FC CSKA 1948 Sofia
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| Full name | Football Club Central Sports Club of the Army 1948 Sofia | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Червените (The Reds) | |||
| Founded | 2016[1] | |||
| Ground | Stadion Bistritsa | |||
| Capacity | 2,500 | |||
| Owner | FC CSKA 1948 Association | |||
| Chairman | Dobrin Gyonov | |||
| Coach | Lyuboslav Penev | |||
| League | First League | |||
| 2021–22 | First League, 8th of 14 | |||
| Website | http://bg.cska1948.bg/ | |||
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CSKA 1948 Sofia (Bulgarian: Футболен Клуб Централен Спортен Клуб на Армията 1948 София) is a Bulgarian football club from the city of 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 recognition of Litex Lovech for CSKA Sofia after bankrupt 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, 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. 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, 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 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, 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, 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. CSKA 1948 eventually finished fourth, three points below the promotion playoff place, which was occupied by Arda Kardzhali. Although CSKA 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, CSKA 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. CSKA'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 CSKA 1948 lost 1–0 to Litex Lovech. After a 2–0 home win against Chernomorets Balchik, CSKA 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
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 the team faced CSKA in its first game of the new season, the encounter resulted in a 2–2 draw.[6]
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.[7]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Errea
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None |
| 2017–2020 | Efbet | |
| 2020– |  Adidas
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Since 2018, the team mascot is Army the lion.[8]
Honours
- 5th place (1): 2020–21
Winners (1): 2019–20
- Winners (1): 2017–18
- Winners (1): 2016–17
Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League:
Runners-up (1): 2016–17
Players
Current squad
As of 25 September 2022[update] [9][10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2022.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
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EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
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Non-EU Nationals
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Second-team squad
Goalscoring and appearance records
Most appearances for the club in all competitions
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Most goals for the club in all competitions
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- 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 CSKA 1948.
Most appearances for the club in First League
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Most goals for the club in First League
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- Players in bold are still playing for 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.
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Club officials
Coaching staff and personnel
 Stoycho Mladenov
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Operations director |
| Radoslav Zdravkov
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Sports Director |
| Lyuboslav Penev
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Head coach |
 Pablo Carrasco Gomez
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Assistant coach |
| Atanas Stoilov
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Assistant coach |
| Yordan Yordanov
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Goalkeeping coach |
| Ivan Slavov
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Analyzer |
| Galin Ivanov
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Scout |
 Tom
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Scout |
| Svetlin Spasov
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Fitness coach |
| Nikolay Georgiev
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Fitness coach |
| Dimitar Stoyanov
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Physiotherapist |
| Petar Lozanov
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Physiotherapist |
| Rayko Ivanov
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Masseur |
| Liliya Stefanova
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Psychologist |
| Asparuh Lazarov
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Administrator |
| David Lozanov
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Administrator |
| Spas Stoimenov
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U19 coach |
| Roman Tafradzhiev
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U17 coach |
| Hristiyan Voynov
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U15 coach |
| Bogomil Dyakov
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U11 coach |
Manager history
| Name | Nat | From | To | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adalbert Zafirov |
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1 July 2016 | 1 September 2016 | |
| Valentin Iliev |
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2 September 2016 | 21 June 2018 | 1 Fourth League title 1 Third League title |
| Petko Petkov |
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1 July 2018 | 21 October 2019 | |
| Yordan Yurukov |
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21 October 2019 | 6 June 2020 | 1 Second League title |
| Krasimir Balakov |
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6 June 2020 | 23 March 2021 | |
| Rosen Kirilov (interim) |
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23 March 2021 | 24 April 2021 | |
| Todor Kiselichkov |
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25 April 2021 | 26 July 2021 | |
| Miroslav Mindev |
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27 July 2021 | 30 August 2021 | |
| Nikolay Kirov |
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3 September 2021 | 20 May 2022 | |
| Lyuboslav Penev |
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28 May 2022 | Present |
Seasons
| Season | League | Bulgarian Cup | Other competitions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Level | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | ||||
| 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 ↑ | QR2 | SF | |
| 2018–19 | Second League | 2 | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 39 | 18 | 21 | 59 | 4th | R1 | DNE | |
| 2019–20 | 2 | 21 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 59 | 18 | 41 | 55 | 1st ↑ | QF | |||
| 2020–21 | First League | 1 | 31 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 47 | 5th | QF | DNE | |
| 2021–22 | 1 | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 51 | 45 | 6 | 41 | 8th | R1 | |||
League positions
See also
- List of fan-owned sports teams
- F.C. United of Manchester
- AFC Wimbledon
- C.F. Os Belenenses
- CSA Steaua București
References
- ^ Нов ЦСКА бе учреден, ще участва в А окръжна група
- ^ topsport.bg (6 August 2016). "ЦСКА 1948 ще играе с емблема като на "Септемврийско знаме"". Topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Голям късмет покри "червените": ЦСКА 1948 влезе в Трета лига след невероятна драма (видео+галерия)". Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Черноморец разпиля слаб ЦСКА 1948 и спечели Купата! (видео+галерия)". Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "ЦСКА 1948 го направи! "Червените" са във Втора лига, от догодина имат право да атакуват Европа (видео)". Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Красимир Балъков е новият треньор на ЦСКА 1948". gong.bg. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "ЦСКА 1948 представя основен спонсор на клуба". Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Лъвчето на ЦСКА 1948 ще се казва Арми". Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Играчи". cska1948.bg. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ FC CSKA 1948 Sofia at Soccerway
External links
| Teams | |
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| The club | |
| Grounds |
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