FC Vitosha is a Bulgarian association football club based in Bistritsa, Sofia City Province, which competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. It is named after the Vitosha mountain range, where Bistritsa is located. The club became notable for having Bulgaria's prime minister, Boyko Borisov, as a registered player of the squad in the lower divisions. The increased popularity of the club due to Borisov's presence led to its coach and players being featured on the TV seriesBNT Taxi in 2011.
History
1958–2007: Regional divisions
The club was founded in 1958 and played in the regional divisions until 2007, when it gained promotion to the third division. In the 1972–73 Bulgarian Cup they entered the preliminary round, but eventually lost to Pirin Blagoevgrad with a 3-0 result.
2007–2016: Amateur division and B Group breakthrough
From 2007 to 2016 the team played regularly in the V Group. In May 2012, Vitosha claimed the Amateur League Cupfor the first time in their history, eliminating Dve Mogili 2–1 in the final match. During the 2012-13 V Group, the club ranked second in the South-West V Group and achieved promotion to Bulgaria's professional B Group for the first time in their history. During the 2013–14 Bulgarian Cup, Vitosha eliminated Bansko with an aggregate score of 3-1 to advance to the Round of 16 of the Bulgarian Cup for the first time ever. Previously, their highest achievement had been reaching the Round of 32 in the 1972 Bulgarian Cup.
Vitosha finished the 2015–16 V Group in second place after CSKA Sofia, but due to the adoption of a new league structure for the Second League, they were promoted again. In the meantime, the club started investing in a youth academyconsisting of five youth teams for the 2016–17 season and reconstruction works on the club's stadium. On May 3, 2017, Vitosha presented an update of their current club crest. A few days later, on May 8, 2017, they also signed a sponsorship agreement with Bulgarian gambling company Efbet for the upcoming two seasons. On June 2, 2017, Vitosha won the play-off relegation match against Neftochimic Burgas and achieved promotion to the top division for first time in their history. Despite their poor performance during the regular season, finishing last with the worst defense and attack, and gaining only one victory, Vitosha avoided relegation from the 2017–18 First League, winning the play-offs against Pirin Blagoevgrad and Lokomotiv Sofia. Vitosha improved their performance in the next season, avoiding relegation once more. However, the 2019-20 season was disastrous for Vitosha. The team finished in last place in the regular season, with only one win. Since the number of matches were reduced by half for the season, Vitosha were mathematically relegated even before the relegation phase started. This ended their three-year stay in the Bulgarian top tier.
Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the A PFG however only three 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.
