site.btaBulgarian Football's 100th Anniversary to Be Marked with Gala Event

A gala evening in Sofia will mark the 100th anniversary of Bulgarian football on Monday. Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) President Georgi Ivanov has already welcomed UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin for the event and FIFA President Gianni Infantino is expected to arrive later. Representatives of European delegations will also be in attendance.

The Bulgarian National Sports Federation, as the predecessor of the BFU, was founded on December 16-17, 1923, with the aim to prepare the team for participation in the VIII Summer Olympic Games in 1924. Immediately afterwards Bulgaria was accepted as FIFA member. The following year the national team was established and played its first matches.

The celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the BFU were supposed to take place last year, but were postponed because of tensions and riots before and during the match with Hungary and the resignation of BFU's former president Borislav Mihaylov.