site.btaIOC Funding to Bulgarian Olympic Committee Suspended Amid Leadership Dispute

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended all payments to the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), except direct athlete scholarships, citing unresolved leadership and access issues within the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC). In a letter addressed to Vesela Letcheva, who is the newly elected BOC leader but whose leadership is being challenged by sports officials loyal to her predecessor, Stefka Kostadinova, the IOC emphasized that the newly elected BOC leadership must ensure clear control over official accounts and operations before funding can resume.

The move comes ahead of several major sporting events, including the European Youth Olympic Festival and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The BOC leadership dispute following the election of Lecheva as the new president, challenging the authority of longtime incumbent Stefka Kostadinova, has escalated over control of the committee’s operations, official communication channels, and financial accounts. The dispute has reached the court but it is yet to decide, leading to uncertainty within the organization. 

Addressing Lecheva, the IOC says that "immediate action must now be taken to make sure in particular that you and the newly elected BOC leadership can access the BOC official email account nocbulgaria@bgolympic.org, the BOC headquarters and the BOC bank account on which payments from the Olympic Movement (and particularly from the 10C/Olympic Solidarity) have been received". "We reiterate that no power can be exercised by, or on behalf of, the BOC within the Olympic Movement, and no funding from the Olympic Movement can be used by the BOC, unless it is expressly approved and signed by you/the newly elected leadership. Anyone acting against these directives [...] shall be held accountable," reads the letter obtained by BTA.

It says further: "As a precautionary measure and in view of the uncertainty created by the current situation, we regret to inform you that the 10C/Olympic Solidarity and the EOC will suspend all future payments to the BOC, except for direct payments to athletes benefiting from Olympic scholarships, until you can confirm that you and the newly elected leadership have control over the BOC operations and bank account."

The letter is undersigned by James Macleod, Director of NOC Relations, Olympic Solidarity and Olympism.