Bulgaria
SPORTS MANAGEMENT BULGARIA
Sports Management Bulgaria run the Team of Hope project. They have been a Homeless World Cup Partner since August 2011.
More than 100 men and women with an average age of 22 join the project every year. They train twice a week under the guidance of four volunteer coaches. The participants come from the three largest Bulgarian cities – Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna.
A large group of their participants are Refugees from Africa (particularly Mali and Eritrea) who suffer discrimination and social exclusion. One of the aims of the Team of Hope projects is to provide social integration through football.
Country statistics
70 out of 189 in Human Development Index rankings (UNDP, 2024)
Average annual salary per person $14,280 (World Bank, 2023)
22.1% of people were at risk of poverty in Bulgaria in 2020 (World Bank, 2020)
Bulgaria is a mountainous country in Southeastern Europe bordering Romania and Turkey. As a result of low job prospects and an ageing population, the country faces a shortage of skilled labour and is the most unequal European Union member country with regards to income equality (World Bank, 2024; CIA World Factbook).
A formal definition of homelessness was only officially recognised in Bulgaria in 2018 and addressing the issue has not been a historical priority for the country. A 2019 report published by the European Social Policy Network found that homeless people “in practice... remain invisible to state policies and society” as they are undocumented and the nation’s housing strategy had yet to be actioned (European Commission, 2019).
Roma people are estimated as being the largest ethnic minority group in the country (12.2%), however this figure has been previously under-represented in national statistics. The last census in 2021 recorded a Roma population of some 4%, significantly lower than the European Commission’s estimate (National Statistics of Bulgaria, 2021; European Parliament, 2024).
As of 2024, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FSA) is in process of completing a survey on living conditions and everyday life of the Roma population in Europe, which will include the experience of Roma people in Bulgaria.
A previous survey was completed by the FSA in 2021 however Bulgaria was not one of the countries where data was gathered. The survey which looked at 10 other European nations found that eight out of ten Roma were living on an income below the respective national at-risk-of-poverty threshold. It also found that the majority of Roma people were living in sub-standard housing and facing social exclusion. The survey findings appear to reflect the experience for Roma people living in Bulgaria who are often treated as second class citizens and face discrimination (Open Democracy, 2020; European Parliament, 2021; Habitat for Humanity, 2024).
Bulgaria does not currently recognise a constitutional right to housing (Housing Rights Watch).
STORIES from the region
