CSKA Sofia football club was officially granted a licence to play in Bulgaria's top division next season, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) announced on its website on August 5 2008.

The message only said that the club has fulfilled all requirements necessary to be allowed to play in the 2008/09 season.

The club was surprisingly denied a licence just weeks after it had won its record 31st championship title earlier in June. At the time the BFU said that CSKA owed the state millions of leva of unpaid debts in social contributions. CSKA also owed money to other clubs.

The BFU's decision gave UEFA the reason to ban CSKA from playing in Uefa's Champions League next season, instead inviting runners-up, Levski Sofia, to take CSKA's place. When the news broke CSKA fans staged protests against club president Alexander Tomov, blaming him for the crisis. Tomov saw the BFU move as a conspiracy aimed at destroying CSKA.

In response, the BFU published documents showing that CSKA had been warned several months earlier about the impending crisis.

As a result of this crisis a number of key players, together with coach Stoycho Mladenov, left the club, allowing CSKA to cover some of its debts.

The club finances, however, will face constant scrutiny from the BFU. Checks will be conducted every three months, an unprecedented move in Bulgarian football.