FC Fratria
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FC Fratria (Bulgarian: ФК Фратрия) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Varna, which currently competes in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football league system. Fratria's home ground is the Dimitar Vatev Stadium in Beloslav, which is under construction, until then, they play on Spartak Stadium, which has a capacity of 7,000 spectators.
Fratria Varna Football Club
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| Full name | Футболен Клуб Фратрия Варна Fratria Varna Football Club | ||
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| Nickname | Братството (The Brotherhood) | ||
| Founded | 16 April 2021 | ||
| Ground | Spartak Stadium, Varna | ||
| Capacity | 7,000 | ||
| Chairman | Viktor Bakurevich | ||
| Manager | Renārs Rode | ||
| League | Second League | ||
| 2024–25 | Second League, 14th of 20 | ||
| Website | fcfratria | ||
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History
Establishment
Fratria was established in 2021 by businessman Viktor Bakurevich, owner of Berezka supermarkets. Bakurevich decided to start an academy that is free from taxes, making the club base in Benkovski, Varna Province.[1] Later that year, the team started a partnership with MFC Ticha Academy.[2]
Regional and amateur leagues climb up: 2021–2024
They won their first season in B Regional Group and in 2022 were promoted to A Regional Group with Oleksandr Babych taking the manager position.[3] Since Bakurevich had Russian and Ukrainian roots, a few players from Russia and Ukraine, living in Bulgaria, joined the main team and the academies.[4] The team won the league and on 29 May 2023, Fratria secured promotion to Third League, being called the fastest developing team, not only because of their quick promotion to the third league, but also because of the development of their base and academy.[5] In June 2023, the team started to prepare for their first season in Third League with the intentions to win the group. Fratria also established a second team that joined A Regional League.[1] Later same month it was announced they will move to Stadium Albena 1 in Albena resort.[6]
In their first cup appearance, Fratria was drawn against local team Spartak Varna, but lost the match with a 1:3 result, played on 8 September 2023.[7] On 5 October 2023 the team announced that they are introducing a new sporting director in the name of Emanuel Lukanov, who took the position.[8] In January 2024, Fratria announced they will have a friendly match against Farul II, as part of their winter camp, setting a start of a partnership with Farul Constanța.[9] On 5 February Babych was signed by Pirin Blagoevgrad in First League and Lukanov was promoted as a manager of the team.[10] On 29 February 2024 the team once again changed stadium, moving to Kavarna Stadium, which would allow the team to play in Second League.[11] They won the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, beating Akademik Svishtov on Ivaylo Stadium on 22 May 2024 with 2:0.[12]
Professional league breakthrough: 2024–present
On 1 June 2024 Fratria won their match against Ustrem Donchevo, finishing second, with the same points as Ludogorets III and were promoted to Second League.[13] The team also returned to Albena 1 Stadium, due to administrative issues with Kavarna Stadium.[14] They won the preliminary round of the Bulgarian Cup against Botev Novi Pazar to face Beroe Stara Zagora in the round of 32. The match , played on 14 November 2024, ended 3-3 on regular time, with Beroe later winning on penalties.[15] Few hours after the result, despite the positive play of the team and being close to eliminate the team from First League, Lukanov was sacked.[16] Later the same day, the sport director Vasil Petrov, was promoted as manager of the team.[17] In January 2025, the team invested in renovation of Dimitar Vatev Stadium in Beloslav, signing a contract to play their home matches at the stadium after the summer.[18] Few days after the season end, on 28 May 2025, Vasil Petrov was announced to step down from the post and return as Sporting Director.[19] Alexei Savinov was appointed as head coach of the team, a day later.[20] On 2 September 2025, Spartak Varna announced they made a deal with Fratria and they would move to Spartak Stadium.[21] On 3 October 2025, they announced they had signed a contract for 30 years to use Dimitar Vatev Stadium, which will be completely reconstructed.[22]
Honours
- A RFG Varna:
Winners (1): 2022–23
- B RFG Varna:
- Winners (1): 2021–22
- Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League:
- Winners (1): 2023–24
Logo, shirt and sponsor
The "Fratria" name of the club translates to „Brotherhood", from Latin, with the team having the slogan “frater pro fratre", meaning „brother for brother", on their logo. Their main colors are red (bordo) and black. Since 2021 their main sponsor is Berezka.
Players
Current squad
As of 16 January 2026[update][23]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2025 and Transfers winter 2025–26.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Second-team squad
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.
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EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
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Non-EU Nationals
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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.
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Personnel
Club officials
| Position | Name | Nationality |
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| Coaching staff | ||
| Head coach | Renārs Rode |  |
| Assistant coach | Yevhen Lutsenko |  |
| Assistant coach | Yura Podolchuk | |
| Goalkeepers coach | Oleksandr Lavrentsov | |
| Conditioning coach | Atanas Stefanov |  |
| Fitness coach | Oleksiy Dovhyi | |
| Doctor | Hryhoriy Makarov | |
| Administrator | Evgeni Nikolaev | |
| Administrator | Artur Napilov | |
| Management | ||
| Chairman | Viktor Bakurevich |  |
| Sports director | Denys Vasin | |
| Technical director | Tsvetan Ivanov | |
| Academy director | Viktor Ulyanytskyi | |
Managerial history
| Dates | Name | Honours |
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| 2021–2022 | Ivaylo Stanchev |
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| 2022–2024 | Oleksandr Babych |
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| 2024 | Emanuel Lukanov |
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| 2024–2025 | Vasil Petrov |
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| 2025–2026 |  Alexei Savinov |
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| 2026 | Yevhen Lutsenko (caretaker) |
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| 2026– | Renārs Rode |
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Seasons
League positions
Detailed season history
| Season | League | Bulgarian Cup | Other competitions | Top goalscorer | ||||||||||||
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| Division | Level | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | ||||||
| 2021–22 | B Regional Varna | 5 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 8 | +21 | 27 | 1st ↑ | DNE | ||||
| 2022–23 | A Regional Varna | 4 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 10 | +45 | 47 | 1st ↑ | DNQ | Cup of AFL | R1 | Vasil Andoni |
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| 2023–24 | Third League | 3 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 20 | +51 | 61 | 2nd ↑ | Preliminary | W | Vasil Andoni Denys Vasin |
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| 2024–25 | Second League | 2 | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 45 | 40 | -5 | 48 | 14th | Round of 32 | Georgi Lazarov |
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| 2025–26 | 2 | Round of 32 |  Xavello Druiventak Miroslav Marinov |
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Goalscoring and appearance records
Most league appearances for the club
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Most league goals for the club
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- Players in bold are still playing for Fratria.