POFC Botev Vratsa

Botev Vratsa Football Club was founded in 1921 by Nikola Kunov, Ivan Abuzov, Nako Paunov, Gergo Boytchev, Todor Orozov, Hristo Lighenski and Angel Rachinski. The place of foundation is a playground near the Old market in Vratsa. Between 1921 and 1956 various sport clubs were founded in the city. In 1957 most of the sport clubs in the city are joined to form FC Botev Vratsa. Between 1957 and 1964 Botev Vratsa is a member of Bulgarian second division. In 1964 the club entered the Bulgarian top division and played there for 26 seasons. The team of Vratsa has 788 games in the top flight of Bulgarian football. Botev's most glorious moment came in 1971, when the team finished third in Bulgarian top division, after CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia. Botev did, however, represent Bulgaria in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup where they lost in the first round to Dinamo Zagreb, then representing Yugoslavia, 2–8 on aggregate. The first game in Vratsa, in the presence of 35,000 spectators, ended with a 2–1 loss. The second game in Zagreb finished 6–1. The biggest success in the Bulgarian Cup is a semi-final in 1960–61, 1974–75 and 1984–85. After the 1989–90 A Group season, Botev was relegated to B Group. In the next 19 years, the club participated in either the second or the third Bulgarian division. Botev managed to return to the top flight in 2011, after they won the eastern group of the 2010–11 B Group, thus ending a 21-year absence from the top level of Bulgarian football. The 2011-12 A Group season…

Domestic

First League Third place (1): 1970–71 Bulgarian Cup: Semi-finals (3): 1960–61, 1974–75, 2024–25 Second League: Winners (3): 1963–64, 2010–11, 2017–18

League positions