FC Fratria

FC Fratria () is a Bulgarian association football club based in Varna, which currently competes in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football league system. Fratrias home ground is the Albena 1 Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,000 spectators.

History

Establishment

Fratria was established in 2021 by businessman Viktor Bakurevich, owner of Berezka supermarkets. Bakurevich decided to start an academy that is free from taxes, making the club base in Benkovski, Varna Province.Собственикът на най-бързо развиващия се клуб в България: До 5 години искаме да сме в efbet Лига
/ref> Later that year, the team started a partnership with MFC Ticha Academy.

Regional and amateur leagues climb up: 2021–2024

They won their first season in B Regional Group and in 2022 were promoted to A Regional Group with Oleksandr Babych taking the manager position. Since Bakurevich had Russian and Ukrainian roots, a few players from Russia and Ukraine, living in Bulgaria, joined the main team and the academies. The team won the league and on 29 May 2023, Fratria secured promotion to Third League, being called the fastest developing team, not only because of their quick promotion to the third league, but also because of the development of their base and academy. In June 2023, the team started to prepare for their first season in Third League with the intentions to win the group. Fratria also established a second team that joined A Regional League. Later same month it was announced they will move to Stadium Albena 1 in Albena resort.

In their first cup appearance, Fratria was drawn against local team Spartak Varna, but lost the match with a 1:3 result, played on 8 September 2023. On 5 October 2023 the team announced that they are introducing a new sporting director in the name of Emanuel Lukanov, who took the position. In January 2024, Fratria announced they will have a friendly match against Farul II, as part of their winter camp, setting a start of a partnership with Farul Constanța. On 5 February Babych was signed by Pirin Blagoevgrad in First League and Lukanov was promoted as a manager of the team. On 29 February 2024 the team once again changed stadium, moving to Kavarna Stadium, which would allow the team to play in Second League. They won the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, beating Akademik Svishtov on Ivaylo Stadium on 22 May 2024 with 2:0.

Professional league breakthrough: 2024–present

On 1 June 2024 Fratria won their match against Ustrem Donchevo, finishing second, with the same points as Ludogorets III and promoted to Second League. The team also returned to Albena 1 Stadium, due to administrative issues with Kavarna Stadium. They won the preliminary round of the Bulgarian Cup against Botev Novi Pazar to face Beroe Stara Zagora in the round of 32. The match , played on 14 November 2024, ended 3-3 on regular time, with Beroe later winning on penalties. Few hours after the result, despite the positive play of the team and being close to eliminate the team from First League, Lukanov was sacked. Later the same day, the sport director Vasil Petrov, was promoted as manager of the team.Васил Петров поема Фратрия
/ref> In January 2025, the team invested in renovation of Dimitar Vatev Stadium in Beloslav, signing a contract to play their home matches at the stadium after the summer. Few days after the season end, on 28 May 2025, Vasil Petrov was announced to step down from the post and return as Sporting Director. Alexei Savinov was appointed as head coach of the team, a day later.

Honours

* A RFG Varna:
** Winners (1): 2022–23
* B RFG Varna:
** Winners (1): 2021–22
* Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League:
** Winners (1): 2023–24

Logo, shirt and sponsor

The "Fratria" name of the club translates to „Brotherhood", from Latin, with the team having the sloagan “frater pro fratre", meaning „brother for brother", on their logo. Their main colors are red ( bordo) and black. Since 2021 their main sponsor is Berezka.

Players

Current squad

'Фратрия Първи отбор
/ref>

''For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2024.''

Out on loan

Second-team squad

Foreign players

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First Professional League however only three can be used in 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

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
* Mike Bettinger
* Dylan Junior Abé
* Vasile Bitlan
* Igor Mostovei
* Xavello Druiventak
* Mikhail Gashchuk
* Serhii Chyzhyk

Non-EU Nationals

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

;Bulgaria
* Georgi Kitanov
* Georgi Lazarov
* Aleksandar Tsvetkov

;Europe
* Vasil Andoni
* Denys Vasin

;Africa
* Mike Bettinger
;Concacaf
* Momchil Yordanov

Personnel

Club officials

Managerial history

Seasons

League positions

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from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 color:blue shift:(0,14) text: " Regional B"
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text: " Regional A"
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " Third League"
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2026 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " Second League"

Past seasons

Goalscoring and appearance records

*Players in bold are still playing for Fratria.

References

External links

Official websiteteambulgaria.bgbgclubs.eu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fratria
FC Fratria
Football clubs in Varna, Bulgaria
Association football clubs established in 2021
Fratria Varna