The power struggle in Bulgarian weightlifting has taken on a new nuance after the appearance of a third federation in this sport – the "United Weightlifting Federation," reports "bTV Sport." "Stefan Botev" has been elected as its chairman.
Botev continues to be registered as the head of the current headquarters, which is threatened with bankruptcy, even though "Asen Zlatev" was elected president in December.
Three federations and a leadership dispute
It is recalled that "Asen Zlatev" himself also heads another weightlifting federation, established in 2023. Thus, there are currently three structures in the sport claiming to be representative.
The scandals in the federation prevent the 1980 Olympic champion "Asen Zlatev" from effectively taking office as president of the current headquarters. He received more votes than the current chairman "Stefan Botev," but complaints were filed against his election in December.
Legal disputes block decisions and funding
At the moment, the court can only consider one of the complaints – that of the "Hristo Bachvarov Sliven" club. The lack of a final court decision holds up the registration of the new management and blocks administrative steps in the federation.
This vacuum also leads to a lack of funding, as without clear leadership and with pending legal disputes, the procedures for allocating funds are practically paralyzed.
Asen Zlatev: financial problems are chronic
"A major problem for Bulgarian weightlifting for quite some time has been the financial state due to problems in accounting and spending funds. This has continued under different presidents and management boards until now. At the moment, we can hardly accept the financial report, but I hope this will soon become a fact so that we do not delay," commented "Zlatev".
Until the court issues a final ruling, the sport remains in a state of management discord – with three different centers of influence and an unclear future for national athletes and clubs.