CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 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. ...
and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the
First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ( bg, Централен Спортен Клуб на Армията).
Officially established on 5 May 1948, CSKA's roots date back to an army officers' club founded in 1923. The club has won a record 31
Bulgarian titles and 21
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 tourname ...
s. Internationally, CSKA are the only Bulgarian club to have reached the semi-finals of the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, which they have done twice, and they have also reached the semi-final of the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
once.
CSKA's home colors are red and white and its home ground is the
Bulgarian Army Stadium. The club's biggest rivals are
Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...
and matches between the two sides are known as "
The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria".
History
1923–1948
In November 1923, football clubs ''Athletic Sofia'' and ''Slava Sofia'' merged to form
AS-23, short for ''Officers' Sports Club Athletic Slava 1923'', under the patronage of the
Ministry of War, which provided the equipment.

In 1931, AS-23 won their first Bulgarian championship and The Tsar's Cup, followed by another Tsar's Cup in 1941. The club's stadium (completed in 1938) was named ''Athletic Park'' and was situated where the
Bulgarian Army Stadium now resides.
On 9 November 1944, with the support of Mihail Mihaylov, an accountant at the Ministry of War and a patron of
Shipka Sofia, a unifying agreement was signed, merging ''AS-23'', ''Shipka'', and ''Spartak (Poduene)'' to form
Chavdar Sofia Chavdar may refer to:
Places
* Chavdar Municipality, Sofia Province, Bulgaria
* Chavdar, Sofia Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Chavdar, Smolyan Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Chavdar Peninsula, Antarctica
People with the given name
* Chav ...
. Gen.
Vladimir Stoychev
Vladimir Dimitrov Stoychev ( bg, Владимир Димитров Стойчев, 24 March 1892 – 27 April 1990) was a Bulgarian Colonel General, diplomat and Olympic equestrian.
Biography
Vladimir Stoychev was born in Sofia, the capital of t ...
from AS-23, who at the time was fighting on the front in World War II, was appointed (by
telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
) as the new club's chairman. Lawyer
Ivan Bashev, a future Bulgarian foreign minister, was appointed club secretary and the person in charge of football.
[With Horns Against History](_blank)
(in Bulgarian) ''Sport1.bg'' 12 February 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
1948–1962

With the help of Mihail Mihaylov again, in February 1948, Chavdar became the departmental club of the Central House of the Troops ("Centralnia Dom na Voiskata") and took on the name of CDV. Looking for ways to stop the club's decline, CDV's administrators sought to merge it with another club. In May 1948, an agreement was reached between CDV and
Septemvri Sofia (which had already earned a place in the play-offs) for uniting the clubs under the name "Septemvri pri CDV" (Septemvri at CDV). The contract was signed on 5 May 1948, which is officially considered the club's date of foundation.
The club's played its first official match on 19 May 1948 against
Slavia Sofia at Yunak Stadium, a 1–1 draw. Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov (
Gabrovo
Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province.
It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internati ...
) and
Spartak Varna en route to the final, where it faced
Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...
, losing 1–2 in the first leg. The decisive second match occurred on 9 September 1948. Septemvri pri CDV's lineup consisted of: Stefan Gerenski, Borislav Futekov,
Manol Manolov, Dimitar Cvetkov, Nikola Aleksiev, Nako Chakmakov (captain),
Dimitar Milanov, Stoyne Minev,
Stefan Bozhkov, Nikola Bozhilov and Kiril Bogdanov. The score was 3–3 on aggregate, as Septemvri pri CDV led 2–1 near the end of regulation time, when a last-minute goal by Nako Chakmakov gave the club its first ever title.
In 1950, the word "''Narodna''" ("Peoples" in English) was added to the name of the Central House of the Troops, changing it to Central House of the People's Troops ("Centralen Dom na Narodnata Voiska" in English), or C.D.N.V., effectively changing the club's name. The following two years, C.D.N.V. won two consecutive titles. In 1951, the club clinched their first double. In
1953, the club was again renamed by the authorities, this time to Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon ("Team of the Sofia Garrison"), and most of the key players were illegally transferred out. The title was lost.
The following year, the club was renamed CDNA (''Central House of the People's Army''), and the years between 1954 and 1962 marked one of the most successful periods for ''the Reds'', who won nine consecutive titles (an unprecedented achievement in Bulgarian football at the time and a record the club held for 60 years) and, in 1956, took part in the second installment of the newly created
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
competition, reaching the quarter-finals.
1960s
In 1962, CDNA was merged with DSO Cherveno Zname to form CSKA Cherveno Zname ("CSKA Red Flag"). The Central House of the People's Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, which was taken over by the Ministry of People's Defense. CSKA finished third after
Spartak Plovdiv and
Botev Plovdiv
Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes in ...
in the
1962–63 season. The
following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the
Bulgarian championship to date, finishing 11th in the final table, only three points from relegation. This led to the sacking of legendary coach
Krum Milev after 16 years at the helm.
CSKA did not recapture the title until
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...
. However, during the
1966–67 season, CSKA recorded its first major international achievement, reaching the semi-finals of the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
for the first time, where they faced Italian giants
Inter. After two hard-fought 1–1 draws, a third decisive match was played, which CSKA lost 0–1.
The next two seasons were unmemorable for the ''Army Men'', finishing in fifth and second place respectively. In 1968, CSKA underwent another merger, joining with
Septemvri Sofia and taking on the name of CSKA Septemvriysko Zname ("CSKA September Flag"). The club clinched the title in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
with the help of recent acquisition
Petar Zhekov, who would go on to become the top Bulgarian goalscorer of all time, a record Zhekov held for 52 years until he was surpassed by
Martin Kamburov in 2021.
1970s

The 1970s are widely considered the period when CSKA made its name on the European stage. The club began the decade modestly, claiming second place domestically and reaching the round of 16 in
1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they fell to English side
Chelsea 0–2 on aggregate. However, from 1971 to 1973, CSKA won three consecutive titles and delivered one of the biggest surprises in European football when it eliminated reigning European champion
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
– considered the finest team of all time – 2–1 on aggregate in the
1973–74 European Cup
The 1973–74 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the first time by Bayern Munich, beginning their own three-year period of domination, in a replayed final against Atlético Madrid, the only such occasion in the tournam ...
.

They then faced German champions
Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. After losing 1–4 in the first leg in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, CSKA bowed out of the competition following a 2–1 win at home. Between 1975 and 1979, the club won two more domestic titles.
1980s
The
1980–81 season was again a memorable one for CSKA Sofia, winning the Bulgarian title once more and twice beating European champion
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, both times with 1–0 scorelines, before being stopped by the future European champions
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
with a 6–1 defeat on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
The next season, CSKA reached their second-straight European Cup semi-final, eliminating Spanish champions
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...
,
Glentoran and Liverpool after losing 0–1 in England and winning 2–0 at home with two goals by
Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi-final, the ''Reds'' again faced Bayern Munich. The first leg was held in Sofia and started with a full dominance over Bayern, as by the 16th minute, CSKA were leading 3–0 in front of 85,000 jubilant spectators who saw the European final in their dreams. But the final score was 4–3 for CSKA. In Munich, the club suffered a 4–0 defeat, ending what is still the deepest run by a Bulgarian side in the European Cup or UEFA Champions League.
In the domestic league, CSKA did not let go of the title until the
1984–85 season, where they finished second behind arch-rivals Levski, but still managed to reach 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 tourname ...
final.
On 18 June 1985, the final for the Bulgarian Cup was held at the
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43, ...
between CSKA and Levski Sofia. The match was marked by many questionable referee decisions and saw several brutal fights, including an assault on a referee by some of Levski's players. CSKA won the match 2–1, even though they had missed a penalty when the score was 2–0. By decree of the Central Committee of the
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
, both teams were disbanded and re-founded under new management. CSKA was renamed Sredets while Levski was renamed ''Vitosha''. Several players were banned from participating in official matches for varying periods of time, including
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov ( bg, Христо Стоичков Стоичков, ; born 8 February 1966) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is a football commentator for TUDN. A prolific forward, he is regarded as one of the bes ...
and
Kostadin Yanchev from CSKA. One year later, the committee's decision was reversed and the players were reinstated.
As Sredets, the club finished in fourth place in the
1985–86 season. In 1987, the club was renamed CFKA Sredets ("Central Football Club of the Army Sredets"), and the following three years were marked by a formidable performance, even as
Septemvri Sofia ended their 20-year partnership with CFKA in 1988 and became an independent club again. Coached by
Dimitar Penev, CFKA won the title in 1987 and 1989 and reached the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
semi-finals against
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
in 1989. In reaching this stage in the tournament, CFKA had eliminated
Roda JC
Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie ...
after penalty kicks following a 2–1 win at home and a 1–2 loss away. Barcelona, coached by former Dutch international
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
, won both matches (4–2 in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
and 2–1 in Sofia) and CFKA were eliminated, but Cruyff did notice the talent of Hristo Stoichkov and decided to bring him to Barcelona the following year, effectively launching Stoichkov's international career.
1990s
The decade, immediately following the
fall of communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...
, brought turbulent changes to Bulgarian football, and the club was not spared. The CSKA name was restored starting with the
1989–90 season and they won the title again. In March 1991, former footballer and administrator
Valentin Mihov was chosen as president of CSKA. The club bought some of the most talented Bulgarian players, including
Yordan Letchkov,
Ivaylo Andonov
Ivaylo Viktorov Andonov ( bg, Ивайло Викторов Андонов; born 14 August 1967) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Football career
After beginning professionally with hometown's PFC Pirin Bl ...
and
Stoycho Stoilov, among others. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense concluded their affiliation with the club. Despite the uncertainty and the numerous problems that followed, CSKA won the title again in 1992. They were later eliminated in the first round of the
1992–93 UEFA Champions League
The 1992–93 UEFA Champions League was the 38th European Cup, the premier European club football tournament, and the first season with the UEFA Champions League branding (originally adopted only in the group stage).
It was the second season of ...
by
Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...
after losing 1–3 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and winning 3–2 in Sofia.
In the meantime,
Valentin Mihov was appointed president of the
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union ( bg, Български футболен съюз, Bǎlgarski futbolen sǎyuz; BFS) is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and field ...
and Petar Kalpakchiev was chosen as his replacement. However, Kalpakchiev wrangled with the club's administration over their decisions to replace several coaches, one of which was
Gjoko Hadžievski, considered to be leading the club in the right direction, and eventually he was fired.
The owner of the
Multigroup conglomerate,
Iliya Pavlov, took over as president, but ultimately his sponsorship proved insufficient to overcome the club's ineffective management. Five coaches were changed in just one season, with Tsvetan Yonchev being coach for just one day. In Europe, CSKA nevertheless defeated
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
3–2 in the first round of the
1994–95 UEFA Cup
The 1994–95 UEFA Cup was won by Parma on aggregate over Juventus. Internazionale were the defending champions with a wild card, but were knocked out in the first round by Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional footb ...
, but the result was annulled by
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
because of the delayed player-indexing of forward
Petar Mihtarski, and Juventus were awarded a 3–0 victory by default. In the second leg in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
, CSKA succumbed to a 5–1 defeat.
In the summer of 1995, CSKA made a strong selection and eventually the club included half of the youth national football team of Bulgaria.
Plamen Markov
Plamen Markov (born 11 September 1957) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs in Bulgaria and France. He represented the Bulgaria national team at international level.
Playing career
Markov was bo ...
was appointed head coach, but after a disappointing first half of the season, he was replaced by
Georgi Vasilev, who had previously won three Bulgarian titles (one with
Etar Veliko Tarnovo
Etar ( bg, Етър) is a Bulgarian sports football club based in Veliko Tarnovo, that plays in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football.
Etar is the official successor of Etar 1924, which was dissolved for financial reasons ...
and two with Levski Sofia). Vasilev managed to win a double with CSKA for the
1996–97 season, entering the second qualifying round of the Champions League against
Steaua București
Steaua or Steaua București may refer to:
* CSA Steaua București, a Romanian multi-sports club
* CSA Steaua București (football), the football team of the multi-sports club
* Fotbal Club FCSB, a football team that used this name between 2003 ...
. After a dramatic 3–3 in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...
, CSKA fell 0–2 at home.
Vasilev was unexpectedly released from the club at the beginning of the second half of the
1997–98 season after a 3–0 win over
Spartak Pleven
OFK Spartak ( bg, ОФК Спартак) is a Bulgarian municipal association football club from the city of Pleven founded on 10 September 1919. It currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. The team's gr ...
. Coach
Petar Zehtinski
Petar Zehtinski ( bg, Петър Зехтински; born 15 September 1955) is a former Bulgarian footballer and manager who played as a midfielder.
Career
A skillful free kick taker and a talented passer, Zehtinski spent more than a decade ...
took his place. That year, the club saw the return of Hristo Stoichkov,
Emil Kostadinov and
Trifon Ivanov, but the three of them challenged each other for the captain's band. Stoichkov played in only four matches and left CSKA right before the derby with Levski to play for a club in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
. After the end of the season, Ivanov also left the club. CSKA finished in third place.
In the summer of 1998, Dimitar Penev took the lead as head coach for the second time. CSKA reached the second round of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
and won the Bulgarian Cup, but disappointed in the domestic league, finishing in fifth place in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
. That season, the young talents of
Martin Petrov
Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger.
Club career
Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with C ...
,
Stilian Petrov,
Dimitar Berbatov and
Vladimir Manchev
Vladimir Manchev ( bg, Владимир Манчев; born 6 October 1977) is a former Bulgarian football player.
Career
He has also played for Bulgarian teams of Spartak Pleven, Yantra and Hebar, French side Lille OSC and Spanish teams Levant ...
started to play a bigger role in the team. There were problems with player-indexing due to some unpaid obligations to
Neftochimik. In the domestic championship, CSKA had only 16 players registered for the
1999–2000 season and some un-indexed players took part in official UEFA games. Consequently, at the shareholders meeting at the end of 1999, the club ownership was transferred to businessman
Vasil Bozhkov.
2000s
After the first two fixtures in the spring of 2000, which the club lost, Dimitar Penev was relieved as coach and in his place was appointed
Georgi Dimitrov – Jacky, who was later replaced by
Spas Dzhevizov. After a 1–1 draw with
Pirin
, photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg
, photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter
, country= Bulgaria,
, parent=
, geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone
, area_km2=2585
, range_coordinates =
, length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
at
Bulgarian Army Stadium, Dzhevizov handed in his resignation and
Aleksandar Stankov took his place. Even though at times CSKA had fallen as far as nine points behind league leaders Levski, the club shortened the difference to only two points before the decisive match for the title at
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium. CSKA dominated Levski for most of the match, as Dimitar Berbatov made several serious misses, but a last-minute goal from
Georgi Ivanov secured the title for Levski.
In the summer of 2000, the Italian Enrico Catuzzi was retained as head coach, who managed to revive the team. However, even though the ''Army Men'' played attractive matches under his leadership, Catuzzi resigned during the winter break, citing family problems.
Aleksandar Stankov was appointed as coach again, but was replaced by Catuzzi again after two losses from Litex for the cup and the championship. ''The Reds'' finished second, seven points behind Levski.
To start the
2001–02 season, CSKA's head coach was
Asparuh Nikodimov, who would be fired during the winter break, as CSKA was situated two points behind Levski. He was replaced by another Italian,
Luigi Simoni. Simoni failed to make CSKA champions as the club finished third and lost 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 tourname ...
final to Levski. Simoni left at the end of the season.
In the summer of 2002, former CSKA striker Stoycho Mladenov was appointed as head coach. With him, the team set a record of 13 consecutive wins in 13 matches and won the title for the first time since 1997. However, Mladenov was fired the following season after losing to
Galatasaray
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other dep ...
in the qualifying rounds of the
2003–04 UEFA Champions League
The 2003–04 UEFA Champions League was the 12th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding from the European Cup in 1992, and the 49th tournament overall. The competition was won b ...
and after giving a less than impressive performance in the first round of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
, where the club lost on penalty kicks to
Torpedo Moscow. Immediately after, two of the new arrivals,
Léo Lima and
Rodrigo Sousa, purchased for a total of 3 million dollars the year before, left the club on the grounds they had not received two monthly salaries.
FIFA decided they had the right to leave and that CSKA had to pay them and release the players to their former club,
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
. Alexander Stankov was temporarily appointed as head coach until the winter break, when
Ferario Spasov
Ferario Spasov ( Bulgarian: Ферарио Спасов; born 20 February 1962 in Dupnitsa) is a Bulgarian football coach.
Managerial career
He has been manager of Litex Lovech and CSKA Sofia.
From 1 April 2016 he became the manager of Eta ...
officially took over. At the end of 2004, Spasov was replaced by Serbian coach
Miodrag Ješić, despite the club's first place in the league. With Ješić at the helm, CSKA won their record 30th domestic title in 2005.
For the
2005–06 UEFA Champions League
The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took ...
, after eliminating
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
in the second qualifying round, CSKA were paired against reigning European champions Liverpool. The club lost 1–3 in the first match in Sofia, but surprisingly won the second leg 1–0 away at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
.
In the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
, ''the Reds'' eliminated
Bayer Leverkusen (with Dimitar Berbatov in the team) with two 1–0 wins and reached the group stage, where they finished fifth with three points from four matches and were eliminated. During the winter break of the
2005–06 season, the club was in first place, seven points ahead of Levski. However, during the spring, CSKA lost the seven-point advantage and ultimately finished second, three points behind Levski. Club president Vasil Bozhkov blamed head coach Miodrag Ješić for the failure to capture the title and fired him, while some supporters blamed Bozhkov instead.
Former CSKA head coach Plamen Markov was appointed in Ješić's place. Bozhkov then announced that he would restrict the finances of the club and that during the upcoming season CSKA will not be aiming at the title. In December 2006, Bozhkov sold the club to Indian steel tycoon and owner of
Kremikovtzi AD,
Pramod Mittal
Pramod Mittal (born 1 September 1956) is an Indian businessman who was the chairman of Ispat Industries Limited (now JSW Ispat Steel).
Pramod Mittal is also the younger brother of Lakshmi Mittal.
He spent $82 million on his daughter's wed ...
, brother of
ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second la ...
's
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (; born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as Chairman of stainless steel manufacture ...
. Former Bulgarian politician
Aleksandar Tomov Aleksandar Tomov may refer to:
* Aleksandar Tomov (wrestler)
* Aleksandar Tomov (politician)
Aleksandar Trifonov Tomov ( bg, Александър Трифонов Томов) (born 27 April 1954) is a Bulgarian politician, economist, and academi ...
became president of the club and assured the supporters that CSKA would, in fact, be aiming at both the championship and the cup. After two draws in the beginning of the spring half of
2006–07, CSKA found themselves six points behind Levski. As a result, Plamen Markov was replaced by Stoycho Mladenov. CSKA finished second.
During the beginning of the
2007–08 season, CSKA purchased players for more than €2 million. The team was unluckily eliminated from the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
in the first round by French side
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
after a 96th-minute goal from
André-Pierre Gignac in the second leg. CSKA was also eliminated from 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 tourname ...
in the Round of 16 by Lokomotiv Plovdiv. The match was engulfed in a scandal because of three CSKA players who at the time were on loan at Lokomotiv (
Stoyko Sakaliev
Stoyko Sakaliev ( bg, Стойко Маринов Сакалиев; born 25 March 1979) is a Bulgarian footballer.
Career
Sakaliev was born in Sofia. His first team was Naftex Burgas. He was first loaned to CSKA Sofia during 2004, but bought in t ...
,
Aleksandar Branekov and
Ivan Ivanov). The players had clauses in their contracts restricting them from playing matches against CSKA, but Lokomotiv's management used the players anyway.
At the end of the season, the ''Army Men'' secured the title well in advance, finishing 16 points ahead of second-placed Levski and without losing a single match. On 5 May 2008, the club marked its 60th birthday with big celebrations organized by the management. An alley of fame was built, comprising the names of the most successful current and former players of CSKA. On 24 May 2008, an exhibition match was played between the current squad and a mixed team of Bulgarian and foreign football stars. The mixed team was coached by former
German international The Bonn International is an international badminton tournament held in Germany. The event is part of the Badminton World Federation
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised ...
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...
, who was a special guest for the anniversary celebrations. The match ended 6–6.
In June 2008, only days after CSKA won its 31st title, UEFA notified the
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union ( bg, Български футболен съюз, Bǎlgarski futbolen sǎyuz; BFS) is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and field ...
(BFU) that the club would not receive a license for participating in the
2008–09 UEFA Champions League
The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009. It was ...
because of unpaid obligations. The BFU then speculated this could also result in CSKA not being able to take part in the domestic championship, effectively turning it into an amateur club. Attempts to arrange a settlement with UEFA proved unsuccessful and CSKA lost its right to compete in the Champions League in favor of runners-up Levski Sofia. The person widely blamed for the crisis was club president Aleksandar Tomov, who resigned shortly after and was arrested and charged with embezzling millions of
levs from CSKA and
Kremikovtzi AD.
The problems with the license exposed the club's weak financial situation and led to chaos and panic, prompting many of the key players to flee, including head coach Stoycho Mladenov himself, who left saying he was not happy with the fire sale of so many important players. The future of CSKA looked grim, its status as a professional club hanging in the balance. In the midst of the crisis, Dimitar Penev was given the head coach's job for the third time and burdened with the task of saving the club. With almost all senior players gone, Penev had no choice but to rely on members of the CSKA youth squad.
Ultimately, CSKA managed to fulfill all licensing requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in A Group. Despite all the difficulties, and to the surprise of the whole football community, Penev's young squad claimed the
Bulgarian Supercup
The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...
in August 2008, overcoming Litex 1–0.
At the beginning of the
2008–09 season, the club managed to strengthen their ranks by signing Bulgarian internationals
Zdravko Lazarov
Zdravko Lazarov ( bg, Здравко Лазаров; born 20 February 1976) is a Bulgarian professional football coach and a former player.
Lazarov's professional playing career as a winger spanned nearly 30 years, during which he played for ...
and
Vladimir Manchev
Vladimir Manchev ( bg, Владимир Манчев; born 6 October 1977) is a former Bulgarian football player.
Career
He has also played for Bulgarian teams of Spartak Pleven, Yantra and Hebar, French side Lille OSC and Spanish teams Levant ...
. On 24 December 2008, club owner Pramod Mittal announced he had signed a preliminary contract with a local investor to sell the club. The deal was finalized on 6 March 2009, and the ownership of the club was transferred to Titan Sport EAD, a subsidiary of Bulgarian waste management company Titan AS. Meanwhile, coach Dimitar Penev was replaced by his nephew,
Lyuboslav Penev, who set aggressive goals for the club. After having led the league for most of the season, CSKA finished the championship in second place, one point behind arch-rivals Levski.

In 2009, CSKA earned a place in the
2009–10 UEFA Europa League
The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years.
Sp ...
's group stage after defeating
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
in the qualifying round and drew
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
,
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
and
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...
in the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
. The first match was against Fulham in Sofia, where CSKA took the lead thanks to a beautiful goal by newly signed from
Chernomoretz Burgas Brazilian
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or ...
. However, a simple goalkeeper mistake at the end of the match allowed Fulham to score, ending the game in a 1–1 draw. Despite the strong start, CSKA did not manage to earn any more points in the group stage and exited the competition after finishing fourth in its group. In November 2009, coach Luboslav Penev threatened to resign following a squabble with the club's management after they had reversed his decision to reprimand several players for disciplinary reasons, but decided to carry on with the job. Their disagreements eventually boiled over in January 2010 and the board relieved Penev of the position. Reports in the press pointed to former CSKA coach Miodrag Ješić as a possible replacement, but even though Ješić expressed a desire to come back to CSKA, his current contract with Libyan club
Alittihad Tripoli ruled him out. On 17 January, the club retained Romanian specialist
Ioan Andone
Ioan Andone (; born 15 March 1960) is a Romanian football coach and former player.
Club career
Ioan Andone, nicknamed "Fălcosul" was born on 15 March 1960 in Șpălnaca and when he was 14 years old he played basketball and football simultan ...
as coach. Andone brought two Romanian players with him and set out to overhaul the team. However, over the next six matches, CSKA won only two matches, drew arch-rivals Levski 0–0 and lost second place to
Lokomotiv Sofia. On 30 March, after two months on the job, Andone resigned, citing family reasons. Former CSKA defender
Adalbert Zafirov
Adalbert Zafirov ( bg, Адалберт Зафиров; born 29 September 1969) is a Bulgarian former football centre-back who most recently managed CSKA 1948.
Club career
Zafirov was born in Sofia.
International career
He has been capped fo ...
was put in his place. At the same time, the club turned to Dimitar Penev again, naming him supervisor of the coaching staff. Despite the tumultuous second half of the season, CSKA managed to finish at second place in the table, behind champions Litex, and prepared to enter the third qualifying round of the
2010–11 UEFA Europa League
The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...
.
2010s

In the summer of 2010, the club hired
Pavel Dochev as head coach, but after a string of unsatisfactory results, including a 0–1 loss to Levski Sofia and a 1–2 loss to Chernomorets Burgas, he was fired. His place was taken by the relatively unknown Macedonian manager
Gjore Jovanovski
Gjorgji "Gjore" Jovanovski ( mk, Ѓopѓи "Ѓope" Joвaнoвcки; born 22 March 1956) is a Macedonian football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a player, he played for FK Vardar and Red Star Belgrade in the Yugoslav First League ...
, who kept his job for just three months before being replaced by his assistant
Milen Radukanov
Milen Radukanov ( bg, Милен Радуканов; born 12 December 1972) is a former Bulgarian footballer.
Coaching career CSKA Sofia
In 2010, Radukanov was appointed as CSKA Sofia's assistant coach and interpreter for the Romanian head coac ...
. Under Radukanov, CSKA won the
2011 Bulgarian Cup and the
Bulgarian SuperCup
The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...
, beating league champions Litex Lovech 3–1.
CSKA started 2011–12 with eight-straight league victories, but after a 1–2 defeat against Slavia Sofia and a 0–0 draw against
Cherno More Varna, Radukanov was unexpectedly fired by chairman Dimitar Borisov. Dimitar Penev was appointed as a temporary manager with
Adalbert Zafirov
Adalbert Zafirov ( bg, Адалберт Зафиров; born 29 September 1969) is a Bulgarian former football centre-back who most recently managed CSKA 1948.
Club career
Zafirov was born in Sofia.
International career
He has been capped fo ...
as his assistant. In the spring, Stoycho Mladenov was again hired as head coach, and he led the club to a second-place league finish, a single point behind champions
Ludogorets Razgrad after losing on the final day of the season.
2012–2013
CSKA began the season by being surprisingly eliminated from international football by Slovenian side
Mura 05
Nogometno društvo Mura 05, commonly referred to as ND Mura 05 or simply Mura 05, was a Slovenian football club from the town of Murska Sobota. The club was established on 16 June 2005. The club's home ground was Fazanerija City Stadium. During ...
. While the first leg in Slovenia ended in a 0–0 draw, a 1–1 tie at home eliminated the ''Reds'' from the
2012–13 UEFA Europa League
The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played at the Amsterdam ...
in the second qualifying round. The start of the domestic championship was unimpressive as well –- a 0–1 loss to Litex, in which the club had no right to use its new signings due to administrative restrictions. However, in the middle of the autumn half of the season, CSKA achieved some significant wins, defeating Levski 1–0 in the Eternal Derby and eliminating Ludogorets Razgrad in the round of 32 of the Bulgarian Cup.
In late December 2012, head coach Stoycho Mladenov was abruptly fired by the club owners for "disciplinary" reasons, and Miodrag Ješić was appointed in his place. During the winter transfer window, CSKA made several signings, such as Bulgarian internationals
Martin Kamburov and
Spas Delev
Spas Borislavov Delev ( bg, Спас Бориславов Делев; born 22 September 1989) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Ludogorets Razgrad and the Bulgarian national team.
Club career Youth c ...
, in addition to South-American players
Marcinho and
Ignacio Varela. After managing the team for only two matches in the spring, Ješić was sacked and replaced by fan favourite Milen Radukanov, with whom the club managed to finish the season with the bronze medals.
In June 2013, former
FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Hristo Stoichkov was released from Litex Lovech to replace Radukanov on the bench, but the poor financial condition of the club forced him to leave shortly after his arrival without even having signed a contract. Most of the key players left CSKA while speculations about the club's bankruptcy circled in the media. After the serious financial problems led to CSKA's withdrawal from the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League
The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title.
The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at th ...
, igniting multiple fan protests, the club was ultimately declared for sale. On 10 July 2013, it was officially purchased by the Red Champions Group, a union of businessmen and club legends. The leader of the group was Aleksandar Tomov, former club president widely blamed for CSKA's financial crisis in 2008. Stoycho Mladenov was hired back as manager by the new owners.
2013–2014
The club made several major signings for the new season, bringing in former team captains
Valentin Iliev
Valentin Iliev Valov ( bg, Валентин Илиев Валов; born 11 August 1980) is a Bulgarian football manager and former professional player.
Personal life
Iliev's father, Iliya Valov, was goalkeeper for CSKA and Bulgaria's national ...
,
Emil Gargorov and
Todor Yanchev.
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
's national goalkeeper
Rais M'Bolhi
( ar, رئیس), plural , is an Arabic title meaning 'chief' or 'leader'. It comes from the word for head, . The corresponding word for leadership or chieftaincy is . It is often translated as 'president' in Arabic, and as 'boss' in Persian. ...
and ex-
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
stars
Mamady Sidibé
Mamady Sidibé (born 18 December 1979) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Sidibé moved from his native Mali to France when he was two years old. After playing football for a number of lower French league sides ...
and Martin Petrov were also brought on board. On 19 October 2013, the reborn CSKA crushed city rivals Levski 3–0 and were given the nickname ''The Phoenixes''. By the end of the season, CSKA smashed Levski three more times and finished in second place, behind Ludogorets Razgrad.
On 21 March 2014, as part of the plan to reduce debt and make the club's finances more transparent, CSKA became the first club from Eastern Europe to be publicly traded by listing itself on the
Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
2014–2015
Before the start of the new season, a few key players were no longer part of the club. Goalkeeper Raïs M'Bolhi was transferred to
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
(MLS) side
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...
after an impressive performance at the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...
; young talent
Ivaylo Chochev
Ivaylo Lyudmilov Chochev ( bg, Ивайло Людмилов Чочев; born 18 February 1993) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a midfielder for the First League side CSKA 1948 and the Bulgarian national team.
Career Early career
Born i ...
joined
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
; club legends Martin Petrov and Todor Yanchev retired; and the team's leading scorer,
Emil Gargorov, left due to conflict with the managing board. CSKA were surprisingly eliminated by the Moldovan side
Zimbru Chișinău Zimbru is the Romanian word for the European bison.
Zimbru may also refer to:
* FC Zimbru Chișinău, a football club from Moldova
* FC Zimbru-2 Chișinău, the second team of the club mentioned above
* Zimbru Stadium, the official stadium of the ...
in the
2014–15 UEFA Europa League
The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League was the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final was ...
's
second qualifying round, but performed well in the domestic league during the first half of the season, beating rivals Levski twice more and being on the top of the table ahead of Ludogorets before the winter break. However, after the season resumed, CSKA lost three-straight matches without scoring a goal, prompting the resignation of head coach Stoycho Mladenov. Former team captain and youth team's coach
Galin Ivanov was appointed as the new head coach, but after five more goalless matches, he was replaced by European football legend Lyuboslav Penev, a move widely praised by fans.
On 2 April, CSKA club president Aleksandar Tomov transferred his controlling block of shares to Milko Georgiev and Borislav Lazarov, with club supporters intending to find a new owner and major sponsors capable of paying off the club's numerous debts. On 24 April, it was officially announced the club's new controlling owner would be the corporation Finance Marketing Company Ltd. CSKA finished the season in fifth position, but due to the unfunded debts, the BFU refused to issue the club a license for
A Group for the upcoming season, instead sending the club to the
South-Western V group, the third tier of Bulgarian football.
2015–present
On 24 June 2015, businessman
Grisha Ganchev announced he would be the new owner of CSKA. Club legend Plamen Markov and famous former footballer
Hristo Yanev were appointed as sports director and head coach respectively. Yanev claimed he wants to form a squad consisting entirely of Bulgarian players.
On 25 May 2016, CSKA Sofia won the
2015–16 Bulgarian Cup
The 2015–16 Bulgarian Cup was the 34th official edition of the Bulgarian annual football knockout tournament. The competition began on 23 September 2015 with the matches of the First Round and finished with the final on 24 May 2016. Cherno More ...
, becoming the first third-division club to record such an achievement. In
the final, CSKA defeated
Montana
Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...
1–0 to lift the cup for the 20th time in club history.
On 27 May 2016, the legal firm that represented
PFC Chavdar Etropole, "PFC Chavdar EAD", was renamed to "PFC CSKA-1948 AD". On 6 June 2016, the legal firm which representedb Litex Lovech, "PFC Litex-Lovech AD", was renamed to "PFC CSKA-Sofia EAD", in order for the club to use PFC Litex Lovech's professional license to apply for the reformed
First League, with "PFC CSKA-1948 AD" being written in as its owner. The shift was made because the old legal firm, "PFC CSKA AD", was not issued a professional license, and later went bankrupted and ceased operations as of 9 September 2016. Litex Lovech later began playing in the
Third League, taking the place of
Botev Lukovit.
Following a series of unfavourable results in the championship, Hristo Yanev resigned as head coach. The following week, the son of former Romanian football legend
Anghel Iordănescu,
Edward Iordănescu, was appointed as head coach. However, on 27 November, following a 1–1 home draw against
Vereya Vereya (russian: Верея) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
* Vereya, Naro-Fominsky District, Moscow Oblast, a town in Naro-Fominsky District of Moscow Oblast
;Rural localities
* Vereya, Orekhovo-Zuyevsk ...
, he resigned as head coach.
In September 2017, the club officially announced a sponsorship with
Mtel, the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria. A sponsorship contract was also signed with Bulgarian
online gambling
Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery i ...
company WinBet.
On 11 October 2018, the company holding CSKA-Sofia acquired CSKA Sofia EAD, which owned the CSKA Sofia brand, and become its official successor.
2020s
The beginning of the decade marked CSKA Sofia's return to the European stage. The club earned a place in the group stage of a European tournament for the first time in ten years after eliminating
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, a ...
in the playoffs of the
2020-21 Europa League
The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...
.
Stoycho Mladenov was appointed as head coach for the fifth time in club history in the Summer of 2021, replacing
Lyuboslav Penev. After defeating
FK Liepāja
FK Liepāja/Mogo is a Latvian football club, founded in 2014. The club is based at the Daugava Stadium in Liepāja. FK Liepāja plays in the Latvian Higher League. In their first season they finished 4th in the 2014 Latvian Higher League.
His ...
,
NK Osijek
Nogometni klub Osijek ( en, Osijek Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek (), is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav ...
, and
Viktoria Plzeň
Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to:
Places
* FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov
* Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin
* Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...
in the qualifying rounds of the
UEFA Europa Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on the ...
, the club reached the group stage.
In April 2022, after it became apparent that the club would not win the title, Mladenov abruptly resigned and was replaced by
Alan Pardew, the club's technical director, who became the first Englishman ever to manage CSKA.
Alan Pardew would resign from his position on June 1st of the same year, after a racist incident where CSKA fans threw bananas at black players during a game against
Botev Plovdiv
Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes in ...
.
League positions
ImageSize = width:1600 height:65
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
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PlotData =
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from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:1
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from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2015 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group
V, or v, is the twenty-second and fifth-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ...
"
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from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:2
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from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2023 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
Honours
Domestic
Bulgarian A Group:
:*Champions (31) (record):
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
,
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
,
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...
,
1954,
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...
,
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
,
1957
1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...
,
1958,
1958–59,
1959–60,
1960–61,
1961–62,
1965–66,
1968–69,
1970–71,
1971–72,
1972–73,
1974–75,
1975–76,
1979–80,
1980–81,
1981–82,
1982–83,
1986–87,
1988–89,
1989–90,
1991–92,
1996–97,
2002–03,
2004–05,
2007–08
Bulgarian V Group:
:*Champions (1):
2015–16
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 tourname ...
:
:*Winners (21 times):
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
,
1954,
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...
,
1960–61,
1964–65,
1968–69,
1971–72,
1972–73,
1973–74,
1982–83,
1984–85,
1986–87,
1987–88,
1988–89,
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
,
1996–97,
1998–99,
2005–06,
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2015–16,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
Bulgarian Supercup
The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...
:
:*Winners (4):
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...
,
2006,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
,
2011
Bulgarian Cup – (unofficial tournament)
:*Winners (1 time): 1981
Cup of the Soviet Army
:*Winners (4 times): 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990
European
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
* Semi-finals (2):
1966–67,
1981–82
*Quarter-finals (4):
1956–57,
1973–74,
1980–81,
1989–90
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League:
*2nd round (Round of 32) –
1984–85,
1991–92,
1998–99,
2001–02
*Group stage (4):
2005–06,
2009–10,
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
* Semi-finals (1):
1988–89
Biggest win in European tournaments:
*UEFA Cup Winners – 8–1 in
1956–57 vs
Dinamo București
*UEFA Cup – 8–0 in
2000–01 vs
Constructorul
*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup – 9–0 in
1970–71 vs
Haka
Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompa ...
Other trophies
Mohammed V Trophy, Morocco:
:*Winners (1): 1967
Thöle-Pokal, Germany:
:*Winners (1): 2003
Arona Cup, Spain:
:*Winners (1): 2004
Martyrs of 17 February Cup, Libya:
:*Winners (1): 2012
Club crest
The main element in the current club crest is the red five-pointed star – symbol of glory and power. Red was the colour of the uniform of the Roman legions, associated with love, freedom and aggression. The six oak leaves above the star symbolise strength, endurance and traditions. CSKA's name and year of foundation (1948) can be seen below the star, between two Bulgarian flags. The circle form of the crest symbolises infinity and eternity.
After CSKA won its 30th national title in 2005, three golden stars were added to the logo. In 2017, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the club, CSKA introduced an updated chest.
File:Black lion rampant in a circle.svg, "Atletik - Slava (AS`23)" (1923–44)
File:Chavdar CDV.svg, "Chavdar (from 1948 – CDV)" (1944–48)
File:Septemvri pri CDV logo.png, "Septemvri pri CDV" (1948–49)
File:CDNV logo.png, "CDNV" (1950–1953)
File:CDNA logo.png, "CDNA" (1954–1962)
File:CSKA Cherveno Zname logo.png, "CSKA Cherveno Zname" (1962–1968)
File:CSKA Cherveno Zname alternative logo.png, "CSKA Cherveno Zname" alternative (1964–1968)
File:CSKA Cherveno Zname logo variant 2.png, "CSKA Cherveno Zname" alternative (1965–1968)
File:CSKA Septemvriysko Zname logo.png, "CSKA Septemvriysko Zname" (1968–1985)
File:CSKA Septemvriysko Zname red logo.png, "CSKA Septemvriysko Zname" alternative (1968–1985)
File:CSKA Septemvriysko Zname alternative logo.png, "CSKA Septemvriysko Zname" European championships (1968–1985)
File:CFKA Sredets logo.png, "CFKA Sredets" (1985–1989)
File:CSKA old-2.png, "CSKA" (1987–1988) and (1990–1998)
File:CSKA 98-99.png, "CSKA" (1998)
File:CSKA 99-05.png, "CSKA" (1989) and (1998–2005)
File:CSKA Sofia logo.svg, "CSKA" (2005–2017)
File:CSKA Sofia logo for 70th anniversary.png, "CSKA" (2017–2019)
File:CSKA Sofia Logo 2020.png, "CSKA" (2019–present)
Names
CSKA has carried a plethora of names throughout its history. In chronological order, they are as follows:
* Septemvri pri CDV ( bg, Септември при ЦДВ), ''September at the Central House of the Troops'' in 1948 and 1948/49.
* Narodna Voiska ( bg, Народна Войска), ''People's Troops'' in 1950.
* C.D.N.V. ( bg, Централен Дом на Народната Войска, Ц.Д.Н.В.), ''Central House of the People's Troops'' in 1951 and 1952.
* Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon ( bg, Отбор на Софийския Гарнизон), ''Team of the Sofia's garrison'' in 1953.
* CDNA ( bg, ЦДНА, Централен Дом на Народната Армия), ''Central House of the People's Army'' from 1954 and until the 1961/62 season.
* CSKA "Cherveno zname" ( bg, ЦСКА „Червено знаме“), ''CSKA "Red Flag"'' between 1962/63 and 1967/68.
* CSKA "Septemvriysko zname" ( bg, ЦСКА „Септемврийско знаме“), ''CSKA "September's flag"'' between 1968/69 and 1984/85.
* CFKA "Sredets" ( bg, ЦФКА „Средец“), ''Central Football Club of the Army "Sredets"'' from 1985/86 and until 1988/89
* CSKA ( bg, ЦСКА), ''CSKA – Central Sports Club of the Army'' since 1989/90.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
*Only Domestic Cup matches
European record
''Updated as of 25 August 2022''
UEFA Ranking
''Source
'
Players
Current squad
''For recent transfers, see
List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2022#CSKA Sofia , Transfers summer 2022 and
Transfers winter 2022–23.''
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
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 ...
, however only five non-EU/EEA nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU/EEA 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.
Bulgarian Army stadium
The team's home stadium, the Bulgarian Army Stadium, was completed in 1967 and stands on the same spot as its predecessor, Athletic Park. It is situated in the
Borisova gradina park, named after Bulgarian tsar
Boris III, in Sofia's city centre. The stadium has four sectors with a total of 22,995 places (18,495 seats),
of which 2,100 are covered. The pitch length is 105 metres and the width is 68 metres.
The sports complex also include a basketball court and gymnastics facilities, as well as the CSKA Sofia Museum of Glory. The press conference room has 80 seats.
Supporters

According to many surveys, CSKA Sofia is one of the two most popular clubs in Bulgaria with approximately 190,000 organized supporters in 799 fan clubs around the world, including supporters from United States,North Macedonia, Spain, Austria, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Greece, Germany and almost every country in which there is a large number of
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...
. The official fan club was formed in 1990, which to date is the oldest one in the capital of Bulgaria.
Sector G, the main stand for the
ultras
Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
of CSKA Sofia, is located at the north side of the stadium. Inside the sector, the most influential supporters group is the newly founded ultras group "Ofanziva", which was formed after the unification of several smaller fan clubs. Another strong group is "Animals".
CSKA is also the favourite football club of the current head of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgars ...
Patriarch Neophyte.
Managerial history
This is a list of the last 10 CSKA Sofia managers:
Club officials
Board of directors
Current technical body
Club kits
After the merger between Chavdar Sofia and
Septemvri Sofia, it was accepted the club's home colour would be red. White became the club's away colour.
In previous years, black was also used, mainly for away or third kits. Other colours of the CSKA kits that can be seen are grey, yellow, orange and green, but only in rarely occasions and only in the colour scheme of the third kits. In the 2009–10 season, and for the first time in club history, CSKA used gold for their away kits.
After the 2011–12 season in which CSKA used equipment of the Italian company
Kappa
Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value ...
, from June 2012 the club has new kit supplier, Italian company
Legea
Legea (stylised as LEGEA) is an Italian sportswear company, founded in 1993 by brothers Giovanni, Emilia and Luigi Acanfora. It is one of the most popular brands among Italian amateur football teams, then expanding to professional clubs.
Legea i ...
. The team used the new equipment for the first time in the pre-season friendly against Moscow side
Torpedo Moscow, ended 1–2. The kits were sample and they were with a different outfit and a different spot where the team badge was placed. The official presentation of the new kits was before the friendly match against Macedonian side
Drita on 14 July 2012 (2–0), played at the Bulgarian Army Stadium.
Club anthem
The official anthem of CSKA Sofia is the song "Sartsa cherveni" ("Red hearts") by the famous Bulgarian singer Yordanka Hristova. The song is written in 1999 by composer Evgeni Dimitrov and lyricist Ivaylo Valchev, authors of many of the hits of
Slavi Trifonov
Stanislav Todorov Trifonov ( bg, Станислав Тодоров Трифонов; born 18 October 1966), known as Slavi Trifonov ( bg, Слави Трифонов), is a Bulgarian TV host, musician and politician. Trifonov is mainly active i ...
and
Ku-Ku Band.
Данчето подари "Сърца червени" на ЦСКА
prosport.bg 6 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:CSKA Sofia
Association football clubs established in 1948
1948 establishments in Bulgaria