Bulgarian football club owner murdered in his own home

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FT Desk

The owner of a top-flight Bulgarian football club has been shot dead inside his own home.

Iliyan Filipov, the majority ‌shareholder in FC Botev Plovdiv, was killed around in the early hours of Wednesday morning ‌at a property he owned in the city, according ⁠to reports from BRN News.

In business, he was best known as the founder and head of PIMK, one of Bulgaria’s major transport and logistics companies. The company began in transport and later expanded into areas including construction and rail freight.

A major figure in Bulgarian football, Filipov was the president and owner of Botev Plovdiv, one of Bulgaria’s oldest football clubs. His name was closely connected with the reconstruction and development of Hristo Botev Stadium, commonly known as the “Kolezha,” in Plovdiv.

After police found him dead in his home, Bulgarian authorities opened a murder investigation, though at the time of the latest reports, information relating to a potential motive or suspects have not been made public.

"We are actively ‌pursuing all ⁠possible leads," Plovdiv District ⁠Prosecutor Vanya Hristeva said in ‌a briefing.

Founded in 1912, FC Botev Plovdiv is one of the oldest and most historically significant football clubs in Bulgaria.

The club is named after Hristo Botev, a Bulgarian poet and revolutionary.

Botev Plovdiv has a long history in Bulgarian football and has competed regularly in the country’s top division. The club has won the Bulgarian Cup twice, in 1962 and 2017, with the 2017 victory being particularly significant because it ended a long wait for a major trophy.