The saga over the future of the Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia has "finally ended" with the club suffering a similar fate to that of Scottish Championship side Rangers being relegated three divisions, according to Alexander Krassimirov of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. CSKA will "start next season in Bulgaria's amateur leagues" in the A Regional group. CSKA was "banished from Bulgarian professional football after failing to obtain a license because of the huge tax debts owed" to the National Revenue Agency, as well as debt to former players, officials and managers. The "debt mountain" of the Bulgarian club exceeded BGN 23M ($13.4M), a sum that had been built up in recent years by several different owners. The club is now owned by Bulgaria's richest man, Vasil Bozhkov, for the second time. The businessman said that he will "help the club climb back into Bulgaria's elite again and start winning titles." The budget for CSKA in amateur football will be BGN 3M ($1.7M). There were other options for CSKA, one of which was to "acquire the license of another professional club, but after a meeting between Bozhkov and supporters of the team, the businessman decided against this route" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 6/21).
