FC Vitosha ( bg, ФК Витоша) is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n association
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Bistritsa,
Sofia City Province
Sofia City Province ( bg, Област София-град, translit=Oblast Sofiya-grad) is a province (''oblast'') of Bulgaria. Its administrative center is the city of Sofia, the capital of the country.
The province borders on Sofia Provin ...
, which competes in the
Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. It is named after the
Vitosha
Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conveni ...
mountain range, where Bistritsa is located.
Vitosha was founded in 1958, however, the club spent the majority of its history playing in lower leagues. In 2017, Vitosha managed to promote to the First League for the first time ever. The club was relegated after the 2019-20 season and re-founded in 2021.
The club became notable for having Bulgaria's prime minister,
Boyko Borisov
Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's secon ...
, as a registered player of the squad in the lower divisions. The increased popularity of the club due to Borisov's presence led to its coach and players being featured on the TV series ''
BNT Taxi'' in 2011.
History
1958–2007: Regional divisions
The club was founded in 1958 and played in the regional divisions until 2007 when it gained promotion to the third division. In the
1972–73 Bulgarian Cup they entered the preliminary round but eventually lost to
Pirin Blagoevgrad
Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
Th ...
with a 3-0 result.
2007–2016: Amateur division and B Group breakthrough
From 2007 to 2016 the team played regularly in the
V Group. In May 2012, Vitosha claimed the
Amateur League Cup for the first time in their history, eliminating
Dve Mogili
Dve Mogili ( bg, Две могили, ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Ruse Province. It is the administrative centre of Dve Mogili Municipality, which lies in the western part of the area. Dve Mogili is located 32 kilometres away ...
2–1 in the final match. During the 2012-13 V Group, the club ranked second in the
South-West V Group and achieved promotion to Bulgaria's professional
B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
for the first time in their history.
During the
2013–14 Bulgarian Cup
The 2013–14 Bulgarian Cup is the 32nd official season of the Bulgarian annual Association football, football knockout tournament. The competition will begin on 18 September 2013 with the matches of the First Round and will ended with the final o ...
, Vitosha eliminated
Bansko
Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m AMSL, above sea level. It is a ski resort.
Legends
There are several legends about who founded Bansko. Ac ...
with an aggregate score of 3-1 to advance to the Round of 16 of the Bulgarian Cup for the first time ever. Previously, their highest achievement had been reaching the Round of 32 in the 1972
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
.
2016–2020: From third tier to first tier, then dissolution
Vitosha finished the
2015–16 V Group in second place after
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
, but due to the adoption of a new league structure for the
Second League, they were promoted again. In the meantime, the club started investing in a youth academy consisting of five youth teams for the 2016–17 season and reconstruction works on the club's stadium. On May 3, 2017, Vitosha presented an update of their current club crest. A few days later, on May 8, 2017, they also signed a sponsorship agreement with Bulgarian gambling company Efbet for the upcoming two seasons.
On June 2, 2017, Vitosha won the play-off relegation match against
Neftochimic Burgas and achieved promotion to the top division for first time in their history.
Despite their poor performance during the regular season, finishing last with the worst defense and attack, and gaining only one victory, Vitosha avoided relegation from the
2017–18 First League, winning the play-offs against
Pirin Blagoevgrad
Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
Th ...
and
Lokomotiv Sofia
Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football.
Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...
. Vitosha improved their performance in the next season, avoiding relegation once more.
However, the
2019-20 season was disastrous for Vitosha. The team finished in the last place in the regular season, with only one win. Since the number of matches was reduced by half for the season, Vitosha was mathematically relegated even before the relegation phase started. This ended their three-year stay in the Bulgarian top tier.
On 28 September 2020, after several matches from the new season were completed, the first team was dissolved while keeping only the youth teams.
2021–present: Re-founding and amateur leagues
On 25 May 2021 the team announced that they would join the
Third League playing the most with youth academy players and
Nikolay Hristozov as manager. At the end of the 2021–22 season, Vitosha finished in second place in the Southwest Third League, but the team was promoted to the Second League after
Tsarsko Selo, which was relegated from the First League, announced its dissolution, thus leaving an empty spot in the Second League. The Bulgarian Football Union gave Vitosha the place in the Second League, since they had accumulated the most points out of all second-placed teams from the regional third leagues.
During the 2022–23 season, while competing in the Second League, Vitosha also qualified for the Bulgarian Cup. Vitosha made a surprising performance by eliminating first tier side
Botev Vratsa
Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at St ...
in the round of 32, after eliminating
Chernolomets Popovo in the first round. Vitosha set up a meeting with another First League team,
Lokomotiv Sofia
Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football.
Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...
in the round of 16.
Honours
Bulgarian First League
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
:
* 13th place (1):
2016–17,
2018–19
Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League
The Cup of the Bulgarian Amateur Football League (Bulgarian: Купа на Аматьорската Футболна Лига) is a Bulgarian annual football competition established by the BFU in 1994.
Structure
All officially registered amateur ...
* Winners (2): 2012, 2022
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
* Round of 16 (2):
2013–14,
2018–19
Players
Current squad
'
Foreign players
Up to one non-EU national can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the
Second League. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.
Goalscoring and appearance records
Personnel
Manager history
Current technical body
League Stats
Seasons
2017–18 FC Vitosha Bistritsa season
The 2017–18 season is FC Vitosha Bistritsa, Vitosha Bistritsa's first season in the First Professional Football League, Bulgarian First League after they won 1-0 the play-off promotion/relegation match against PFC Neftochimic Burgas, Neftochimic ...
2018–19 FC Vitosha Bistritsa season
2019–20 FC Vitosha Bistritsa season
The 2019–20 season is FC Vitosha Bistritsa, Vitosha Bistritsa's third consecutive season in the First Professional Football League, Bulgarian First League after they won 3-0 the play-off promotion/relegation match against PFC Montana, Montana on ...
League positions
ImageSize = width:900 height:60
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2023
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2008
Colors =
id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier
id:Second_tier value:white legend:Second_tier
id:Third_tier value:red legend:Third_tier
id:Fourth_tier value:yellow legend:Fourth_tier
id:Fifth_tier value:blue legend:Fifth_tier
id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2013 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
"
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " Second League"
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2020 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 color:black shift:(0,14) text: "Dissolved"
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
"
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " 2nd"
Past seasons
References
External links
*
bgclubs.eu
{{Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)
Vitosha Bistritsa
1958 establishments in Bulgaria