About Sportist Sofia

Sportist Sofia was a football club founded in the “Hadji Dimitar” district of Sofia, originally starting as a section of SK Shipka before becoming an independent club in 1936. It quickly rose through the Bulgarian football system, reaching the Third Sofia Division in 1938 and the First Division by 1942. Despite very limited financial resources, no home stadium, and a squad made mostly of local players from the neighbourhood, the club built a surprisingly strong team and developed a talented generation of footballers.

During World War II, Sportist achieved its peak performance. In 1943, it reached the quarter-finals of the national championship, where it was narrowly eliminated by future champions Slavia Sofia. The club continued to grow and in 1945 reached the national championship final. There, Sportist defeated Levski Sofia in the quarter-finals and Spartak Varna in the semi-finals before losing the final to Lokomotiv Sofia over two legs, with star striker Stefan Bozhkov scoring both goals for the team in the final.

After this golden period, financial problems led to the departure of key players, and the club gradually weakened. Eventually, Sportist was merged with other teams during the reorganisation of Bulgarian football in 1949, disappearing under the name “Sredets” and later becoming part of state-controlled sports structures. Decades later, the club was revived in 2021 as “Sportist 13 Sofia,” starting again from the lower amateur divisions and continuing its modern existence while referencing its historic roots and original founding tradition.