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On March 13, 2026, a meeting of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation was held. During the meeting, current issues related to the management and development of Bulgarian wrestling, as well as organizational decisions for the upcoming sports calendar, were discussed.
As part of the agenda, the members of the Management Board unanimously elected Belcho Goranov as Secretary-General of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.
Belcho Goranov was born on October 15, 1962 in Kazanlak. A former wrestler, he competed for the clubs "Torpedo" (Karlovo) and "Levski-Spartak" (Sofia). In the period 1984 - 1988, he was included in the national teams of Bulgaria in wrestling and sambo.
After ending his active competitive career, he graduated from the Higher Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a degree in law, specializing in sports law. In 2012, the National State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Health "P. F. Lesgaft" in St. Petersburg, Russia, awarded him the scientific degree of Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences. In 2014, he obtained the educational and scientific degree of "Doctor" from the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" in Sofia. In 2021, he was awarded the title of "Honorary Doctor" of the National State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Health "P. F. Lesgaft".
In his professional career, Goranov has held a number of key positions in Bulgarian and international sports. In the period 1989–1993, he was the Chief Legal Advisor of the Central Council of the Bulgarian Union of Physical Culture and Sports. From 1995 to 2001, he was the Chairman of the Control Council of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the Chief of Staff of the President of the Bulgarian Football Union.
Since 2005, he has been the Secretary General of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, being re-elected to the position in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. He has actively participated in the organization of the Bulgarian Olympic delegations, as deputy head of the delegations at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, as well as at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022. He is the head of the Bulgarian Olympic delegation at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021).
Belcho Goranov is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Sport Foundation. Internationally, he was a member of the Legal Department of the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) from 2005 to 2017, as well as of its Appeals Commission. Since 2017, he has been the Chairman of the Legal and Ethics Commission of the United World Wrestling (UWW), and was re-elected to this position in 2021. He was also a member of the Marketing and Communications Commission of the European Olympic Committees for the terms 2017-2021 and 2021-2025.
