November 28 – The president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Borislav Mihaylov has resigned from his post after 18 years in charge. He announced his resignation after a short meeting of the executive committee of the BFU.
Mihaylov’s decision comes after a series of protests against his presidency that escalated two weeks ago into scenes of public disorder and violence in the centre of Sofia during Bulgaria’s European qualifier against Hungary.
Football fans, politicians, public figures and journalists were all part of widespread demands for his resignation. The Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office also began an investigation of the BFU and Mihaylov. Until that moment, Mihaylov, who is a legendary Bulgarian goalkeeper, refused to resign.
Almost two years ago Mihaylov resigned, but a few months later he withdrew his resignation and returned to the head of the Bulgarian FA.
After the meeting of the executive committee, Mihaylov gave a short statement, saying: “For everyone’s peace of mind, I am resigning. I will tell you just a few words about what has been happening in the last two years. Since I returned to the head of Bulgarian football, I, the management of football, and the entire administration of the BFU, have been subjected to unheard of pressure, constant criticism, slander, lies and aggression.
“However, in a relatively short time, we fulfilled most of the goals in our strategy, which was adopted at the last congress that I won. Yes, the national team did not perform up to par, but when it’s about a ball, there’s no way to give guarantees of success. Everything else that depended on me and the BFU has been fulfilled,” said Mihaylov.
“The Bulgarian Football Union is one of the first fully digitalized federations in the world, which we received an excellent assessment from both FIFA and UEFA. We built a talent development system of a separate methodology, and improved competitions under the umbrella of the BFU. We invested time, effort and resources for the development of mass football and for the Bulgarian championship to be as attractive as possible, which is evident in recent seasons. We managed to sign an annex about the television rights, with which we raised the income of the clubs by up to 30%. We signed contracts with serious companies. We continued investments in infrastructure projects to build a sustainable future. In 2 years, we put 19 pitches into operation and three more will be opened by the end of the year. As I promised, the organizational structure of the BFU was renewed with young, capable and working people,” he continued.
“We would have done even more if we had not become an outlet for all the problems of Bulgarian society.”
At the beginning of December, the executive committee of the BFU will set a date for the election of a new president.
Favourite for the post is the former Manchester United striker and captain of Bulgaria, Dimitar Berbatov. His election team includes other Bulgarian legends including Stiliyan Petrov and Martin Petrov.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1716010881labto1716010881ofdlr1716010881owedi1716010881sni@o1716010881fni1716010881