Balgarianovinite.com Hundreds of relatives, friends, colleagues, former teammates, footballers, prominent sports figures and politicians paid their last respects to legendary goalkeeper and former captain of the Bulgarian national team Borislav Mihaylov. He passed away on March 31 at the age of 63.
The memorial service was held on Saturday at the St Sophia Church in the capital. Among those attending were Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) President Georgi Ivanov and Mihaylov’s former teammates Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov, Yordan Lechkov, Nasko Sirakov and Krasimir Balakov. Sports Minister Dimitar Iliev, his deputy Daniela Dasheva, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Bulgarian Olympic Committee Chair Vesela Lecheva, former Bulgarian Olympic Committee chair Stefka Kostadinova, former BFU executive director Pavel Kolev, Admiral Emil Eftimov, and numerous representatives of Bulgarian football clubs also attended.
Dozens of Levski fans from various groups, relatives, as well as representatives of FIFA and UEFA were present, among them were the Presidents of the Football Federations of Kosovo and Albania, Agim Ademi and Armand Duka.
During the memorial service, Sports Minister Iliev said: “Not only I, but I believe every Bulgarian remembers him with the strongest emotions and a sense of pride. He is a man who brought us so much joy back in 1994. It is an extremely sad day for the Bulgarian sports community. We have lost a legend. May he rest in peace”.
Mihaylov was born on February 12, 1963, in Sofia. He is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of Bulgarian football. He captained the national team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where the squad led by Dimitar Penev finished fourth in the world. He played a total of 102 matches for the national team, wearing the captain’s armband in 60 of them – a record.
Mihaylov was a youth player of Levski Sofia and won three league titles with the first team (1984, 1985, and 1988), as well as three national cups (1982, 1984, and 1986). In 1986, he was named Bulgaria’s Footballer of the Year. During his career, he also played for Botev Plovdiv and Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria, as well as Belenenses, FC Mulhouse, Reading FC, and FC Zurich abroad.
Following his retirement as player, Mihaylov moved into the management of the Bulgarian Football Union. He became a member of its Executive Committee in 2000, served as vice president from 2001 to 2005, and on November 21, 2005, he was elected president, a position he held until October 15, 2019, when he resigned following a racist scandal in the stands during a 0–6 loss to England national football team in Sofia in a European qualifier the day before.
Subsequently, on April 28, 2021, he withdrew his resignation and once again became president of the Bulgarian Football Union, serving until November 27, 2023. Between 2011 and 2019, he was also a member of the Executive Committee of UEFA.
Mihaylov received the Order of the Balkan Mountain Range (First Class) in 1994, and was given the freedom of the city of Sofia. Hundreds Pay Last Respects to Football Legend Borislav Mihaylov 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-04 16:01:41 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law