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]

• First League:
  • 1st: 1990-1991
• Second League:
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
• Northwestern Third League:
  • Winners (1): 2015–16
  • Runners–up: 2014–15
• Bulgarian Cup:
  • Semifinals (4): 1959-60, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93

As of 5 January 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 1 GK  BUL Hristo Ivanov (captain) 3 DF  TUR Erol Alkan 5 DF  PAN José Córdoba 6 DF  BUL Plamen Krachunov 7 FW  BUL Milcho Angelov 9 FW  BUL Ivan Petkov 11 FW  BUL Daniel Mladenov 12 GK  BUL Tsvetomir Tsankov 13 GK  BUL Anatoli Gospodinov 16 MF  BUL Simeon Mechev 18 MF  ARG Nicolás Femia 20 MF  BUL Yani Pehlivanov

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  CRO Lovre Knežević 23 DF  BUL Hristofor Hubchev 26 DF  BUL Mariyan Ivanov 44 MF  BUL Bozhidar Katsarov 70 DF  BUL Kolyo Stanev 72 DF  EST Mark Edur 81 DF  BUL Venelin Filipov 83 MF  ANG Aldaír Ferreira 84 DF  BUL Zdravko Iliev 99 FW  BUL Preslav Borukov — DF  ESP Paco Puertas (on loan from Fuenlabrada)

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