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 FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia. 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 FC Vitosha 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 20th, Arda mathematically secured their place in the First League for the upcoming season, after Botev Plovdiv beat Botev Vratsa 3–2.

As of 25 January 2021[9]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  BUL Stoycho Atanasov 4 DF  BUL Milen Stoev 5 DF  BUL Petko Ganev 7 MF  BUL Mihail Aleksandrov 8 DF  BUL Milen Zhelev 9 FW  BUL Spas Delev 10 FW  BUL Tonislav Yordanov 11 MF  BUL Aleksandar Georgiev 12 GK  BUL Ivan Karadzhov 13 DF  FRA Nicolas Taravel 15 MF  FRA Moussa Haddad 16 MF  BUL Emirdzhan Syuleyman 17 MF  BUL Ivan Kokonov

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  BUL Georgi Atanasov 19 MF  BUL Rumen Rumenov 20 DF  BUL Deyan Lozev 21 DF  BUL Martin Kostadinov 22 DF  GRE Manolis Roussakis (on loan from Xanthi) 23 GK  BUL Mesut Yusuf 27 MF  BUL Emil Martinov 30 MF  BUL Okan Topcu 33 MF  BUL Ivan Tilev 36 GK  BUL Vasil Simeonov 37 FW  BRA Juninho 71 DF  BUL Plamen Krumov (captain) 80 MF  BUL Lachezar Kotev

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

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  BUL Eray Karadayi (at Dobrudzha until 31 December 2020)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  BUL Petar Hristov (at Litex until 31 December 2020)

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First 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.

• Biggest home win in First League: Arda Kardzhali 3–1 Beroe Stara Zagora (27 July 2019)
• Biggest away win in First League: Vitosha Bistritsa 1–3 Arda Kardzhali (2 August 2019)
• Biggest home loss in First League: Arda Kardzhali 2–5 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (11 August 2019)
• Biggest away loss in First League: Ludogorets Razgrad 2–0 Arda Kardzhali (22 September 2019)
• Unbeaten streak in First League (single season): 6 (2020–21)
• Most consecutive wins in First League (single season): 2 (2019–20)