History of the Bulgarian Cricket Federation (BCF)

In the early 20th century, English diplomats introduced the game of cricket to Bulgaria. After World War II, the sport was practiced at the American College in Blagoevgrad. During the following decades of the communist regime, sports such as cricket and baseball were considered "capitalist entertainment" and a "bad influence", which is why they were stopped.

The new history of Bulgarian cricket began in 2002 with the official establishment of the Bulgarian Cricket Federation (BCF). With the efforts of several enthusiastic athletes, captivated by the game and under the leadership of Prof. Nikolay Kolev, the BCF was officially recognized by the Ministry of Sports of Bulgaria. The main goal of the organization is to develop the game throughout the country, placing youth development as a key priority.

In 2003, the development of children's cricket began, mainly in schools. The popularization of the sport also necessitated its inclusion in the training programs of the National Sports Academy (NSA). The sports of cricket and baseball are studied by students at the Faculty of Coaching and Teacher Training as elective subjects. The lecturers of this discipline are Senior Assistant Professor Lyudmil Trenev and Prof. Nikolay Kolev, who conduct lectures and exercises. Since 2006, a specialty “Baseball and Cricket” has been opened at the Faculty of Coaching, at the Department of “Football and Tennis”.

BCF is a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This is the global governing body that administers the game of cricket and works together with its members for the development of the sport.

The first cricket clubs were CC NSA, CC VTU, CC Gabrovo and CC Spartak Varna, and today their number already exceeds 20. The best of them participate in the European Cricket League, organized by the European Cricket Network (ECN). The tournament aims to develop and popularize the sport in Europe and is played in a T10 format.

The Bulgarian team played its first international match in 2004, when it defeated the Serbian team "Red Star". In 2009, the national team participated in the ICC European Championship - Division 5 in Greece, where it finished in fourth place.

Bulgaria also participated in the European T20 Cricket Tournament, organized in 2012, ranking 4th out of 8 participating teams. In 2013 and 2014, the senior national team took part in the Continental Cricket Cup. In 2015, the first Balkan Senior Championship was organized, in which the Bulgarian team won second place.

In 2014, the Bulgarian women's national cricket team played its first official tournament and took second place in the first Balkan Women's T20 Cricket Championship, organized in Sofia, and in 2015 won the tournament.

BCF also hosted the first European Universities T20 Cricket Tournament with the participation of men's and women's university teams.