The history of Plovdiv Botevism is a wonderful novel of adventures inspired by friendship and passion. All the ingredients are there - love, hate, happiness, pain, scandals, betrayal, sedition, tears! Today celebrate all proud followers of the colors that brought football to Plovdiv and laid the foundations of a pure love and holy tradition. The Botev Plovdiv’s constituent assembly was held on Sunday, March 11, 1912 and received a juridical registration on the next day, Monday, March 12. Presently club fans celebrate the later date as a birthday.
Named after a hero, Hristo Botyov Petkov, a freedom herald and personality beyond national limits, the club adopted golden yellow and black as distinguished colour scheme in 1917. The chosen pattern was elaborated as a symbol of unity between club founders. These were boys from the Saint Augustine Catholic College (Golden) and their schoolfellows from the Orthodox Gymnasium Prinz Alexander I von Battenberg (Black). In addition was written on then protocol this to represent the sun and land of Thrace. Actually Saint Augustine College was a real cradle of Plovdiv football. From there were pioneered several prominent local teams circa 1910s, but only Botev has survived since then. Founded in 1912, Plovdiv Canaries are the oldest Bulgarian football team currently active.
Moreover, it remains one of the most popular clubs in Bulgaria even has earned just a humble score of trophies – twice champion (1929, 1967) and three times national cup winner (1962, 1981, 2017) and one international success in Balkan Cup tournament (1972).
The club officially acknowledge the Canaries as a nickname though there are not clear evidences how it emerged. Allegedly it comes from the song "Blue Canary" by Marisa Fiordaliso and Carlo Buti which has been an opening theme of home matches since 1961. Earlier nicknames were "The Yellows" and "The Plovdiv Army Boys" due to the fact they came under patronage of the Army's local garrison in 1950s.
Happy Birthday, Old Buddy!
