballer Marian Hristov. The club qualified at the 1/8 finals of the Bulgarian Cup 2008-09 after defeating PFC Belite orli Pleven with 2:0 and beating PFC Lokomotiv Mezdra with 1:0 to make it to the 1/8 finals of the competition. Unfortunately, "Balkan" was eliminated by CSKA Sofia after a score of 5:0.

League position history

Honours

Second League

  • Fifth place (2): 1978/1979, 2008/2009

Bulgarian Cup

  • 1/8 finals (2): 1989, 2008

Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League

  • Winners (1): 2019

Current squad

As of 1 August 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BUL Kalin Donchev
2 DF  BUL David Yordanov
3 DF  BUL Emil Romanov
4 MF  BUL Dimitar Velizarov
5 DF  BUL Petar Vasilev
6 DF  BUL Nikolay Hristozov
7 MF  BUL Vladislav Georgiev
8 MF  BUL Emil Kolev
9 FW  BUL Kristiyan Kovachev
10 MF  BUL Ivaylo Tsvetanov
11 FW  BUL Kristian Krastev
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 GK  BUL Aleksandar Yordanov
13 FW  BUL Yasen Georgiev
14 MF  BUL Mark Vodiev
15 DF  BUL Viktor Teodosiev
16 MF  BUL Lyubomir Karanikolov
17 MF  BUL Viktor Vasilev
18 MF  BUL Ivaylo Boyadzhiev
19 DF  BUL Zdravko Atanasov (captain)
20 MF  BUL Martin Dimitrov

Past seasons

Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts Bulgarian Cup
2015–16 A RFG (IV) 1st 17 1 0 69 13 52 not qualified
2016–17 Third League (III) 12th 11 7 16 54 55 40 not qualified
2017–18 Third League 10th 10 11 13 49 60 41 not qualified
Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation.

References

  1. ^ ЕООД, Български футбол. "Балкан 1929 (Ботевград) | bgclubs.eu". bgclubs.eu (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2025-06-27.