In July 2003, Dafchev joined Botev Plovdiv. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2003–04 season in a 1–0 win over Rodopa Smolyan on 9 August. Twenty days later Dafchev scored his first Botev and Plovdiv derby goal, opening the scoring in a 2–3 defeat against Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 28 September he scored twice in a 3–1 home victory over CSKA Sofia. Dafchev made 24 appearances for "the Canaries", scoring nine goals, but Botev were relegated from the A PFG at the end of the campaign.