FC CSKA 1948 Sofia

FC CSKA 1948 Sofia
	150px
Full name	Football Club Central Sports Club of the Army 1948 Sofia
Nickname(s)	Червените (The Reds); Армейците (The Armymen)
Founded	19 July 2016; 8 years ago
Ground	Stadion Bistritsa
Capacity	2,500
Owner	FC CSKA 1948 Association
Chairman	Dobrin Gyonov
Coach	Nikolay Panayotov
League	First League
2022–23	First League, 3rd
Website	Club home page
	Current season

FC CSKA 1948 Sofia (Bulgarian: ФК ЦСКА 1948 София) is a Bulgarian football club from Sofia. The team plays its home matches at the Bistritsa Stadium and competes in Bulgaria's First League. The colours of the club are red and white.

The club was founded in 2016 by a group of CSKA supporters who opposed Grisha Ganchev's recognition of Litex Lovech for CSKA Sofia after the bankruptcy of the old club. The new club quickly progressed from the lower levels of the football system and was eventually promoted to the top level in 2020.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 19 July 2016, at a meeting at the Central Military Club in Sofia. The members of the Constituent Assembly announced partnership with Errea and a new crest close to CSKA Septemvriisko Zname.^[2]

2016–2018: Amateur Leagues

On 21 August 2016, FC CSKA 1948 won its first cup in a friendly four-team tournament in Kokalyane. The team defeated Akademik Sofia 1–0 in the final.

In its first official game for the 2016–17 season in A OFG Sofia (capital) South, FC CSKA 1948 won 8–0 against Lyulin Sofia. The club began playing its home games at Vasil Levski Stadium, but later during the season used the stadiums in Obelya and German. FC CSKA 1948 won its group and became champion of the whole A OFG Sofia (capital) after victory 4–3 against Nadezhda Dobroslavtsi. Then, on 7 June 2017, the team played with Bratsigovo in order to qualify for the Third League and won after penalties (7–6).^[3] Beside that, FC CSKA 1948 reached the final for the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, which they lost on 25 May 2017 to the club from the Third league FC Chernomorets Balchik.^[4]

For their first season in the third division of the Bulgarian football (2017–18), the club moved to Dragalevtsi Stadium, in order to comply with the requirements of the respective league. After very strong performance, on 19 May 2018 FC CSKA 1948 secured its place in Second Professional League.^[5] The team finished with 29 wins, 5 draws and no losses, as two players of the Reds became goalscorers of the South-West Third League – Andon Gushterov and Petko Petkov. Also, FC CSKA 1948 had again a good campaign for the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, this time reaching the semi-finals.

2018–2020: Second Professional League

For the beginning of the 2018–19 season in the Second Professional League, FC CSKA 1948 moved to Vasil Levski Stadium due to the higher league it is playing in. Strong selection of professional players was done, as the goal for the season is qualification for First League. After four rounds, manager Valentin Iliev, who managed the club from the very beginning, was replaced with Petko Petkov. FC CSKA 1948 eventually finished fourth, three points below the promotion playoff place, which was occupied by Arda Kardzhali. Although FC CSKA 1948 didn't promote to the elite in their first attempt, the team established itself as a strong contender for promotion.

For the 2019–20 season, FC CSKA 1948 started the season on a high note, defeating local rivals Lokomotiv Sofia 2–0 at home. This was followed by an away win at newly promoted Spartak Pleven with a score of 1–4. Another dominant 2–0 win against Spartak Varna earned the team three out of three wins in their first three matches. An away win against Montana, followed by a home destruction of OFC Pomorie extended their winning steak to 5 games. FC CSKA 1948's spectacular form continued, as the team defeated Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa and Strumska Slava in the following rounds. The team then beat fellow Sofia rivals Septemvri Sofia 5–0 at home. The first defeat of the season came in the tenth round, when FC CSKA 1948 lost 1–0 to Litex Lovech. After a 2–0 home win against Chernomorets Balchik, FC CSKA 1948 suffered another loss in the hands of Kariana Erden. This was followed by three consecutive wins, which ended with a disappointing 2–2 home draw against Ludogorets II. Following that, the team managed to win two away games, against Botev Galabovo and Lokomotiv Sofia again, which put them in second place in the table, three points behind Septemvri Sofia, before the winter break.

2020–present: First Professional League

FC CSKA 1948 secured their First League spot for the 2020–21 season after finishing 1st in the 2019–20 Second League. Krasimir Balakov was announced as manager for the new season on 2 June, and the club unveiled a new logo on 30 June in preparation for their First League debut. On 7 August 2020, the team faced CSKA in its first ever top flight game, with the encounter resulting in a 2–2 draw.^[6]

CSKA 1948 established itself in the following years in the First League, frequently finishing in the top six of the championship. During the 2022–23 season, the team reached the final of the Bulgarian Cup for the first time in club history, eliminating Lokomotiv Sofia in the semi-finals.

In May 2023, the team took over the stadium in Trebitch neighborhood in Sofia, prepering to invest over 1,3 mil euro in renovation.^[7]

Club culture

Until 2022, the club had a policy of relying exclusively on Bulgarian players,^[8] which gained the approval of a lot of the club's supporters who had previously criticized CSKA Sofia for fielding teams with many foreign footballers.^[9] The club has an extremely small fan base, mostly composed of the ownership and players' family and friends.

Shirt, sponsor and mascot

The colours of the team main kit are red and white. The second kit is in white and the third – in black, with white sleeves.

On 31 January 2017 CSKA 1948 presented its main sponsor – Efbet. The company sponsors not only the first team, but the academy too.^[10]

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt partner
2016	Erreà	None
2017–2020	Erreà	Efbet
2020–2023	Adidas
2023–	Puma

Since 2018, the team mascot is Army the lion.^[11]

Honours

First League:

Third place (1): 2022–23

Bulgarian Cup:

Runners-up (1): 2022–23

Second League:

Winners (1): 2019–20

Third League:

Winners (1): 2017–18

A OFG Sofia:

Winners (1): 2016–17

Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League:

Runners-up (1): 2016–17

Players

Current squad

As of 18 August 2023^[update]^[12]^[13]

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

No.	Position	Player
2	DF	Johnathan
3	DF	Ryan Bidounga
4	DF	Miki Orachev
5	DF	Heliton Santos
8	FW	Pedro Santos
9	FW	Viðar Örn Kjartansson
10	FW	Georgi Rusev
11	MF	Birsent Karagaren
13	MF	Stoyan Stoichkov
17	MF	Nikola Iliev (on loan from Inter Milan)
18	MF	Ivaylo Chochev (vice-captain)
19	FW	Rooney Eva Wankewai
20	MF	Antonio Vutov

No.	Position	Player
21	MF	Emil Tsenov
22	DF	Reyan Daskalov
23	DF	Emil Viyachki
24	DF	Erdenis Gurishta
25	FW	Yevheniy Serdyuk
28	MF	Nedeljko Piščević
29	GK	Daniel Naumov (captain)
31	DF	Tom Rapnouil
33	GK	Hennadiy Hanyev
39	MF	Parvizdzhon Umarbayev
70	MF	Thalis
87	DF	Simeon Petrov
99	FW	Radoslav Kirilov

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2023.

Out on loan

Foreign players

Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First League, however only five non-EU nationals can be used during a match day. 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.

EU Nationals

Tom Rapnouil

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)

Non-EU Nationals

Second-team squad

Goalscoring and appearance records

As of 7 June 2023

Most appearances for the club in all competitions

Rank	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Daniel Naumov	2019–	117
2	Georgi Rusev	2020–	97
3	Andon Gushterov	2017–2020	93
4	Mario Topuzov	2020–	87
5	Ivaylo Chochev	2020–	85
6	Denislav Aleksandrov	2019–2023	85
7	Angel Bastunov	2020–2023	83
8	Sasho Aleksandrov	2019–2021 2022–2023	80
9	Simeon Petrov	2020–	68
10	Lazar Marin	2020–2023	65

Most goals for the club in all competitions

Rank	Name	Career	Goals
1	Andon Gushterov	2017–2020	72
2	Ivaylo Chochev	2020–	41
3	Denislav Aleksandrov	2019–2023	19
4	Galin Ivanov	2020–2022	18
5	Georgi Rusev	2020–	18
6	Vasil Shopov	2019–2021 2022	13
–	Emil Gargorov	2017–2018	13
8	Aleksandar Kolev	2022–2023	12
9	Petko Petkov	2018–2019	11
10	Angel Bastunov	2020–2023	10

Includes appearances in First League, Second League, Third League, Bulgarian Cup, Bulgarian Supercup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Players in bold are still playing for FC CSKA 1948.

As of 7 July 2023

Most appearances for the club in First League

Rank	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Daniel Naumov	2019–	90
—	Georgi Rusev	2020–	90
3	Mario Topuzov	2020–	81
4	Ivaylo Chochev	2020–	77
5	Angel Bastunov	2020–2023	76
6	Lazar Marin	2020–2023	62
7	Simeon Petrov	2020–	61
8	Galin Ivanov	2020–2022	49
9	Denislav Aleksandrov	2019–2023	48
10	Dimitar Pirgov	2020–2022	43

Most goals for the club in First League

Rank	Name	Career	Goals
1	Ivaylo Chochev	2020–	37
2	Galin Ivanov	2020–2022	18
3	Georgi Rusev	2020–	15
4	Aleksandar Kolev	2022–2023	10
5	Martin Kamburov	2018–2021	9
6	Angel Bastunov	2020–2023	8
7	Denislav Aleksandrov	2019–2023	4
—	Parvizdzhon Umarbayev	2022–	4
—	Yevheniy Serdyuk	2022–	4
—	Helton Santos	2022–	4

Players in bold are still playing for FC CSKA 1948.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

Bulgaria

Europe

Erdenis Gurishta
Viðar Örn Kjartansson

Asia

Parvizdzhon Umarbayev

Africa

Steve Furtado
Ryan Bidounga

Club officials

Coaching staff and personnel

Stoycho Mladenov	Operations director
Kiril Kotev	Sports Director
Todor Yanchev	Head coach
Pablo Carrasco Gomez	Assistant coach
Atanas Stoilov	Assistant coach
Yordan Yordanov	Goalkeeping coach
Ivan Slavov	Analyzer
Galin Ivanov	Scout
Tom	Scout
Svetlin Spasov	Fitness coach
Nikolay Georgiev	Fitness coach
Dimitar Stoyanov	Physiotherapist
Petar Lozanov	Physiotherapist
Rayko Ivanov	Masseur
Liliya Stefanova	Psychologist
Asparuh Lazarov	Administrator
David Lozanov	Administrator
Spas Stoimenov	U19 coach
Lachezar Rusev	U17 coach
Hristiyan Voynov	U15 coach
Bogomil Dyakov	U11 coach

Manager history

Name	From	To	Honours
Adalbert Zafirov	1 July 2016	1 September 2016
Valentin Iliev	2 September 2016	21 June 2018	99991 Fourth League title 1 Third League title
Petko Petkov	1 July 2018	21 October 2019
Yordan Yurukov	21 October 2019	6 June 2020	1 Second League title
Krasimir Balakov	6 June 2020	23 March 2021
Rosen Kirilov (interim)	23 March 2021	24 April 2021
Todor Kiselichkov	25 April 2021	26 July 2021
Miroslav Mindev	27 July 2021	30 August 2021
Nikolay Kirov	3 September 2021	20 May 2022
Lyuboslav Penev	28 May 2022	9 December 2022
Todor Yanchev	13 December 2022

European record

As of match played 3 August 2023

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win%
UEFA Europa Conference League	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	00.00
Total	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	00.00

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	FCSB	0–1	2–3	2–4

Seasons

Results of league and cup competitions by season
Season	League											Bulgarian Cup	Other competitions
Season	Division	Level	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Pos	Bulgarian Cup	Other competitions
2016–17	A OFG Sofia (capital) South	4	22	21	1	0	105	7	98	64	1st	DNE	Cup of AFL	F
2017–18	South-West Third League	3	34	29	5	0	95	16	79	92	1st	DNQ	Cup of AFL	SF
2018–19	Second League	2	30	16	11	3	39	18	21	59	4th	Round of 32	DNE
2019–20	Second League	2	21	18	1	2	59	18	41	55	1st	Quarter-final
2020–21	First League	1	31	12	11	8	41	34	7	47	5th	Quarter-final
2021–22		1	32	11	8	13	51	45	6	41	8th	Round of 32
2022–23		1	35	17	13	5	49	22	27	64	3rd	Runners-up
2023–24		1										Qualified	Europa Conference League	2Q

League positions

References

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↑ Намериха стадион за ЦСКА 1948 - Труд
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↑ FC CSKA 1948 Sofia at Soccerway

External links

Template:FC CSKA 1948 Sofia

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[7] Намериха стадион за ЦСКА 1948 - Труд

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[13] FC CSKA 1948 Sofia at Soccerway

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v t e First Professional Football League
2023–24 clubs	Arda Beroe Botev Plovdiv Botev Vratsa Etar Veliko Tarnovo Cherno More CSKA 1948 CSKA Sofia Hebar Pazardzhik Krumovgrad Levski Sofia Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv Sofia Ludogorets Pirin Blagoevgrad Slavia Sofia
Stadiums	Arena Arda Beroe Botev 1912 Football Complex Hristo Botev (Vratsa) Ticha Vasil Levski Balgarska Armia Georgi Asparuhov Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) Lokomotiv (Sofia) Huvepharma Arena Hristo Botev (Blagoevgrad) Slavia Stadion Dragalevtsi Stadion Spartak Stadion Georgi Benkovski
Former clubs*	Akademik Sofia (18) Akademik Svishtov (4) Belasitsa (12) FC Chernomorets (29) PSFC Chernomorets (7) Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (1) Dimitrovgrad (1) Dobrudzha (14) Dunav (25) Etar (24) Etar 1924 (1) Kaliakra (2) Litex (21) Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa (10) Lokomotiv Mezdra (2) Lyubimets 2007 (1) Maritsa (4) Metalurg (2) Minyor (38) Montana (10) Neftochimic (14) Nesebar (1) Pirin 1922 (9) Pirin GD (2) Rilski Sportist (2) Rodopa (4) Rozova Dolina (1) Septemvri (5) Shumen (7) Sliven (25) Spartak Pleven (35) Spartak Plovdiv (17) Spartak Sofia (15) Spartak Varna (43) Sportist (1) Svetkavitsa (1) Velbazhd (7) Vereya (3) Vidima-Rakovski (5) Vihren (4) Vitosha Bistritsa (3) Yantra (7)
Former clubs (from Macedonia & Thrace)	Belomorets Kavala Bitola Gotse Delchev Prilep Makedonija Bitola Makedonija Skopje Vardar Skopje ZhSK Skopje
Competition	Champions Players (foreign)
Associated competitions	Second League Third League Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League
Seasons	1948–49 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
* In the brackets is the number of seasons in the league.

FC CSKA 1948 Sofia

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