Vereya (Bulgarian: Верея) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Stara Zagora, which currently competes in the Southeast Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football.
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| Full name | Professional Football Club Vereya-Stara Zagora | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Lions | |||
| Founded | July 15, 2001 | |||
| Ground | Trace Arena, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria | |||
| Capacity | 3,500 | |||
| Head coach | Kolyo Kolev | |||
| League | A RFG Stara Zagora | |||
| 2022–23 | Southeast Third League, 20th (relegated) | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Vereya was founded in 2001. The team made a remarkable rise through the levels of the Bulgarian football system, and by 2016, the club reached the top level of Bulgarian football, the First League, for the first time. In 2019, after three seasons in the First League, they were expelled from it for reported match fixing.
History edit
Foundation and beginning edit
The club was founded in 2001 by a founding board led by Hristiyan Parvanov, Galin Mihaylov, Slavcho Tanev, Tonko Totev and Dimo Hristov. Until the 2005/06 season it was playing in Regional groups before the promotion to the V AFG under the name FC Vereya-Arsenal after a merger with Arsenal Kazanlak, but after the season 2006/07 Vereya-Arsenal became Arsenal Kazanlak and the 2nd team Vereya Bulsatkom moved to Stara Zagora again and was registered as FC Vereya. They won the A RFG 3 times in the next 5 seasons, getting the promotion during the 2011–12 season.
Trace Group ownership (2012–present) edit
In 2012, Bulgarian construction company Trace Group started investing in the club and a new stadium project Trace Arena was presented. On May 21, 2014 the club won the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League after defeating Minyor Pernik 2–0 in the final.[1] During the same season Vereya finished 3rd in the V Group and secured promotion to the higher-ranked professional football league, the B Group.
In 2016, the club submitted an application for the newly restructured Bulgarian First League. On June 1, 2016, one of the new signings of the club for the upcoming season, the Brazilian Elias Alves da Silva, announced that he joined the club, as it would compete in the top league of Bulgaria, long before an official statement was given by the BFU officials on the number of the teams competing in the new league, thus sparking controversy.[2]
On June 7, 2016, Vereya, alongside five other B Group outfits, were approved by the Bulgarian Football Union and were promoted to compete in the upcoming 2016-17 Bulgarian First League. Vereya was one of the clubs with the necessary financial and infrastructural requirements for the new first tier.
In its first ever season in the top level (2016-17), Vereya managed to secure a 7th place finish, thus remaining part of the elite for next season.
In its second season in the top level (2017-18), Vereya surprised many, by finishing in the top 6 in the regular season.
The third season in the elite was not that successful, however. It was marked by financial problems. On 7 May 2019, Vereya were disqualified from the league for match fixing. All results from played matches involving Vereya were retained with the Bulgarian Football Union awarding Septemvri Sofia two wins by 3–0 from their scheduled relegation play-off matches with Vereya and the loser from the relegation play-off match between Dunav Ruse and Vitosha Bistritsa (the latter) directly faced the second-placed team from the Second League (Montana).[3][4][5] Vereya was then disqualified from the Second League, due to financial issues, following which they were also disqualified from the third tier, which meant that the team will start the 2019-20 season from the fourth division of Bulgarian football, in this case the Stara Zagora regional league.
Statistics edit
Season to season edit
- Seasons in First League: 3
- Seasons in B Group (now Second League): 2
- Seasons in V Group ( now Third League): 5
- Seasons in A Regional Group: 13
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Shirt and sponsors edit
Vereya main colors are blue and white.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
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| 2006–2012 |  Unknown
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Bulsatcom / Trace Group |
| 2012–2014 |  Tomy Sport
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Trace Group |
| 2014–2016 |  Nike
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| 2016–2018 |  Erreà
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| 2018–2019 |  Uhlsport
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Efbet |
Honours edit
- First League:
- 6th: 2017–18
- Bulgarian Cup:
- Semifinals: 2016–17
- Second League:
- 8th 2015–16
- Third League:
- 3rd: 2013–14
- A RFG Stara Zagora:
- Winners (4): 2005-06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
- Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League:
- Winners (1): 2013–14
Current squad edit
As of 1 August 2020
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players edit
Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Vereya or at some other point in their careers.
Managers edit
| Dates | Name | Honours |
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| 2001–11 | Unknown | |
| 2011–13 | Kolyo Hristov
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| 2013–14 | Petar Kostadinov
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1 Amateur Cup title 1 Promotion to B Group |
| 2014 | Krasimir Manolov
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| 2014 | Gospodin Mirchev
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| 2014–15 | Radostin Kishishev
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| 2015–16 | Zhivko Zhelev Vladislav Yanush
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| 2016–2017 | Aleksandar Tomash
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| 2017 | Ilian Iliev
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| 2018 | Blagomir Mitrev
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| 2018 | Ivan Kolev
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| 2018 |  Nebojša Miličić
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| 2018 | Lyudmil Kirov
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| 2018–2019 | Nebojša Miličić
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| 2019 |  Oleksandr Sevidov
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| 2019 | Ivan Vutov
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| 2020– | Kolyo Kolev
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References edit
- ^ Верея спечели купата на Аматьорската футболна лига (Gong.bg, (In Bulgarian))
- ^ "Елиаш пред Sportal.bg: Треньорът на Берое не ме искаше в състава, оставам в "А" група с Верея". sportal.bg. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "След сигнал на УЕФА: БФС изхвърли клуб от Първа лига" [After signal by UEFA: BFU expelled a team from First League] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "Верея изваден от Първа лига заради пет мача, три от тях са известни" [Vereya expelled from First League because of five matches, three are known] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "Ще получи ли Лудогорец две точки предимство след изваждането на Верея от Първа лига?" [Will Ludogorets receive two points advantage after the expulsion of Vereya from First League?] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. May 7, 2019. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
External links edit
- Official website
- Club page at bgclubs.eu
- Club page at Sportal.bg (Archived February 6, 2021, at the Wayback Machine)