SFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo

The club was founded as OFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo in 2013[1] with the license of FC Botev Debelets.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] The team eventually won all its matches, winning the league and being promoted to B Group.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7][8]

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.[9]

After 4 seasons in the First League, Etar was relegated to the Second League at the end of the 2020-21 season.[10]

First League:

• Winners (1): 1990–91

Second League:

• Winners (1): 2016–17

Third League:

• Winners (1): 2015–16
• Runners–up (1): 2014–15

Bulgarian Cup:

• Semifinals (4): 1959-60, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93

As of 26 April 2022[11]

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 Hristo Ivanov 3 DF  BUL Yulian Raykov 4 DF  BUL Georgi Aleksandrov 5 DF  BUL Rosen Varbishki 6 MF  BUL Kristiyan Kanchev 7 DF  BUL Kolyo Stanev 8 FW  BUL Hristo Markov 10 FW  BUL Tsvetomir Todorov 11 FW  BUL Daniel Mladenov (vice-captain) 12 GK  BUL Angel Martinov 13 GK  BUL Anatoli Gospodinov 14 MF  BUL Radoslav Apostolov 16 FW  POR Wilson Filipe 17 MF  PAN Romeesh Ivey (on loan from C.A. Independiente)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  BUL Kaloyan Nenchev 20 MF  BUL Yani Pehlivanov 21 DF  BUL Atanas Krastev 22 FW  CRO Lovre Knežević 23 FW  BUL Hristo Dimitrov 24 MF  BUL Borislav Markov 26 DF  BUL Mariyan Ivanov 27 MF  BUL Kaloyan Mitev 28 MF  BUL Nikolay Yankov 29 DF  BUL Nikolay Dichev 30 MF  PAN Martín Morán (on loan from C.A. Independiente) 33 GK  BUL Presiyan Petkov 84 DF  BUL Zdravko Iliev (captain)

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  PAN José Córdoba (at Levski Sofia until 30 June 2022)

For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2020–21 and Transfers summer 2021.

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.