The Bulgarian Basketball Federation’s Development Programme aims to involve more players and coaches, Coaches’ Commission Chair Rosen Barchovski said ahead of its first selection camp, opening in Sofia on Saturday. He outlined his expectations for the new strategy and appealed to coaches working with children in Bulgaria.
Barchovski is one of Bulgaria’s most experienced and successful coaches. The son of Tsvyatko Barchovski and Vanya Voynova, he was born into a basketball family in Sofia on August 16, 1960. As a CSKA player, he won seven Bulgarian league titles and nine Bulgarian Cups. He coached Slavia to the league and cup double in 1997, won the Bulgarian Cup with CSKA in 2005 and reached the league finals in 2004 and 2005. In 2016, he guided Rilski Sportist to the club’s first Bulgarian Cup. He also twice finished runner-up in the Balkan League with Rilski Sportist. He spent around 15 years coaching the men’s national team, securing qualification for EuroBasket 2005, 2011 and 2022. Since the summer of 2025, he has been head coach of National Basketball League club Shumen.
“We are about to put into practice an idea we have had for far too long but which, for reasons both objective and subjective, never got beyond words. Now we are beginning to turn those words into action. I expect and believe this programme will be a tremendous source of motivation for all young players and coaches in Bulgaria,” Barchovski said.
The programme’s main aim is to work with a much wider pool of players and coaches, he said.
“Under the programme we developed and approved, the main aim is to work with a wider pool of both players and coaches. We want to see as many talented boys as possible from every region of Bulgaria. We also want to involve as many coaches as possible who are genuinely prepared to work hard and consistently, with complete dedication and enthusiasm. Above all, coaches who want to learn and demonstrate perseverance, commitment and high moral and ethical standards.”
Barchovski acknowledged that confidence in national team selection had been undermined in recent years. The new programme should help restore it.
“A powerful motivation for all of us who embraced this programme is the feeling that, in recent years, for reasons both objective and subjective, we allowed the basketball community to form the impression that there were no proper criteria for selecting children for our national teams. Somehow, we allowed doubts to take root about the selection of players and staff. That is why I say we are launching this programme with complete openness. We have a clear strategy setting out what will be done, how, when, where and for what purpose. Above all, it sets out the criteria for inviting children and coaches to these national camps.”
Barchovski said genuine change in Bulgarian basketball would come through work with children, rather than changes to competition rules.
“At the heart of this programme is the experience of a coach who has been highly successful in both men’s and youth basketball. It also rests on a firm conviction shared by every one of us. We know that our sole mission from now on is to devote ourselves entirely to developing Bulgarian children and laying the foundations for the next generation of good Bulgarian players. We have no more time to fool ourselves into thinking we can achieve anything by changing the rules: fewer foreign players, more foreign players, fewer Bulgarians, only Bulgarians, more young players on the court. That is an illusion. Real change will come through relentless work at the grassroots, where children first take up the game.”
He acknowledged the enormous challenges facing the programme.
“I want this programme to succeed with every fibre of my being. I believe in its success and will do everything I can to make it happen. It will be incredibly difficult, practically impossible. I know what it takes to organize such intensive camps while league competitions, tournaments and school are in full swing. But we are ready. We will fight, stick together and refuse to give up. We have a duty to leave something behind for future generations.”
Training sessions for the under-16 and under-18 national teams at the first camp are open to all coaches. Barchovski appealed directly to them:
“I appeal to Bulgarian coaches working with children: go to these training sessions. Find a way to be there. Watch, listen and discuss what you see with your colleagues and Pini Gershon, who will not turn anyone away. Ask questions, analyse and copy what you see. See how the work should be done in practice. See his philosophy in action: how he treats players and coaches, how he wants coaches to treat players and one another, and how he sees the basketball of the future, rather than today’s game, because tomorrow it will be different. Be there. These training sessions are more valuable than any theoretical seminar. If we do not understand that we need to learn and that the road will be long, very painful and probably thankless, we will simply stay where we are, pointing fingers and arguing over who is most to blame for our current predicament.”
The Development Programme’s first selection camp runs from October 31 to November 2 in Sofia. Training sessions are at Triaditsa Hall on Saturday, Iliya Mirchev Hall at Gerena on Sunday and Sveti Georgi Hall on Monday.

Basketball Development Programme Seeks Wider Talent Pool, Barchovski Says THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-31 04:36:00

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