FC Arda Kardzhali

Arda was established on August 10, 1924 under the name Rodopski Sokol, but later took the name Arda, derived from the nearby Arda River.[1] From 1945 to 1957 the team was named Minyor until a year later when the previous name was put in use again. In 1956, the club finished as a runner-up in the B Group. They also reached the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Cup during the 1959–60 campaign of the competition. In 1988 they secured the third place in the B Group. The Kardzhali club spend most of its time in the second and third levels of Bulgarian football, before getting dissolved in 2013 due to financial troubles.

The team suffered relegation from the V Group in 2013 and didn't compete in any league division until 2015 when they returned to the A Regional Group after reestablishment. In 2016, Arda achieved promotion to the Bulgarian Third League after a successful season and a 3–0 win in the play-off match against Lyubimets.[2]

In early June 2017, the club was purchased by Bulgarian road construction company PSI Group, in an attempt to develop a football project, inspired by the domestic and international success of Ludogorets.[3] Two weeks later, former Levski Sofia player Elin Topuzakov was appointed as head coach and Emil Kremenliev was hired as sporting director.[4] Subsequently, Petar Peshev was elected chairman of the club and was revealed that the new ownership would invest around €1 million in new signings, salaries and infrastructure around the stadium during the following South-East Third League season.[5] All of this led to an amateur double during the 2017–18 season, as Arda won both its group and the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, resulting in a promotion to the Bulgarian Second League.[6]

After the unsatisfactory results in the first 5 rounds, Elin Topuzakov was released as a manager and Stoycho Stoev was appointed,[7] but on 6 March 2019 Stamen Belchev was appointed as the new manager, after Stoev reached an agreement with the Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. The team improved greatly, eventually managing a 3rd-place finish, enabling them to participate in the play-offs against relegation-avoider PFC Septemvri Sofia to enter the top level of Bulgarian football. Arda eventually managed to win 0–1 over Septemvri at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Plovdiv, thus resulting in the club's first-time ever participation in the Bulgarian First League.[8]

Arda's first match in the Bulgarian top tier resulted in a 0–0 home draw against Botev Plovdiv. This was followed by an away 0–0 draw to Tsarsko Selo. Arda's first win came in the third round, when the team managed to beat Beroe Stara Zagora 3–1 at home. The game remained 1-1 up until the 90th minute, when Elisha Sam scored two goals in three minutes to give Arda the win. Arda then won their first away game in the top league, by beating Vitosa Bistritsa 1–3, extending their unbeaten run to four games. At the end of the first half of the season in December, Arda was in seventh place in the league, with seven wins, seven draws, and six losses. At the end of the regular season in June, Arda was in the relegation group. Despite this, on June 20, Arda mathematically secured their place in the First League for the upcoming season, after Botev Plovdiv beat Botev Vratsa 3–2.

Arda reached the final of the 2020–21 Bulgarian Cup, their first-ever participation at a final of the domestic cup. Arda faced CSKA Sofia, and lost by 1-0, in a closely fought game. A few days later, the team won the Europa Conference League play-off against Cherno More Varna and qualified for European tournament for first time in their history.[9] In the Europa Conference League, Arda faced Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Arda’s general inexperience with European football caused an upsetting 0-2 home loss, followed by a 4-0 away loss, which eliminated Arda from the Europa Conference League.

As of 30 April 2023[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BUL Anatoli Gospodinov 3 DF  CIV Oumar Sako (on loan from LASK) 4 DF  BUL Milen Stoev 6 DF  BUL Plamen Krachunov 7 MF  MLI Aboubacar Toungara 8 DF  BUL Milen Zhelev 9 FW  BUL Preslav Borukov 10 FW  BUL Svetoslav Kovachev 11 DF  BUL Aleksandar Georgiev 15 MF  BUL Stanislav Dyulgerov 17 FW  BUL Ivan Kokonov (captain) 18 FW  MLI Lassana N'Diaye (on loan from CSKA Moscow)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 DF  BUL Deyan Lozev 21 MF  BUL Radoslav Tsonev 24 DF  BUL Aleks Petkov 26 MF  MTN El Mami Tetah (on loan from Alanyaspor) 29 FW  BUL Georgi Atanasov 33 MF  BUL Ivan Tilev 36 GK  BUL Vasil Simeonov 70 MF  FRA Chahreddine Boukholda 77 MF  BUL Iliya Yurukov 81 DF  BUL Atanas Zehirov 97 FW  BRA Júnior Palmares 99 FW  BUL Stanislav Ivanov

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2022 and Transfers winter 2022–23.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 MF  BUL Slavi Petkov (at Sportist Svoge until 31 May 2023)

Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First League, however only five non-EU nationals 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.

• Biggest home win in First League: Arda Kardzhali 5–1 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (22 March 2022)
• Biggest away win in First League: Vitosha Bistritsa 1–3 Arda Kardzhali (2 August 2019)
• Biggest home loss in First League: Arda Kardzhali 0–4 Ludogorets Razgrad (12 February 2022)
• Biggest away loss in First League: Tsarsko Selo 4–0 Arda Kardzhali (25 April 2021)
• Unbeaten streak in First League (single season): 11 (2020–21)
• Most consecutive wins in First League (single season): 3 (2020–21)