Officers' Sports Club Atletik-Slava 1923 ( bg, Офицерски спортен клуб „Атлетик-Слава 1923“, ), Atletik-Slava 23, or simply AS-23, was a Bulgarian army officers'

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 the capital of

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. The club colors were black and white and its emblem was a black lion over a white shield. Home ground was what today is the

Bulgarian Army Stadium Stadion Balgarska Armia ( bg, Стадион „Българска Армия“, en, 'Balgarska Armia Stadium', ) is the club stadium of the Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia. It's situated in the Borisova gradina in the centre of Sofia. The s ...

. The club's motto was "Athleticism and Glory."

History

AS-23 was founded on 4 November 1923 following the merger of three Sofia-based football clubs: ''Officers' Sports Club'', ''Athletic'', and ''Slava''. The club's first chairman was lieutenant colonel Nikola Karagyozov. AS-23 ustav

During 1930–31 season, the club won the local Sofia division. In the play-offs, AS-23 defeated Etar Veliko Tarnovo 5–0, Sila Yambol 7–0, Napredak Ruse 3–1 and won the final against Shipchenski Sokol 3–0. They managed to do a domestic double, winning the

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 ...

the same year. In the 1940–41 season, some of the key players of AS-23 were called into the army and the club finished 5th in the Sofia Elite Division, however they won the newly created tournament, the Tsar's Cup, by defeating Napredak Ruse 4–2 in the final. The club experienced financial difficulties during the early 1940s, but the anti-communist Brannik organization provided financial help, while the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of Defence (Est ...

procured the sports kits, allowing the club to remain afloat. In November 1944, following the Soviet Army's occupation of Bulgaria, the club was merged with Shipka Sofia and

Spartak Poduene Spartak may refer to: In sports *Spartak (sports society), an international fitness and sports society that unites some countries of the former Soviet Union In Russia *FC Spartak Moscow, a football club *FC Spartak Kostroma, a football club *PFC ...

to form Chavdar Sofia, which ultimately laid the foundations to what is known today as

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 ...

Stadium

AS-23's stadium, known as ''Atletik Park'', was at the place of the current

Stadion Balgarska Armia Stadion Balgarska Armia ( bg, Стадион „Българска Армия“, en, 'Balgarska Armia Stadium', ) is the club stadium of the Bulgarian association football, football club CSKA Sofia. It's situated in the Borisova gradina in the c ...

. On 27 January 1925, the Municipality of Sofia allotted the club land for the stadium. During the 1930s, AS-23 was officially granted the deed to the facility. In 1944, the grounds were assumed by Chavdar Sofia, and then by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Honours

Bulgarian State Football Championship The State Football Championship was the first national football competition in Bulgaria. It was organised between 1924 and 1944 by the Bulgarian National Sport Federation. The championship did not finish in years 1924, 1927 and 1944 because of ...

: *Champions (1):

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

: *Winners (1):

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

The fan-made website of AS-23
Association football clubs established in 1923 Association football clubs disestablished in 1944 Defunct football clubs in Bulgaria Football clubs in Sofia 1923 establishments in Bulgaria 1944 disestablishments in Bulgaria