Association football

Galatasaray is hoping to repeat its success in Portugal seven years ago by beating Benfica in a Champions League Group C match to keep its chances of advancing to the knock-out stage, while group leader Atletico Madrid will look to build on its 4-0 demolition of Astana last time outA first European win in nearly two years has revived Galatasaray's Champions League Group C challenge and ensures

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona will visit Bulgaria next year to participate in the show celebrating the 50th birthday of one of the greatest Bulgarian footballers Hristo Stoichkov.

Stoichkov, who is the only Bulgarian to have been awarded the Ballon d'Or, is preparing a spectacular show for his birthday, the Bulgarian National Television informs.

Former Sunderland head coach Gus Poyet from Uruguay sealed his return to football with a deal to coach AEK Athens until the end of the season. The boss, sacked in March, has been linked with the vacant role at Aston Villa but ends up with AEK after the Greek Super League moved quick to sign a contract. He replaces Traianos Dellas who resigned last week.

A total of 1128 Bulgarian settlements will elect theiry mayors in run-offs after candidates failed to win majority at the first round of the local elections held on Sunday.

This was announced by the spokesperson of the Central Election Commission (CIK), Tsvetozar Tomov, on Tuesday.

Half of Bulgaria's regional centers will elect their mayors in run-offs on November 1 after the candidates failed to win majority at the first round of the local elections held on October 25.

In Plovdiv, Ivan Totev, the incumbent mayor and candidate of the largest ruling party GERB, will face Slavcho Atanasov, former mayor and candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF).

Turkey's biggest football rivalry will be renewed on Oct. 25 when Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, both buoyed by mid-week victories on the European stage, clash at the ?ükrü Saraço?lu in a Spor Toto Super League game.

The wife of a mayoral candidate in the village of Kamen, Southern Bulgaria, has been injured in a blast at the candidate's home, media reports suggest.

The device was reportedly attached to a stone and thrown into the house of Yordan Todorov on Thursday evening.

Galatasaray rebounded after conceding an early goal to beat Benfica with two first-half strikes on Oct. 21, reviving its Champions League hopes in Group C after a disappointing start to the campaign. 

The victory ended Galatasaray's 10-game winless streak in the Champions League.

At least 2000 supporters of Bulgaria's CSKA football club on took to the streets of downtown Sofia on Sunday to protest against what they describe as unfair policies applied to the team.

Barcelona is prepared to take its bid to register Turkey playmaker Arda Turan to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Spanish and European champion said on Oct. 14.