Levski SofiaPFC Levski Sofia carries the name of Vasil Levski, Bulgaria's foremost national hero — that patronage, rather than any crest or colour scheme, has defined the club's identity since its roots in 1911, when a group of pupils at a Sofia secondary school formed a sports club that was officially registered on 24 May 1914. Fans call the side Sinite (The Blues) or "the team of the people," and Levski remains the only Bulgarian club never relegated from the top flight since the league was established in 1937 — a feat unmatched anywhere else in the Balkans.
The club's eternal symbol is Georgi Asparuhov, affectionately nicknamed "Gundi" and widely regarded as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. A brilliant striker who came through Levski's own academy, he died tragically in a car crash in 1971 alongside national team colleague Nikola Kotkov, a tragedy that shook the entire country; the club's stadium was later named in his honour. In the decades that followed, the Levski shirt was worn by the likes of Nasko Sirakov and a young Hristo Stoichkov, before the latter moved on to Barcelona and global stardom. The club's academy remains one of the most productive in the country — no fewer than four of its graduates featured in the Bulgaria squad that reached the 1994 World Cup semi-finals.
The most memorable night in the club's European history came on 17 March 1976, in the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final against FC Barcelona. Having lost the first leg 0-4 at Camp Nou, Levski raced into a 2-0 lead inside ten minutes in the return in Sofia, and although a Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens-inspired Barcelona fought back to lead 4-3 with only minutes remaining, the hosts struck twice more in the closing stages to complete a stunning 5-4 win. It was not enough to overturn the aggregate deficit, but that match is still cited as proof the club can compete with Europe's giants; Levski also twice reached the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals and, in 2006-07, became the first Bulgarian club to play in the Champions League group stage.
After years of frustration, Levski ended a long drought by winning their 27th Bulgarian title in 2025/26, their first since the 2008/09 season, breaking Ludogorets Razgrad's 14-year consecutive stranglehold on the league. Home matches are played at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, also known to fans as "Gerena" after the district where it was built in the 1960s. The long-standing rivalry with CSKA Sofia, known as the Eternal Derby, and the even older rivalry with Slavia Sofia, dating back to 1915 and dubbed the capital's oldest derby, remain the highlights of the Bulgarian football calendar.
