Vereya (Bulgarian: Верея) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Stara Zagora. They currently compete in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
History
Foundation and beginning
The club was founded in 2001 by a founding board led by Hristiyan Parvanov, Galin Mihaylov, Slavcho Tanev, Tonko Totev and Dimo Hristov. Until 2005/06 season is playing in Regional groups until the promote in V AFG under the name FC Vereya-Arsenal after merger with Arsenal Kazanlak, but after season 2006/07 Vereya-Arsenal become Arsenal Kazanlak and the 2nd team Vereya Bulsatkom moved to Stara Zagora again and was registered as FC Vereya. They won A RFG 3 times in next 5 season, getting the promotion in 2011–12 season.
Trace Group ownership (2012–present)
In 2012, Bulgarian construction company Trace Group started investing in the club and a new stadium project Trace Arena was presented.
On May 21, 2014 the club won the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League after defeating Minyor Pernik 2–0 in the final.[1] During the same season Vereya finished 3rd in the V Group and secured promotion to the higher-ranked professional football league, the B Group.
In 2016, the club submitted an application for the newly restructured Bulgarian First League. On June 1, 2016, one of the new signings of the club for the upcoming season, the Brazilian Elias Alves da Silva, announced that he joined the club, as it would compete in the top league of Bulgaria, long before an official statement was given by the BFU officials on the number of the teams competing in the new league, thus sparking controversy.[2]
On June 7, 2016, Vereya, alongside five other B Group outfits, were approved by the Bulgarian Football Union and were promoted to compete in the upcoming 2016-17 Bulgarian First League.
Statistics
Season to season
Vereya main colors are blue and white.
| Period |
Kit manufacturer |
Shirt partner |
| 2006–2012 |
 Unknown |
Bulsatcom / Trace Group |
| 2012–2014 |
 Tomy Sport |
Trace Group |
| 2014–2016 |
 Nike |
| 2016– |
 Erreà |
Honours
Current squad
As of 5 August 2017
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2017.
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
Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the A PFG however only three can be used during 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
 David González
|
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
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Non-EU Nationals
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Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Vereya.
Club officials
Current technical body
Managers
Zhivko Zhelev was appointed Vereya playing head coach in March 2015
Vereya II
The club's reserve team, Vereya Stara Zagora II, played in the tier four A RFG in 2015–16, where it finished on 2nd place and won the playoff against Arda Kardzhali and is playing in South-East Third League in 2016–17 season.
Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| |
|
MF |
Aleksandar Todorov
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| |
|
MF |
Ventsislav Ivanov
|
| |
|
MF |
Stanimir Spasov
|
| |
 |
MF |
Midat Galbaev
|
| |
|
MF |
Evgeni Minev
|
| |
|
MF |
Nikola Mirenski
|
| |
|
MF |
Kolyo Chahov
|
| |
|
MF |
Aleksandar Manolov
|
| |
|
FW |
Nikolay Stoichkov
|
| |
|
FW |
Angel Kostov |
|
Past seasons
| Season |
League |
Place |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
| 2012–13 | A RFG (IV) | 6 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 75 | 49 | 59 |
| 2013–14 | A RFG | 9 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 39 | 46 | 32 |
| 2014–15 | A RFG | 3 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 21 | 51 |
| 2015–16 | A RFG | 2 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 67 | 24 | 58 |
| 2016–17 | Third League (III) | 11 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 66 | 76 | 41 |
| 2017–18 | Third League | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation. |
References
External links
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| 2017–18 clubs | | |
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| Stadiums | |
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| Former clubs* | |
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| Former clubs (from Macedonia & Thrace) | |
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| Competition | |
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| Associated competitions | |
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| Seasons | |
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* In the brackets is the number of seasons in the league. |
