Neftohimik head coach Todor Kiselichkov now holds a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification in Europe. Bulgarian Football Union president Georgi Ivanov handed him the diploma in person at a ceremony at the national football base in Boyana, where 20 Bulgarian coaches in total received the licence.

For the Burgas-based coach, the honour comes just three weeks after he took charge of Neftohimik again, with the tough job of steadying the team and getting it back to the ambitions it started the season with.

Kiselichkov, 50, returned as boss of "the sheikhs" in early September after the team made a rocky start in the Southeast Third League. He replaced Dimcho Nenov, with the club's management sticking to its plan of gradually taking Neftohimik back to where fans feel it belongs. His first job was to bring more order and stability to a team whose play had cost it valuable points in the opening rounds. The results showed on 19 September, when "the greens" beat Zagorets 2-0 at the Lazur stadium — a win seen as proof that the change on the bench is already paying off on the pitch.

Just days before he returned to Neftohimik, Kiselichkov's name had also come up as an option for the coaching job at Chernomorets 1919, after "the sharks" parted ways with Ivan Kolev. He was seen as a natural fit there too, given his knowledge of the local football scene, his coaching know-how and his experience in professional football. He also has a direct tie to Chernomorets — he started his coaching career in the club's academy and went on to manage its first team in 2014. In the end, though, his path led him back to where he began: Neftohimik, the club tied to much of his career.

The new licence caps a long coaching career that stretches well beyond Burgas. Kiselichkov has been head coach at Chernomorets, Pirin (Gotse Delchev), Lokomotiv (Gorna Oryahovitsa), Septemvri (Simitli), CSKA 1948, Spartak (Varna), Dobrudzha and Yantra (Gabrovo). He has also worked as an assistant coach at First League clubs. As assistant to Ivaylo Petev at Ludogorets, he won the Bulgarian title, and last season he was part of the coaching staff at Botev Plovdiv. One of his most successful spells came at Yantra, where the Gabrovo side finished fifth in the Second League — one step short of the play-off for a top-flight spot, and the club's best finish in more than two decades.

For Neftohimik, Kiselichkov is not just another coach brought in to fix a problem. As a player, he came up through the club's academy and played more than 200 matches in the old "A" Group, back when Burgas football was at a high level. That tie to the club's history, combined with his experience across different clubs and levels of the game, is one of the reasons the club's management turned to him again. Now, with a UEFA Pro Licence in hand, Kiselichkov holds the highest official qualification European coaching has to offer.

At the diploma ceremony, Bulgarian Football Union president Georgi Ivanov told the new licence holders that finishing the course is both an honour and a responsibility. "The diploma recognises your work, but it's also a responsibility you'll carry every day on the job. A coach helps players build their skills, and sets an example that shapes who they become," Ivanov said.

Neftohimik also congratulated their head coach and said they hope he can take the team to the highest level he is now qualified to work at with his new licence. For Kiselichkov himself, though, the real task still lies on the pitch — turning his experience and new qualification into results, and putting Neftohimik back on the road to professional football.