The name was chosen in honor of the Bulgarian national hero Hristo Botev, as proposed by the club's host - Tenyo Rusev.

The club's first management board also included Stoyan Puhtev, serving as chairman, Nenko Penelov as vice-chairman and Petar Delev as both a secretary and cashier.

Botev won its first national title in 1929, defeating Levski Sofia 1–0 in the final, with Nikola Shterev scoring the winning goal.

Notable players from the period include Stancho Prodanov, Vangel Kaundzhiev and Mihail Kostov, who played for the national team.

1956 was very successful for the team, which finished 3rd in the domestic league and qualified for the final of the Bulgarian Cup, where Botev faced Levski Sofia.

The sport venue was inaugurated with a friendly match between Botev and Steaua București, which was won by the canaries with 3–0 in front of 20,000 spectators.

This championship also marked the first appearance of the club's most important player Dinko Dermendzhiev and the beginning of Botev's golden age.

Under the leadership of Dinko Dermendzhiev, Botev won their first Bulgarian Cup in 1962, beating Dunav Rousse 3–0 at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia on 12 August.

The championship team featured several notable players, such as Viden Apostolov, Georgi Popov and Rayko Stoynov, with Vasil Spasov as head coach.

Botev represented Bulgaria in the 1967–68 European Champions Cup where they lost in the first round to Rapid București after 2–0 win in Plovdiv and 0–3 (a.e.t.)

A few years later, in 1981, the team became runners up of the Balkans Cup for the first time, playing against Yugoslavian Velež Mostar after two spectacular final matches to finish second In 1981, the club's forward Georgi Slavkov won the club's highest individual achievement, the European Golden Shoe after finishing as Europe's top domestic scorer with 31 goals.

The team secured a 2–0 victory against the German powerhouse Bayern Munich (with Klaus Augenthaler, Dieter Hoeneß, Søren Lerby, Lothar Matthäus and Jean-Marie Pfaff in their squad).

On November 7, 1984, in front of more than 45,000 spectators at Plovdiv Stadium, Atanas Pashev and Kostadin Kostadinov scored for the win, but Botev were eliminated after losing 1–4 in the first-leg.

They brought in players with experience in Bulgarian football, such as Nasko Sirakov, Bozhidar Iskrenov, Kostadin Vidolov and Borislav Mihaylov.

In September 2009, Botev Plovdiv set an unusual record after fielding seven Italian players in the 1–2 away loss against Litex Lovech, becoming the first A PFG club to feature that many foreigners from the same nationality.

The club was completely rebuilt on an administrative level, several Bulgarian players with first league and international experience helped the team return to B Group, such as striker Atanas Kurdov, midfielder Todor Timonov, captain Nikolay Manchev, and goalkeeper Armen Ambartsumyan.

Botev Plovdiv then reached an agreement with a new head coach – Milen Radukanov, who didn't show good results either.

Therefore, Kostadin Vidolov returned at the helm of the club and succeeded in gaining promotion to the first level of Bulgarian football, after a 2–0 win against Sportist Svoge in the play-offs.

Botev Plovdiv was allowed to participate in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, taking the place of the then financially struggling CSKA Sofia,[10] this marked the return of the team in Europe, after 18 years of absence.

On 24 May 2017, Botev Plovdiv won their 3rd Bulgarian cup title in a 2–1 win against Ludogorets Razgrad,[15][16][17] by doing so the club secured a spot in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League,[18] where they met Partizani Tirana and Beitar Jerusalem, before being knocked out by Marítimo in the third qualifying round.

[19] On 9 August 2017, the club won its first Bulgarian Supercup title, beating Ludogorets Razgrad 5–4 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw in regular time.

The new approved crest (used today) was a red circle, with a green rectangle situated centrally above, with the name of the club inscribed inside.

Botev Plovdiv's motto is Krasota, vyara i borba (Bulgarian: Красота, вяра и борба, pronounced [crɐsɔtɐ, vʝarɐ i bɔrbɐ], meaning Beauty, faith and fight).

A tunnel under the East and the North stand was built to connect the visitors' changing room with the field and the capacity of the stadium was reduced.

On March 26, 2012, began a major reconstruction of the stadium, starting with conceptual design by architect Georgi Savov and supported by the new owner of the team Tzvetan Vassilev.

According to estimates construction will consume about 15 million euro, and the facility must be ready for operation by mid 2015 just in time to host matches at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

On home matchdays, Botev Plovdiv's players traditionally enter the pitch to the Blue Canary tune (by Marisa Fiordaliso and Carlo Buti) before the start of a game.

Botev Plovdiv has maintained a strong fan base over the years and in terms of the popularity is staged as the third most supported club in Bulgaria.

The two teams are the most supported ones in the second largest city in Bulgaria – Plovdiv – and the matches between them are well known to the Bulgarian football community, and also considered to be one of the fiercest rivalries in the world.

[30] As of 20 February 2025[update] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.