The Bulgarian national team under 15 will be part of the first edition of the FIFA World Cup and Festival for this age group. The competition will be held from October 24 to 30 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will bring together 189 national teams from the six confederations, which will play a total of 945 matches.
According to the regulations, players born in 2011 and 2012 can participate in the tournament. Bulgaria will be represented by boys born in 2011.
The team led by coach Petar Karachorov is in Group I together with Scotland, Lesotho, Gabon and Latvia. The “Lovchetata“ will begin their participation on October 25 with two matches - against Scotland and Lesotho. The next day, the matches with Gabon and Latvia are due.
The tournament will be played in an 8-on-8 format, with two halves of 20 minutes each. Each team is guaranteed a minimum of nine matches, and the regulations are designed so that all participants can continue playing until the last day of competition.
FIFA's new initiative places emphasis on the development of young footballers through more playing time, meetings with different opponents and contact with football cultures from around the world. For the Bulgarian national team, participation is an opportunity to gain international experience and test their qualities in a series of matches on the world stage.
19 countries refused to send their representatives. Among the boycotters are Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and the USA.
All federations directly link their refusal to Russia's participation.