Since I am doing Perth Heat (bitcoin baseball team) recaps on Sundays, I figured I should also highlight the goings on of Botev Plovdiv (Bulgarian football club that adopted Bitcoin and Nostr).
The team won their final match of the year 1-0 moving the team into 10th in the league with 20 points. 10th place is the final seeding for playoffs so hopefully they can at least maintain this standing.
Here is a Dec 3rd post from their site reviewing their first month since adopting Bitcoin. https://botevplovdiv.bg/mesec-na-silni-igri-i-bitcoin-inovacii
Here is the translated English text for anyone who can't translate via browser:
It has been an exciting month since Botev Plovdiv boldly stepped into the future of finance by embracing the technologies of the future: Bitcoin and Nostr. Our journey, which began on October 31st, has marked great achievements and it is time to celebrate them.
- Embracing the Future: Bitcoin & Nostr
Announcing the acceptance of Bitcoin and Nostr was a kind of commitment to continue being a club of leaders and pioneers. This move not only positions us as a progressive club, but also opens up new avenues for a new type of interaction between fans, players and sponsors. And a few days after the announcement, Botev played one of his strongest matches this season in the city derby against Lokomotiv.
- The Bitcoin brand shines on our jerseys
A week after the announcement we put Bitcoin '₿' on our shirts for all matches. In the first game with the ₿ brand, our striker Antoine Baroin stormed Levski to score Botev's first goal in a ₿ shirt . The move was immediately hailed by bitcoiners on social networks X and Nostr.
- Special offer: 10% discount on Bitcoin purchases
To encourage our fans to engage with Bitcoin, Botev has offered a 10% discount on all purchases made with Bitcoin in our fan shops and at the stadium. And who doesn't love discounts? Our fans do too, which is why we've decided to extend this offer throughout December.
- Bitcoin ATM in club stores
To make bitcoin tangible and make the 10% discount accessible even to bitcoin newbies, the club has partnered with CryptoDesk.bg, which is installing a bitcoin ATM in our downtown fan shop. This new feature simplifies Bitcoin transactions for our fans, catering to both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers starting their Bitcoin journey.
- We connected the Botev and Bitcoin communities
Even before the first official announcement of Botev Bitcoin, the club initiated regular monthly Bitcoin meetups, creating a platform where Botev fans and Bitcoin enthusiasts can mingle, exchange ideas and strengthen our community ties. It was inspiring to have an average of 40 people coming to each meeting. Are you free on the 5th of December from 19:00? If yes, then come to Club Fargo, as well as every first Tuesday of the month at 19:30 when we talk about Bitcoin and Botev.
- Bitcoin journalist Joe Nakamoto visited Botev
For added excitement, we had the pleasure of hosting Joe Nakamoto, who will soon release a mini-documentary about Botev Plovdiv.
"The oldest club in Bulgaria that accepts this new "magical" internet currency that very few people still understand. I wanted to see live what happens here.''
His visit highlights the growing interest in our club's technical strides and the potential impact on the world of football and finance.
During his visit, Joe joined our Bitcoin Meetup, featuring an insightful talk by Georgi Nikolov on the synergy between football and Bitcoin . He also witnessed the canaries' exciting 3:1 victory over Pirin:
- First appearance of the Bitcoin podcast “Busisiness bitcoinization”
Georgi Manolov, our Bitcoin Director, recently took the stage on the Business Bitcoinization podcast about FC Botev's strategic adoption of Bitcoin. He outlined the reasons, vision and plans, highlighting this as a step towards world recognition and raising FC Botev to the international level it deserves to play at.
A wave of international recognition and support
Looking ahead
As we mark this first month, we look forward to continuing this journey to improve our team's performance and integrate Bitcoin into our club structures. We're committed to being at the forefront of innovation and can't wait to share this exciting future with our fans.
Join us on this journey, both on and off the field!
Follow us on X and Nostr .