OFC Bdin () is a Bulgarian football club based in Vidin, currently (season 2025–2026) playing in the Third Professional League, the third level of Bulgarian football. Its home stadium "Georgi Benkovski" has a capacity of 15 000 seats. The club color is red shirts and shorts.
History THE BEGINNING
OFC Bdin Vidin is a football club whose origins date back to 1923.
During the 1920s, several small football teams existed in Vidin. In 1920, SC “Bdin” was founded, later changing its name to “Bononia” before eventually becoming “Bdin” again. In the “Kaleto” district, the team “Victoria” was established. The large Jewish and Turkish communities in Vidin also had their own teams – “Jabotinsky” and “Turan.” Other teams such as “Razvitie,” “Sportist,” “Bulgaria,” and others also existed.
These teams competed fiercely in the city football championship, while Vidin’s proximity to Romania and Serbia allowed them to play international matches as well. In 1923, when the Bulgarian National Sports Federation (BNSF) was established in Sofia, it required the small neighborhood clubs to merge. These first football clubs in Vidin laid the foundations of organized football in the city and became the basis of today’s “Bdin.”
May 20, 1923, is the exact date on which SC “Bdin” was officially registered following the aforementioned merger. We consider this the birth date of our club. This history is presented with the assistance of the State Archives branch in Vidin.
From the beginning of the Bulgarian championship in 1924, Vidin teams actively participated in the elimination stages, although without notable success.
THE 1930s
The first breakthrough came in 1930. At that time, the championship was still held in a direct elimination format. The Vidin team, then named “Victoria 23,” traveled to Veliko Tarnovo, where they played against the local “Slava” team (according to statisticians, the Veliko Tarnovo side may also have been known as “Victoria” or “Trapezitsa”) and lost 6–2.
The following season, “Victoria 23” once again entered the championship, this time visiting another team named “Slava” from Yambol. They again suffered defeat, this time by 3–1.
In the following years, the Vidin club did not participate in the national championship level, but football in Vidin continued to develop. “Victoria 23” returned to the championship in 1936. The Vidin side eliminated “Pobeda 26” Pleven at home with a convincing 4–2 victory. However, in the next round, the draw paired them against the future national champion, Sofia’s “Slavia,” and they lost 6–1 in Vidin.
In 1937, the National Football Division and District Sports Regions were established. That same year, “Bdin” played in the preliminary eliminations and lost 3–0 to “Levski” in Ruse.
THE 1940s
A period followed in which “Victoria 23” became the leading team in Vidin. The club competed in the Vidin Sports Region but failed to reach the national elimination stages. In 1940, however, under the name “Bdin,” the Vidin side successfully entered the King’s Cup tournament. They defeated “Tsar Krum” Byala Slatina 1–0 and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they faced one of the eventual finalists, “Levski” Ruse, losing 4–1.
The following year, the Vidin team again reached the quarterfinals. In the opening match, “Bdin” eliminated “Belite Orli” Pleven with a 5–3 victory. Interestingly, during these years, clubs from Vardar Macedonia and Aegean Thrace also participated in the championship and the King’s Cup, as these territories were under Bulgarian administration during World War II.
In the quarterfinals, the draw paired “Bdin” with the eventual King’s Cup winner, Sofia’s “AS 23.” The Vidin side lost 3–0 at home.
Then came 1946, when under the name “Benkovski,” the Vidin team achieved success both in the national championship, where they finished third, and in the newly established Soviet Army Cup tournament. In the Round of 16, “Benkovski” defeated “Lokomotiv” Mezdra 3–0, but in the quarterfinals luck again abandoned the Vidin side. Their opponent was the future cup winner “Levski” Sofia, and after a hard-fought match, “Benkovski” narrowly lost 1–0.
In the memorable 1948/49 season, “Benkovski” became one of the founding clubs of the Republican Football Division, the predecessor of the Bulgarian “A” Group. Ten clubs founded the division: Sofia’s “Levski,” “CDNV,” “Slavia,” “Lokomotiv,” and “Spartak,” along with “Botev” Varna, “Botev” Burgas, “Slavia-Chengelov” Plovdiv, “Marek” Dupnitsa, and “Benkovski” Vidin.
The Vidin side began the season under the name “Benkovski-Sportist,” but reverted to “Benkovski” before the spring half-season. “Benkovski” finished ninth in the standings with 2 wins, 4 draws, and 12 losses, scoring 13 goals and conceding 35, which resulted in relegation.
In 1949, “Benkovski” also performed well in the Soviet Army Cup tournament. They received a bye in the Round of 16, but in the quarterfinals they faced an old rival, “Slavia,” and lost 4–0 in Sofia.
THE 1950s
The 1949/50 championship season began normally, but after only three rounds of the autumn phase, the competition was suspended. On August 27, 1949, the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party decided to reorganize sports in Bulgaria according to the Soviet model. On September 27, the Supreme Committee for Physical Culture and Sports implemented this restructuring.
Following the Soviet system, voluntary sports organizations were established according to professional sectors:
DSO Akademik – for university professors, students, and scientific workers. DSO Dynamo – for workers in communications, light industry, and food production. DSO Energiya (later renamed DSO Torpedo) – for transport, heavy industry, electrification, and mining workers. DSO Spartak – for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. DSO Stroitel – for workers in construction, healthcare, agriculture, forestry, and labor troops. DSO Cherveno Zname (“Red Banner”) – for local administration, trade, culture, banking, and insurance workers.
Military sports clubs connected to the Bulgarian People’s Army also continued to exist.
It was decided that the new championship would follow the Soviet “spring-autumn” system beginning the next year.
For the 1950 season, the Vidin club was renamed “Stroitel” by party directive and competed successfully in the Northern “B” Republican Football Group, finishing fifth with 8 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses, with a goal difference of 26:24. Despite this respectable performance, the club was relegated under unclear criteria.
The following season, a unified “B” Republican Football Group was created, while “Stroitel” Vidin competed in the district league. The team finished first and returned to the “B” Group under the new name “Cherveno Zname.”
In the unified “B” Group in 1952, “Cherveno Zname” Vidin finished ninth with 8 wins, 6 draws, and 10 losses, scoring 26 goals and conceding 27.
After the season, Bulgarian football underwent another reorganization. Five regional “B” Groups were created:
Northeastern Northwestern Southeastern Southwestern Sofia Region
Each consisted of 12 teams.
In 1952, the Vidin club also participated in the Soviet Army Cup. In the preliminary round, they defeated “Torpedo” Pleven 3–1 at home, but in the next round they lost 2–1 after extra time to “VVS” Sofia.
In 1953, “Cherveno Zname” Vidin competed in the Northwestern “B” Group and finished sixth with 7 wins, 7 draws, and 8 losses, with a goal difference of 32:30.
The following season, the club finished seventh with 8 wins, 6 draws, and 8 losses, scoring 25 goals and conceding 21. That season was also memorable because “Urozhay” Novo Selo joined the group, creating the first district derby at “B” Group level.
The 1955 season proved exceptional for “Cherveno Zname” Vidin. In fierce competition with “Lokomotiv” Gorna Oryahovitsa, the Vidin side finished first in the group with a two-point advantage. The team recorded 10 wins, 11 draws, and only 1 loss, with a goal difference of 29:13.
According to the regulations, the five “B” Group champions and the 11th-placed team from the “A” Group, “Zavod 12” Sofia, entered qualification playoffs for promotion to the “A” Group. Unfortunately, “Cherveno Zname” finished fifth in the playoff tournament with only one win, two draws, and two losses.
That same year, the team focused primarily on the league, as they were eliminated early from the Soviet Army Cup by “DNA” Ruse, losing 2–1 away from home.
In 1956, Bulgarian football was reorganized again. Two additional “B” Groups — Northern and Southern — were formed, increasing the total number to seven “B” Groups.
That season, the Vidin side finished fourth with 12 wins, 2 draws, and 8 losses, scoring 34 goals and conceding 26.
Another major change followed the next year. The seven “B” Groups were abolished and replaced with only two:
Northern “B” Group Southern “B” Group
Only the top clubs from the seven groups retained their places, while the rest were relegated to district leagues.
Before the season began, the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports (BSFS) was established as the state authority overseeing sports in Bulgaria. The former voluntary sports organizations were reorganized territorially rather than by industry sector. As a result, many clubs regained their traditional names or adopted new ones.
Thus, “Cherveno Zname” once again became “Benkovski.”
During the 1957 season in the increasingly competitive Northern “B” Group, “Benkovski” showed inconsistent form but still finished seventh with 11 wins, 9 draws, and 10 losses, scoring 34 goals and conceding 26.
The 1958 “A” Group season served as a transitional championship as Bulgarian football switched from the spring-autumn format back to the autumn-spring system. Teams played only one match against each opponent during the spring half-season. Therefore, no promotions or relegations occurred in either the “A” Group or the two “B” Groups.
Regardless, “Benkovski” finished fifth that season.
In the 1958/59 campaign, “Benkovski” performed well and finished 11th, but due to yet another restructuring, the team was relegated. The Vidin side collected 30 points, just two fewer than ninth-placed “Botev” Vratsa, who had 32.
As a result, from the 1959/60 season onward, the two “B” Groups were merged into one unified “B” Republican Football Group. Teams finishing between 9th and 16th in the Northern and Southern “B” Groups were relegated.
At the third level of Bulgarian football, four Zonal Football Groups were established, while the former District Football Groups became the fourth tier of Bulgarian football.
THE 1960s
“Benkovski” spent two seasons competing in the Zonal Groups, and during the 1960/61 season the team finished first in its group and earned promotion back to the “B” Group.
On June 18, 1961, the newly built “Georgi Benkovski” Stadium in Vidin was officially opened.
During the 1961/62 season, luck once again helped “Benkovski” avoid relegation. The club finished in 15th place, second from bottom and technically within the relegation zone, but Bulgarian football underwent yet another restructuring.
Starting with the 1962/63 season, the unified “B” Republican Football Group was divided into two territorial divisions. As a result, there were no relegated teams from the “B” Group that season.
Before this restructuring, during the 1961/62 campaign, “Benkovski” also reached the Round of 16 in the Soviet Army Cup, where they were eliminated dramatically. In the Round of 32, “Benkovski” defeated “Raketa” Gabrovo twice — 1–0 and 4–1 — to qualify for the next stage. There they faced “Levski.” After a hard-fought 0–0 draw in Vidin, the Vidin side lost narrowly 1–0 in Sofia.