The young talents of Ludogorets, born in 2008 and 2009, delivered a remarkable performance at The Renowned International Tournament "Football for Friendship." The three-day sporting event took place in the town of Foca, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Led by Hristo Zlatinski and Milen Marinov, the boys secured a prestigious third place at the 19th edition of one of the strongest youth tournaments in Eastern Europe. They first defeated the hosts Sutjeska Foca, then came out on top in a penalty shootout against Universitatea Cluj. With this achievement, the Ludogorets juniors outperformed Balkan powerhouses such as Crvena Zvezda, Vojvodina Novi Sad, Vardar, Universitatea Cluj, and Sutjeska.
Adding to their strong performance, the young “Eagles” were honored with the Fair Play Team Award, given to the team with the fewest cards and best behavior both on and off the field. The Ludogorets U18 side also received a personal invitation to participate in The 20th Anniversary Edition of the tournament, scheduled for July 2026. The tournament’s chief organizer, Zoran Avramovic, personally congratulated the team, praised their performance, and wished the young Eagles continued success.
“For us, this tournament was extremely useful as part of our pre-season preparation for both the Youth Champions League and the Northeast Third League. We are proud that the overall opinion was that we played the best football, even though two-thirds of our players were a year younger than most of the competition. At the same time, we also identified areas where we need to improve. I’d like to congratulate the organizers for the excellent conditions and the boys for their strong performance,” shared Hristo Zlatinski.
