FC Arda 1924 Kardzhali () is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Kardzhali that competes in First League, the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
It was founded on 13 October 1924, as an association football branch of a larger sports society in the town. The club was reestablished in 2015, after its former entity was dissolved.
Named after the Arda river, a tributary of the Maritsa, Arda's home ground is the Arena Arda in Kardzhali, which has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. For the majority of its existence, the club regularly participated in the Second League, with its highest-ever ranking a second-place finish during the 1955–56 Bulgarian Second League. In the Bulgarian Cup, Arda have reached the finals once, in 2021, losing to CSKA Sofia.
In 2018–19, Arda won the Second League promotion play-off against Septemvri Sofia, resulting in the club's first-ever appearance in the Bulgarian top division.
History First Arda team (1924–2013) Arda was established on August 10, 1924, under the name Rodopski Sokol, but later took the name Arda, derived from the nearby Arda River. 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.
Refounding (2015–2017)
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.
PSI Group ownership and promotion to the elite (2017–present) 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. Two weeks later, former Levski Sofia player Elin Topuzakov was appointed as head coach and Emil Kremenliev was hired as sporting director. 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. 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.
After the unsatisfactory results in the first 5 rounds, Elin Topuzakov was released as a manager and Stoycho Stoev was appointed, 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 won 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.
First seasons in the elite and Bulgarian Cup Final
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. 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 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 a European tournament for first time in their history. 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.
Honours First League: 4th place (2): 2020–21, 2024–25 Bulgarian Cup: Runners-up (1): 2020–21 Third League Winners (1): 2017–18 A Regional Group Winners (1): 2015–16 Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League Winners (1): 2017–18
Players Current squad
For recent transfers, see List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2026.
Foreign players 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.
EU Nationals
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) Vyacheslav Velyev Dominik Yankov
Non-EU Nationals Derick Adama Traoré David Idowu
Goalscoring and appearance records
Most appearances for the club in First League
RankNameCareerAppearances1 Ivan Tilev2020–20251652 Lachezar Kotev2020–present1493 Ivan Kokonov2019–20241454 Tonislav Yordanov2021–20251355 Anatoli Gospodinov2022–present1196 Svetoslav Kovachev2020–present1147 Deyan Lozev2018–20241028 Milen Stoev2018–20251019 Stanislav Ivanov2022–202589— Aleksandar Georgiev2019–202389Most goals for the club in First League
RankNameCareerGoals1 Tonislav Yordanov2021–2025362 Ivan Kokonov2019–2024223 Svetoslav Kovachev2020–present214 Stanislav Ivanov2022–2025205 Spas Delev2019–2021146 Ivan Tilev2020–202511— Chinonso Offor2024–202511— Radoslav Vasilev2019–202111— Preslav Borukov2023–20241110 Lassana N'Diaye2022–20238 Players in bold are still playing for Arda.
Records and notable stats
Club Records
Biggest home win in First League: Arda Kardzhali 5–0 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (17 February 2023) Arda Kardzhali 5–0 Lokomotiv Sofia (14 April 2025) Biggest away win in First League: Botev Plovdiv 0–5 Arda Kardzhali (4 August 2025) 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): 5 (2023–24)
Notable players
The footballers enlisted below have international caps for their respective countries or more than 100 caps for Arda. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.
Bulgaria
Mihail Aleksandrov Ahmed Osman Dimitar Aleksiev Preslav Borukov Spas Delev Aleksandar Georgiev Ventsislav Hristov Hristo Ivanov Stanislav Ivanov Ivan Karadzhov Mihail Karushkov Ivan Kokonov Lachezar Kotev Svetoslav Kovachev Plamen Krumov Deyan Lozev Martin Lukov Dimitar Makriev Aleks Petkov Milen Stoev Ivan Tilev Borislav Tsonev Radoslav Tsonev Radoslav Uzunov Radoslav Vasilev Ventsislav Vasilev Tonislav Yordanov Iliya Yurukov Petar Zehtinski Milen Zhelev
Europe
Rumyan Hovsepyan Cəlal Hüseynov Slobodan Rubežić Darko Glišić
Africa
Ilias Hassani David Kiki Félix Eboa Eboa Alie Sesay El Mami Tetah Oumar Sako
Asia Rebin Sulaka
European record
CompetitionPlayedWonDrewLostGFGAGDWin%
Matches Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate 2021–22UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–2 0–4 0–62025–26UEFA Conference League 2Q HJK 0–0 2–2 2–2 3Q Kauno Žalgiris 2–0 1–0 3–0 PO Raków Częstochowa 1–2 0–1 1–3
Personnel
Board of directors PositionNameNationalityPresidentDirector of Football Director of Sports Administration Administrator
Current technical body PositionNameNationalityHead Coach Aleksandar TunchevAssistant CoachVeselin MinevGoalkeeper coach Todor PopovConditioning Coach Anton Donchev
Manager history NameNatFromToHonoursElin Topuzakov 12 July 201726 August 2018Stoycho Stoev 26 August 20186 March 2019Stamen Belchev 6 March 201914 April 2020Nikolay Kirov 15 April 20203 September 2021Georgi Chilikov 8 September 20219 November 2021Slavko Matić 12 November 202116 December 2021Stamen Belchev 23 December 202114 May 2022Aleksandar Tunchev 19 May 202225 February 2024Nikolay Kirov 26 February 202431 May 2024Aleksandar Tunchev 7 June 2024
Seasons League positions
Past seasons
+ Results of league and cup competitions by seasonSeasonLeagueBulgarian CupOther competitionsTop goalscorerDivisionLevelPldWDLGFGAGDPts Pos2015–16A Regional League48701457+3821 1st Not qualified2016–17South-East Third League334116174969–203916thNot qualifiedCup of Bulgarian Amateur LeagueN/Q2017–1833430401427+13594 1st Not qualified W Dimitar Aleksiev262018–19Second League23019564418+2662 3rd Round of 32 Ventsislav Hristov122019–20First League130811112836–8359thRound of 16 Radoslav Vasilev92020–21131131174237+5504th Runners-up Ivan Kokonov82021–22132811133851–133510thRound of 16Europa Conference League2Q Tonislav Yordanov72022–231361610104736+9587thQuarter-final Lassana N'Diaye82023–24136149133935+4518thQuarter-final Tonislav Yordanov72024–25136151385441+13584thQuarter-final Tonislav Yordanov122025–26136QualifiedEuropa Conference League
Key ChampionsRunners-upPromotedRelegated
References
External links
Team profile at bgclubs.eu