Nasko Sirakov: I made Levski my life’s mission, I’m sure we’ll be back where we need to be!

Levski owner Nasko Sirakov came out with a special direction for all Levski players. The head of the “blues” took stock of his first semester at the helm.

This is what he wrote:

“Dear Levski players,

Six months have passed since I received the shares of our favorite club “Levski” and became its owner. This came after unprecedented support from you loyal “Levski” fans! In my face, you saw the person you trust and who you believe has the strength and the ability to help their favorite team overcome the unbearable difficult situation they are in for the first time in their century-old history and be where your place – at the top! I, with all my conscience and heart, after this powerful support, wanted this to become my life’s mission and I believe, and I can, and I know that we will achieve it together.

I knew and I know that it will be difficult, that we will encounter difficult, sometimes unpleasant difficulties along the way, but together we will achieve it. We can return “Levski” to his roots and his identity! I want to assure you that I have not lost for a moment the faith that united more than ever we will give our favorite club an invigorating breath that will help it fly!

We are already doing it!

I inherited PFC “Levski” with millions of levies in debt, an unenviable condition of our material base, our first team with players who do not meet the enormous salaries they receive.

At the same time, I must point out that I found a DYUS that worked very well, as well as a well organized and functional administration, expertly led by Pavel Kolev.

My expectations of finding sponsors quickly, as well as a general sponsor, did not come true immediately, but this did not prevent us from harnessing our full strength and ability to start the healing process.

What is the most important thing we managed to do in the period from June to December?

1. PFC “Levski” was facing absolute bankruptcy, but did not go bankrupt and participated in the championship. Any other club in this situation would have entered bankruptcy. For this not to happen, the credit is largely yours, the millions of fans, as well as the dedicated work of the people of the club.

2. We were able to maintain the club’s priority of being fair to the state and regularly reimbursing dues under its agreement with the NRA for responsibilities accumulated irresponsibly over the years.

3. In summer we separated from 12 players and although we attracted new ones, the salary budget of the first team was cut in half. When I arrived at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, BGN 521,591 was needed per month for player salaries. Now this cost is BGN 258,773. In times of shrinking budgets and serious stagnation in football, when many giants of the world are on the brink of survival, my team and I made good transfers to our standards: we sold Ivan Goranov and Stanislav Ivanov, teenagers of the club , as well as the Dutch Stein Spearing.

4. During the last five and a half months (except December), PFC Levski has earned revenue of BGN 4,252,425. It is an unprecedented success in the history of Bulgarian football, which not only came with the club’s own forces and supporters, without the support of a general sponsor, but also under the conditions of a global pandemic, economic crisis and a hard blow to one of the few items of income for “Levski”, namely – ticket sales. COVID-19 also had a negative impact on the training process, as players did not have the opportunity to train normally for 3 months in 2020. For a professional athlete, this is a terrible time.

5. We have reached unknown levels of responsibility that no other Bulgarian football club has demonstrated so far. In “Levski” everything is clear: where the money comes from and where it goes.

6. Despite the difficult situation of the epidemic and its economic impact on football, we worked and managed to reduce the debts of the club by an impressive amount of almost BGN 5 million. a step towards meeting the licensing criteria.

7. It’s the best number for us and that’s why I’m going to finish with it, although I can continue a lot. In the closing days of last year, “Levski” can finally boast a general sponsor. A special thanks to STRABAG and Palms Bet, who believed in the magnetic power of “Levski” and the benefit of publicity for the holy blue team. We promise not to disappoint them and together with them we will enter you, full of optimism, in 2021.

What’s next for the spring midseason?

The most important objective is to raise the sporting and technical level of the first team.

Let’s continue conversations with powerful companies that are currently negotiating for sponsorship and advertising, and bring it to a successful end.

To pay off the old debts of the club, accumulated before my arrival.

A crown in my efforts as a team owner is to unite all the fans in the “I am Levski” campaign. My ambitious goal is to have at least 100,000 members and thus FC “Levski” will be among the 5 clubs in Europe with the most official members. To achieve this goal, I am ready in 2021 to visit every corner of the country, because “Levski” is the team of the people. I have always said that “Levski” was created to succeed !!! Now is the time to assure you that we will build a strong and capable team of young Bulgarians (mainly our teenagers) and not many good and experienced foreign players. They have to play in front of packed stands, in a modernized stadium that meets the standards of a loving and demanding blue crowd.

Last but not least, my team and I will continue to work with full transparency.

At the end:

I want to express my gratitude to the coaching staff and all the players of our first team, to the support staff, to the coaches of DYUS, to the administration of PFC “Levski”, to the members of the Supervisory Board and the Council. Thanks to all the great and true Levski players who in the most difficult period in the history of our favorite club “Levski” were with us, with us and with their unconditional help and incessant love they helped the club not only not to go to bankruptcy, but also to get started. he stands up and shakes off the insurmountable burdens with which he is burdened.

The fight will continue in 2021. There is still much work to be done, but the path we have taken together is the right one.

On the eve of the brightest holidays, I wish all Levski players an insatiable blue flame in their souls and hearts, health, cohesion and faith to all Bulgarians, and to all people around the world, a speedy recovery from the insidious virus and return to normal life!

Let’s be alive, healthy, better and full of faith and strength!

Yours, Nasko Sirakov “.