OFC Belasitsa

OFC Belasitsa (Bulgarian: ОФК Беласица Петрич) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Petrich, currently playing in the South-West Third League. The team was founded in 1923. They play at the Stadion Tsar Samuil in Petrich, which has a capacity of 9,500. The club last played in the first tier of Bulgarian football during the 2008-09 season.

History

Founding and early years

Belasitsa Petrich was founded in 1923 as FC Manush Voivoda. From 1957 the club was called DFS Belasitsa after the union of the local football clubs "Stroitel", "Cherveno zname", "Torpedo" and "Spartak", i.e. all the teams from Petrich.

First promotion to the top tier

In 1980, Belasitsa promoted to the A PFG for the first time ever. In its debut season in the Bulgarian elite in season 1980-81, the team finished in 13th place. In that same season, Belasitsa recorded its best appearance at the Bulgarian Cup, reaching the semifinals. They eliminated then holders of the cup, Slavia Sofia along the way. In the semifinal played on April 22 1981, in Karlovo, Belasitsa lost to eventual winners Botev Plovdiv, by a score of 6-0.

During these years, Belasitsa earned themselves a reputation for playing very strong football for a team not based in a major city. The team relied almost entirely on youth academy players for the first team. They played in the Bulgarian elite up until season 1983-84, when they were relegated after playoffs, ending a four-year stint in the A Group.

Second promotion and golden era

Belasitsa returned to the A Group in 1999, ending a 15-year absence from the top tier of Bulgarian football. However, the team largely struggled and was eventually relegated back after just one season in the top level. In 2001, 2 years after their relegation from the top flight, Belasitsa returned to A PFG through administrative decisions made by the BFU. That year Belasitsa united with Hebar, who finished 9th in the 2000-01 season, w

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