Ludogorets RazgradA club from a town of about 30,000 people which, within about a decade and a half, travelled from the third tier to the top of Bulgarian football: that is the story of Ludogorets Razgrad. After promotion to the top flight in 2011, the team won the Bulgarian championship in its very first season, 2011–12, and then won the league 14 times in a row, through 2024–25, a record in Bulgarian football. The club has also won four Bulgarian Cups and nine Bulgarian Supercups, a record for that competition.
The club's roots go back to 1945 and football in Razgrad, and the name Ludogorie comes from the region where the town lies. In 2009–10 director Aleksandar Aleksandrov restored the name Ludogorets 1945, and in 2010 the club was taken over by the Bulgarian businessman Kiril Domuschiev. His financial backing and modern management made it possible to build a professional structure with training infrastructure and scouting, which brought in players such as the Brazilian playmaker Marcelinho. The team's nickname is Orlite (the Eagles), and its colours are green and white.
The club's stadium in Razgrad, previously named after Dyanko Stefanov (1954–2011), was rebuilt from the ground up in 2011. From 2014 it was expanded in stages so that it could host European group matches, and since 2018 it has also been used by the Bulgarian national team. It holds around 10,000 spectators.
The European journey began with the 2012–13 Champions League qualifiers. The biggest success of the early years came in 2013–14: after a play-off defeat to Basel, Ludogorets dropped into the Europa League, where it won Group B ahead of PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb and Chornomorets Odesa, the first Bulgarian team ever to win a Europa League group. It began with a 2–0 away win at PSV. In the round of 32 it eliminated Lazio, winning 1–0 in Rome and drawing 3–3 in Sofia, 4–3 on aggregate. The run ended in the round of 16 against Valencia, who won 3–0 and 1–0.
In 2014–15 the club reached the Champions League group stage after a dramatic tie with Steaua Bucharest, under coach Georgi Dermendzhiev. The group was demanding: Real Madrid, Liverpool and Basel. On 1 October 2014 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia, Ludogorets led the holders Real Madrid from the sixth minute through a goal by Marcelinho, but lost 2–1 after a goal by Karim Benzema 13 minutes from time. Three weeks later, on 22 October, it beat FC Basel 1–0 and became the first Bulgarian club to win points and a match in the Champions League group stage, although it finished the group in fourth place.
In 2016–17 Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian club to qualify for the Champions League a second time. In a group with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Basel it had three draws and three defeats, including 0–6 in London, and on 6 December 2016 it drew 2–2 in Paris, conceding an equaliser from Ángel Di María in the first minute of stoppage time. It finished third, which sent it into the Europa League round of 32.
The 2025–26 season ended the club's dominance: Ludogorets finished the league in third place, and its run of 14 consecutive titles remains a record for Bulgarian football. In retrospect, the club from Razgrad has shown that a precise business vision, investment in infrastructure and good scouting can change the hierarchy of a national league and, for several evenings, put a provincial team opposite the biggest clubs in Europe.
