BFA Chief Heads to World Cup

Although Bulgaria failed to qualify for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the nation will still have an official representative at the historic tournament. BFA President Georgi Ivanov, widely known as "Gonzo," will cross the Atlantic to attend several matches at the planet’s biggest football festival. This is standard procedure, as FIFA invites all football federation chiefs to World Cups. Alongside Ivanov, other officials from the headquarters will also watch the games.

The BFA chief will depart in a few days. Currently, Ivanov is in Chișinău, Moldova, where the Bulgarian national team will play its last match before the start of the Nations League campaign this autumn. The clash takes place tonight at 20:00. Gonzo leads the national delegation alongside Professional Football League President Atanas Karaivanov and BFA Chief Scout for Southeastern Bulgaria Alexander Alexandrov.

A Difficult June Tradition

June is perhaps the toughest month for the Bulgarian national football team. The representative squad has not won a single match during the off-season break in 11 years. The last "beam" of hope for the Bulgarians came on Monday in Plovdiv, when they lost 0-1 to Montenegro. The national team last recorded a victory in the first summer month on June 12, 2015, beating Malta 1-0 away with a goal by Ivelin Popov.

Since then, the representative team has played 19 matches, including the one against Montenegro, without success. In 2016, the national team played two matches, losing 2-7 to Japan and 0-4 to Denmark at the Kirin Cup. The following June, they played only Belarus in World Cup qualifiers, losing 1-2. In 2018, there were no matches in June. In 2019, they played three Euro qualifiers, losing to Czechia 1-2, Kosovo 2-3, and England 0-4.

In 2020, the pandemic shifted the calendar, leaving no June matches. In 2021, before Euro 2020, they played three friendlies: a 1-1 draw with Slovakia, a 0-1 loss to Russia, and a 0-3 defeat by France. In 2022, the national team had four Nations League matches in June, one of the weakest periods. They drew 1-1 with North Macedonia in Razgrad, lost 2-5 to Georgia in Lovech, drew 1-1 with Gibraltar, and finished with a 0-0 draw against Georgia in Tbilisi. In 2023, two Euro qualifiers ended in 1-1 draws with Lithuania and Serbia.

Two years ago, two friendlies against Slovenia and Romania ended in draws (0-0 and 1-1). Last summer, they drew 2-2 with Cyprus in Plovdiv and lost 0-4 to Greece. The negative streak could end today, as Moldova is not a dangerous opponent on paper. The former Soviet republic has gone 13 matches without a win, suffering 11 losses and two draws with Gibraltar and Estonia. Their last win was a 1-0 away victory against Andorra on November 16.