At an official ceremony in Bulgaria‘s capital, Sofia, the Eurovita Sports Clinic and Prof. Dr Shoilev Hospital celebrated their official accreditation as one of the elite medical centres worldwide recognised by FIFA.

Global football’s governing body accredits established centres that have demonstrated their leadership in football medicine. All centres undergo a strict selection process and accreditation is granted for a period of five years, during which they report annually on their activities. The event was honoured by the personal attendance of Krasen Kralev, the Bulgarian Minister of Youth and Sports, and Borislav Mikhailov, President of the Bulgarian Football Union. FIFA was represented by Dr Michel D’Hooghe, a member of the FIFA Council and the chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee.

“This is a big honour and great recognition for the quality of our work,” said Dr Ivan Vassilev, head of the Eurovita Sports Clinic. “Today is a very joyful day for me and my colleagues from the Eurovita Sports Clinic and Prof. Dr Shoilev Hospital, as we become members of the growing family of FIFA Medical Centres of Еxcellence.”

The Eurovita Sports Clinic is an entirely privately funded hospital that was established in 2010, based on the model of Europe’s leading sports clinics. It quickly gained an excellent reputation and became a leading name in Bulgaria for the diagnosis and treatment of sports-related injuries and diseases. Eurovita takes care of the Bulgarian national football and skiing teams, and provides consulting services to many other representative teams and professional clubs.

“One of the key benefits we provide for the patient is the complexity of the treatment,” explained Dr Vassilev, “as our two hospitals combined have an impressive team of experts in orthopaedics, traumatology and physiotherapy, plus many other areas.”