FC Arda Kardzhali

First Arda team (1924–2013)

Arda was found on 10 August 1924 under the name Rodopski Sokol, but later took the name Arda, after the Arda River.^[2] From 1945 to 1957 the team were named Minyor before getting his name back. In 1956 the team finished second in the B Group, the second league level in Bulgaria, marking their best league position. Arda have also reached the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Cup in the 1959–60 season of the competition. In 1988 the team finished 3rd in the B Group. The team spend its time in the 2nd and 3rd levels in the Bulgarian football, before being dissolved in 2013 due to financial reasons.

Refounding (2015–2017)

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.^[3]

PSI Group ownership (2017–present)

In early June 2017, the club was purchased by Bulgarian road construction company PSI Group, in an attempt to develop a Bulgarian football project, inspired by the likes of Ludogorets and Vereya Stara Zagora.^[4] Two weeks later, former Levski Sofia player Elin Topuzakov was appointed as head coach and Emil Kremenliev was hired as sporting director.^[5] 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.^[6] All of this led to an amateur double during the 2017-18 season, as Arda successfully won both its group and the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, resulting in a promotion to the Bulgarian Second League.^[7]

After the unsatisfactory results in the first 5 rounds, Elin Topuzakov was released as a manager and Stoycho Stoev was appointed.^[8]

First-team squad

As of 30 July 2018^[9]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Ivan Karadzhov 2 DF Milen Stoev 3 DF Rumen Sandev 5 DF Borislav Stoychev (captain) 6 MF Dzhihat Kyamil 7 MF Valchan Chanev 8 MF Krasimir Iliev 9 MF Veselin Marchev 10 FW Ahmed Osman 12 GK Veselin Ganev 13 DF Arhan Isuf (on loan from Lokomotiv Plovdiv) 14 FW Georgi Andonov 15 MF Lucas Willian

No. Position Player 16 FW Dimitar Makriev 17 MF Dimitar Zakonov (on loan from Lokomotiv Plovdiv) 19 FW Eray Karadayi 20 MF Deyan Lozev 22 DF Atanas Krastev 23 GK Mesut Yusuf 25 MF Mitko Plahov 39 FW Dimitar Aleksiev 71 DF Plamen Krumov 73 MF Ventsislav Bengyuzov 91 FW Ventsislav Hristov 98 MF Berkay Halil

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2018.

Out on loan

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

Foreign players

Only one non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Second League. 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.

Board of directors

Position	Name	Nationality
President	Eng. Petar Peshev
Director of Football	Emil Kremenliev
Director of Sports Administration	Stanimir Nikolov
Administrator	Eray Salif

Current technical body

Position	Name	Nationality
Head Coach	Stoycho Stoev
Assistant Coach	Georgi Kamenov
Assistant Coach	Tsvetomir Valeriev
Goalkeeper coach	Stoyan Kolev
Conditioning Coach	Dimo Angelov
Conditioning Coach	Ivan Zotev
Conditioning Coach	Anton Donchev

League positions

Past seasons