The Bulgarian Olympic Committee held its regular annual general meeting at the Hayat Hotel in Sofia.
At today’s General Assembly, the BOC effectively acted retroactively, and the agenda included items such as the 2025 activity report, the selection of a registered auditor for the 2026 budget, the approval of the audit report on the Annual Financial Report, and the approval of the Supervisory Board’s report for 2025.
Item 5 was the adoption of the 2026 work program. BOC President Vessela Letchevа clarified that she would report on the year’s accomplishments because, due to force majeure circumstances—a legal challenge—the meeting was being held at the end of the year rather than at the beginning.
Lechova highlighted the preparations for the Winter Olympic Games, the medals won by Tervel Zamfirov and Lora Hristova, the restoration of the BOC’s status within the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Day event held in June as part of the “Troyan Sports” festival, the visit of a Bulgarian delegation to the IOC in August, and last but not least—the Council of Ministers’ decision on September 17 to provide a new administrative building for the organization. The key event until the end of the year is the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
The BOC also clarified that the draft budget for 2026 will be exceeded, which effectively concluded the meeting. At the end of the meeting, former president Stefka Kostadinova wished the new leadership success.
During the General Assembly, Prof. Lozan Mitev of the Vasil Levski National Sports Academy delivered a lengthy speech. He stated that he had “endured with great pain the third crisis in the history of the BOC” and put forward a number of proposals for the revival of Bulgarian sports. These include training Bulgarians to participate in the governing bodies of the Olympic movement, hosting major sporting events in Bulgaria, consolidating the BOC as a unifying hub for sports organizations in Bulgaria, expanding the headquarters’ territorial influence through cooperation with local sports organizations, reaching out to the average athlete, forming an advisory council for sports development involving various ministries, and many others.
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The Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) has taken a decisive step toward restoring normalcy in Bulgarian sports,” said Chairwoman Vessela Letcheva
“This was a decisive step toward normalcy in the Olympic movement. The previous meeting also went very smoothly, but today’s meeting paved the way for the future leadership to implement all of its ideas and goals, which were presented as a program last year. I am extremely pleased,” Lectceva stated after the General Assembly concluded.
“I thanked all participants and members of the BOC for their active involvement, which will enable us to bring all our ideas to fruition. You heard the program and the plans of the new leadership. We will not look back; everything has been said over the past few months, and I hope everyone has learned a lesson about how we must proceed with regard to our responsibilities. As one of the most influential organizations in sports governance, we must be transparent, responsible, accountable, and active. We must live up to the standards of the Olympic Committee and what it deserves,” she added.
There is enormous potential for work. Prof. Lozan Mitev has made some extremely useful proposals. That is why I said we will incorporate them for implementation next year, so that we can carry out the good proposals,” added Lechova, noting that her team includes many qualified individuals who can represent Bulgaria at the IOC.
“We have many qualified people. The most important thing is for our organization to be up to the required standard. We can’t possibly have someone to nominate if there are scandals. Many of my colleagues deserve this, and this is a serious issue that needs to be discussed as soon as possible,” added the president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.
