Sportist

FC Sportist (Bulgarian: ФК Спортист) is a Bulgarian football club based in Svoge, which currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football, following promotion from the Third League.

The club was founded in 1924 and their home ground is the Stadion Chavdar Tsvetkov, which has a seating capacity of 3,500 spectators. The club's all-time success is the promotion to the Bulgarian top division in 2009, although they were relegated at the end of the 2009-10 season. The club plays home games in blue and white kits.

History

Early Years

Sportist Svoge was formed in 1924, as a sports club characterized by a blue and white check jersey. In 1949, after reorganization, the club was renamed to DSNM Svoge. In the years between 1952 and 1954, the sports club competes with the name of Minyor Svoge, and in the period between 1954 and 1957 carries the simple name FC Svoge. The club finally became known as Sportist Svoge in 1957, the name, which is known to date.

Road to the Elite

Until 2007, Sportist participated in either the third or the fourth amateurs divisions, but in 2006-07 the team were promoted for the first time to second division. In their first season in professional football, the club finished in 6th place. In 2008 manager Aleksandar Aleksandrov laid the foundations of a good team. The 2008-09 season in the domestic league was successful for the team, which finished 2nd, and managed to participate in the play-off for promotion in the Bulgarian A PFG. On June 17, 2009, Sportist surprisingly won the play-off against Naftex Burgas with a result of 6:4 in the penalty shoot-out and qualified for the A PFG for the first time in the club's history.

A Group Season

On August 10, 2009, in the first match of the club in the top division of Bulgarian football, Sportist finished with a 1:1 draw against Slavia Sofia. The first goal for the club in the A PFG scored Georgi

This page also has a version in other languages :  Спортист (russian)