Aston Villa`s captain Stiliyan Petrov and his family take their seats in the directors` box prior to their English Premier League soccer match against Chelsea at the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, Britain 31 March 2012. EPA/BGNES
Bulgarian fans will gather at the national stadium in downtown Sofia on April 19 to express their support for Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov, who was recently diagnosed with acute leukemia.
The date, as well as the time the event has been scheduled for (7:19 pm), is a tribute to Petrov's shirt number.
The event has been endorsed by Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova and Bulgarian Sports Minister Svilen Neykov, the BGNES news agency informs.
Numerous football players, officials and fans across Bulgaria and Europe have shown their support for the 32-year-old Bulgarian international.
Petrov has been playing for Villa since 2006, after seven seasons in Celtic; before that he played for CSKA Sofia and PFC Montana. He has 105 appearances and 8 goals for the Bulgarian national football team.