Today, May 3, marks the official start of the first edition of the UEFA CFM Academic Programme in Bulgaria. The educational course is among the most prestigious in the sporting industry and is organized jointly by UEFA and IDHEAP.  This is Bulgaria's first time hosting the forum.

31 students attended the first day of the seminar - 21 of them Bulgarian and 10 from countries all across the continent including Croatia, Gibraltar, Andorra, North Macedonia, Slovakia and Greece. All of them were welcomed by Ms. Alexandra Doncila, UEFA Academy Program Coordinator, and Project Manager Jérôme Berthoud. On behalf of the Bulgarian Football Union the guests were addressed by Deputy General Secretary Hristo Zapryanov and Andrey Petrov, Head of Strategic Planning at the BFU.

Among the participants are some well-known names such as two-time Bulgarian Footballer of the Year Dimitar Iliev, FIFA referee Vasimir El-Hatib, head coach Kostadin Angelov as well as representatives of eight professional clubs.