The Sofia Municipal Council (SMC) was just one vote short of approving the proposal to finance three international skateboarding competitions in Sofia in 2027, 2028, and 2029 with up to 9.6 million euros. At the meeting on November 5, the project received 30 votes "for" when 31 were needed and was rejected.
The proposal envisioned Sofia applying to the international federation World Skate for two Olympic qualifiers for Los Angeles 2028 and one World Cup competition in 2029.
Even before the vote, the project provoked strong reactions among leaders of Bulgarian sports. The main question they raised was not whether skateboarding deserved support, but whether such a financial commitment was justified given the problems with sports infrastructure and club funding in the capital.

Sports Federations: 9.6 million for three competitions, while clubs face higher rents

The Association of Bulgarian Sports Federations (ABSF) issued an official statement against the proposal, signed by its chairman Ivan Tsenov.
The organization insisted that the funds should be primarily directed towards sports infrastructure and youth sports.
In the letter published in the media, the federations express indignation that millions are being allocated for international hosting while clubs are struggling with the costs of training facilities.
The issue of the discussed changes in the conditions for using school sports halls is particularly acute. According to calculations by the sports community, they could lead to an almost fourfold increase in rents.
The Association points out that with such resources, sports halls could be built, access to school halls could be supported, and international competitions could be organized in sports such as volleyball, basketball, athletics, gymnastics, and taekwondo.

Georgi Pavlov: With this money, we can build four athletics tracks

The President of the Bulgarian Athletics Federation, Georgi Pavlov, was among the first to publicly challenge the proposal. In a Facebook post, he points out that in Sofia alone there are about 25 athletics clubs where nearly 2500 children train. According to Pavlov, with 9.6 million euros, four projects for new athletics tracks could be realized – in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas.
Pavlov also gives other examples of potential uses for the funds – development of the Sofia Marathon, attracting a Diamond League competition, and international championships in sports with established Bulgarian traditions.
In his statement, he also pays special attention to the European Men's Volleyball Championship in 2026, for which the Sofia Municipality provided 500,000 leva for hosting.
Pavlov emphasizes that he is not pitting individual sports against each other, but insists on clear criteria for spending public funds and an assessment of long-term benefits.

Alexander Popov: The capital does not pay enough attention to professional sports

CSKA volleyball president Alexander Popov also expressed bewilderment at the size of the proposed funding. In a statement toSportal.bgon November 4,he points out that it is wonderful for Bulgaria to host international sports competitions, but attention should also be paid to professional clubs in Sofia. Popov compares the situation in the capital with that in other cities. According to him, Stara Zagora Municipality provides the Ivan Vazov Hall for use by Beroe and covers the consumables for sports clubs, and Burgas Municipality has invested in the renovation of the Mladost Hall. The head of CSKA describes the municipal support for professional clubs in Sofia as extremely limited compared to that in other cities. In his statement, Popov talks about an annual sports budget for Sofia of about 1 million euros.

Martin Milanov: How many children will use this money after the competitions end?

A similar position was taken by the president of the Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation, Martin Milanov. In a social media post, he referred to his experience in organizing dozens of ice hockey world championships. Milanov stated that he supports major international events but insisted that before allocating such financial resources, a specific calculation should be made regarding what sports facilities could be built or renovated with these funds. According to him, Sofia needs more sports halls, ice rinks, and accessible school gyms. He also drew attention to the problems faced by coaches and parents in finding available hours and suitable conditions for training.

126 sports clubs receive 1 million euros per year

The criticisms of sports leaders can be compared with official data on municipal funding. A statement from Sofia Municipality on October 15 this year indicates that 126 sports clubs receive a total of 1 million euros for the development of their youth academies. Of these, 45 develop team sports, and 81 develop individual sports.
The municipality also allocated 240,000 euros under the "Sofia Sports" program for 44 organizations and 1.21 million euros for the repair and maintenance of sports fields and facilities in the 24 metropolitan districts.
This means that the planned 9.6 million euros for the three skateboarding competitions are9.6 times more than the amount with which the municipality supports the youth academies of 126 sports clubs for one year.
The comparison is not between identical budget periods – the skateboarding proposal covers three years, while the funding for the academies is annual. However, it shows the scale of the financial commitment that the Sofia Municipal Council was ready to discuss.

The financial question: 9.6 million for rights or also for infrastructure?

An official report from the Sofia Municipality dated October 29 states that a total fee of up to 9.6 million euros is proposed for acquiring the hosting rights, or an average of 3.2 million euros per competition.
However, a different breakdown was presented during the discussion in the financial committee. According to "24 Chasa" on November 3, municipal councilor Dimitar Petrov explained that the fee to World Skate is about 2 million euros per competition. Additionally, about 1.2 million euros were mentioned for a temporary facility and television production, as well as an idea for a permanent skatepark in the Western Park.
Other public explanations also mention an indicative value of about 2.5 million euros for the permanent facility.
The sum of these approximate values reaches 9.7 million euros. The difference of 100,000 euros can be explained by rounding, but the more significant question remains whether the initially recorded 9.6 million euros are only for hosting rights or also cover the other expenses.
According to"Club Z", during the meeting on November 5, Dimitar Petrov proposed that all accompanying organizational costs and the construction of a permanent skatepark be included in the project. Without a final detailed financial breakdown, the total cost of the entire project cannot be definitively established. The report also includes an example scenario for sponsorship revenues between 2.01 and 2.07 million euros for the three competitions. The authors explicitly state that these are not guaranteed revenues.

How the municipality defended the proposal

The project initiators justified the expense with the possibility for Sofia to become a recognizable destination for major international sports events. As reported by"Club Z", Mayor Vasil Terziev defended the project before the municipal councilors with the argument that such hostings are primarily a means of international marketing for the capital. Dimitar Petrov presented a projected economic effect of about 33 million euros and over 70,000 tourist overnight stays, according to the same report. In his publication after the meeting"24 Chasa"however, cites a different sum - 45 million euros in direct and indirect benefits, as stated by Petrov.
In both cases, it is about a projected economic effect, not guaranteed revenues for the municipal budget.
Municipal councilors Ivan Takov and Proshko Proshkov also spoke in defense of the project, who, according to "Club Z", emphasized the possibility for international events to increase interest in Sofia and bring long-term benefits for tourism.
Among the critics were Andrey Zografski and Boris Bonev from "Spasi Sofia". Zografski pointed out examples of skateparks built in other Bulgarian cities and presented his own assessment that with nearly 10 million euros, 36 similar facilities could be built. Bonev stated that he would submit a proposal for the construction of five skateparks in Sofia.

For EuroVolley 2026, the municipality allocated 500,000 leva

Against the backdrop of the debate, the comparison with the European Men's Volleyball Championship takes on particular significance. On October 9, 2025, the Sofia Municipal Council unanimously voted, with 54 votes "for", to allocate up to500,000 levafor the preparation and organization of EuroVolley 2026 in Sofia. It is important to note that these funds do not represent the entire cost of hosting the volleyball event. According to data reported by the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Lyubomir Ganev, the rights for the championship cost 1.2 million euros, and the expenses for using "Arena Sofia" are over 500,000 euros.
Despite the differences between the two projects, the comparison provides a basis to raise the question of what criteria the municipality uses to determine its financial support for international sports hosting.

The voting ended, the questions remained

According to "Club Z", after the negative result, the Chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council, Tsvetomir Petrov, sharply criticized the opponents of the proposal. Mayor Vasil Terziev also described the rejection as a missed opportunity for Sofia. There is still no confirmed roll-call vote that would allow a specific municipal councilor to be identified as the reason for the missing 31st vote.
With its decision, the Sofia Municipal Council did not cancel an already agreed hosting, nor did it stop a payment that had been made. The proposal for Sofia to apply and undertake the corresponding financial commitment under the discussed conditions was rejected.
But the reactions of responsible figures in athletics, volleyball, ice hockey, as well as the Association of Sports Federations, brought to the forefront a significantly broader problem.
Sofia must find a balance between investments in international sports events and the funding of clubs and facilities that are used daily.
Because the question is not only how many spectators and tourists a competition can attract, but also what material base and what opportunities for sport will remain for the children of the capital after its end.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov