July 8 – Bulgaria’s FC Krumovgrad have decided to withdraw from the Second Bulgarian League after suffering relegation from the efbet League following two seasons in the top-flight.
In a brief statement, the club’s benefactor, Basri Sarov, announced that the team were withdrawing as they could not licence the stadium in the southern Bulgarian city, with the local municipality allegedly refusing to invest funds for its reconstruction.
Sarov said the club would continue to operate and conduct financial activities.
Over the past two years, Krumovgrad have played their home matches at Botev Plovdiv’s training base, but Botev’s new owners have been adamant that their base will no longer be rented out and cannot be used by Krumovgrad.
“Dear Krumovgrad residents, dear fellow citizens and descendants connected to Krumovgrad,’ Sarov’s statement read. “With a heavy heart, I would like to inform you that we – the management of FC Krumovgrad – have made the difficult decision to terminate the participation of the football team in the Second League.
“The reason for this is clear and has been known for a long time. The stadium in Krumovgrad does not meet the requirements of the Bulgarian Football Union for holding football matches from the First and Second Leagues in the Bulgarian championship.
“The complete lack of interest on the part of the municipal management forced the football team to toil for two years in Plovdiv, to deal with various challenges and problems, without seeing on the horizon the opportunity to play their matches in their native Krumovgrad.
“And this is happening despite the fact that the municipality of Krumovgrad has a huge budget – one of the largest per capita in the country.
“In connection with the publications that have appeared, we declare that the club has not gone bankrupt and continues to fulfill its commitments to pay its debts.”
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