Etar () is a Bulgarian sports football club based in Veliko Tarnovo, that plays in the Bulgarian Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football.
Etar was established in 2013, shortly after the folding of Etar 1924, which was dissolved for financial reasons after the 2012–13 season. Etar 1924, on the other hand, was established as a result of the dissolution of the historical FC Etar (Veliko Tarnovo). Although the three clubs share similar names and colors, the Bulgarian Football Union considers them separate entities and records are not shared between the three. The current Etar quickly ascended from the amateur leagues, eventually promoting to the Bulgarian First League at the end of the 2016–17 season. The club's home ground has been Ivaylo Stadium since 2013. Etar plays in all-violet kits and their nickname is 'The Bolyars'.
History
Foundation and Amateur League (2013–2016) The club was founded as OFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo in 2013 with the license of FC Botev Debelets. In their first season they finished in 5th position in V Group.
In January 2016, Boncho Genchev became the new manager of the team which was in 3rd place at the halfway point in the season, only two points behind the 1st place team. The selection included Lyubomir Genchev coming from A Group team Montana, Stefan Hristov from Spartak Pleven and the leading goalscorer in the first part of 2015–16 season in B Group, Petar Dimitrov. The team eventually won all its matches, winning the league and being promoted to B Group.
Professional Football (2016–present) On 9 June 2016 Etar were officially approved for the new 2nd division — Second League, with the club changing its abbreviation to "SFC Etar". Ferario Spasov remains in his position as manager and with a good selection team made promotion to First League. Etar were promoted as champions of the 2016–17 Second League, sealing their title on the final day of the season with a 2–2 away draw against Nesebar, coupled with Septemvri Sofia's 2–0 away defeat to Oborishte.
Etar's first season into the elite was difficult. The team finished 13th in the regular phase, with only four wins. This placed Etar as one of the candidates for relegation. In the relegation phase, Etar finished last in their group and had to play playoff/play out matches in order to remain in the elite. In the first round, Etar beat Pirin Blagoevgrad 3-1 aggregate and advanced to the second round. There, the violets faced Dunav Ruse. Two strong matches resulted in a 4-1 aggregate win, and Etar secured their status as a member of the top tier.
On 4 January 2018 Krasimir Balakov was announced as the new manager in the club with Stanislav Genchev, Iliyan Kiryakov and Kaloyan Chakarov as first team coaches.
After 4 seasons in the First League, Etar was relegated to the Second League at the end of the 2020-21 season. Back into the second tier, Etar managed to finish in fourth place during the 2021–22 season, qualifying for promotion playoffs. Etar, however, lost against Botev Vratsa and did not manage to return to the First League immediately. Next season (2022–23), Etar managed to finish in second place, securing promotion to the First League after two years of absence.
League positions
Nickname, shirt and colors Their main nicknames are the Bolyars and the Violets, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit, which is often mistaken for purple.
PeriodKit manufacturerShirt partner2013–2016 Joma Britos2016–2017 None2017–2022 WinBet2022–2024 Nike2024– Joma
Honours
Domestic Second League: Winners (1): 2016–17 Third League: Winners (1): 2015–16
Players
Current squad
For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2025–26 and Transfers summer 2026.
Foreign players Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First Professional League however only three can be used in 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)
Non-EU Nationals
Reserve team Etar II () is a Bulgarian football team based in Veliko Tarnovo. It is the reserve team of Etar Veliko Tarnovo, and currently plays in Third League, the third level of Bulgarian football.
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.
Bulgaria Georgi Aleksandrov Georgi Angelov Preslav Borukov Ivaylo Dimitrov Plamen Galabov Stanislav Genchev Zdravko Iliev Hristo Ivanov Ivan Ivanov Mariyan Ivanov Svetoslav Kovachev
Veselin Minev Daniel Mladenov Georgi Pashov Yani Pehlivanov Ivan Petkov Georgi Sarmov Kolyo Stanev Ivan Stoyanov Krum Stoyanov Ventsislav Vasilev Preslav Yordanov
Europe Artjom Artjunin
CONCACAF José Córdoba Romeesh Ivey Josecarlos Van Rankin
Africa Gilson Varela Gaëtan Missi Mezu Alasana Manneh Alioune Badará
Goalscoring and appearance records
Most domestic league appearances for the club
RankNameCareerAppearances1 Kolyo Stanev2017–20251362 Georgi Aleksandrov2022–present1283 Hristo Ivanov2017–2023127— Yani Pehlivanov2017–20231275 Daniel Mladenov2017–20192021–20231266 Ivan Petkov2014–20211217 Nikolay Yankov2021–20251088 Mariyan Ivanov2020–2024999 Krum Stoyanov2018–20192022–20249810 Zdravko Iliev2019–202394Most domestic league goals for the club
RankNameCareerGoals1 Daniel Mladenov2017–20192021–2023412 Ivan Petkov2014–2021403 Dzhihat Kyamil2015–2017214 Petar Dimitrov2016205 Lovre Knežević2021–20222023–2024156 Preslav Borukov2020–202112— Martin Toshev2023–2024128 Veljko Batrović2018–201911— Milcho Angelov2019–202111— Steven Stoyanchov2025–20261111 Alioune Badará2017–201810– Nikolay Yankov2021–202510– Ivan Kokonov2024–202510 Players in bold are still playing for Etar.
Past seasons
SeasonTierDivisionPlaceBulgarian Cup2013–143V Group5thDNP2014–153V Group2ndDNP2015–163V Group1st↑DNP2016–172Second League1st↑Round of 322017–181First League11thQuarter-finals2018–191First League7thQuarter-finals2019–201First League10thRound of 322020–211First League14th↓Round of 162021–222Second League4thRound of 162022–232Second League2nd↑Preliminary round2023–241First League16th↓Round of 162024–252Second League7thPreliminary round2025–262Second League7thPreliminary round
Seasons in First League: 5 Seasons in Second League: 5 Seasons in V Group (now Third League): 3
Managers DatesNameHonours2013–2014 Sasho Angelov2014–2015 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim)2015–2016 Georgi Vasilev2016 Boncho Genchev2016 Ferario Spasov 1 V Group title2017–2018 Stanislav Genchev 1 Second League title2018–2019 Krasimir Balakov 2019 Rosen Kirilov 2019 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim) 2019–2020 Petko Petkov 2020 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim) 2020–2021 Aleksandar Tomash 2021–2022 Veselin Velikov 2022–2023 Emanuel Lukanov 2023 Marin Stefanov (interim) 2023–2024 Svetoslav Petrov 2024–2025 Zhivko Zhelev 2025–present Ivan Ivanov
Club officials
Board of directors PositionNameNationalityChairmanLyubomir FilipovBoard MemberDeyan KuzdovBoard MemberGeorgi MarkovBoard MemberGeorgi TsingovBoard MemberMomchil IvanovBoard MemberMiroslav MarkovBoard MemberSvetoslav Totev
Current technical body PositionNameNationalitySports DirectorStefan AtanasovAdministrative DirectorStratsimir TinchevYouth Academy DirectorStefan AngelovHead coachIvan Ivanov Assistant coachIliyan KiryakovAssistant coachIvaylo DimitrovGoalkeeper coachAleksandar AleksandrovConditioning coachStefan IvanovAnalystDenislav GeorgievYouth Academy Coach Marin StefanovYouth Academy Coach Iliyan TrifonovPhysiotherapistPreslav NikolaevKinesiotherapistHristiyan TsonevHousekeeperMiroslav Chernev
References
External links
bgclubs.eu