Levan Papava () is a Georgian footballer who plays as a forward for Erovnuli Liga 2 club Shturmi.
He is the four-time best goalscorer of the Erovnuli Liga 2 with three different clubs.
Career Papava started his professional career at Mark Stars in Meore Liga. In 2013–14, he displayed his goalscoring abilities for the first time, netting 21 times in 29 games during a season in which his team slipped up at the very end of a long promotion battle and finished just one point behind group leaders Borjomi.
In the summer of 2015, Papava moved to second-division side Gagra where he remained for next four seasons. His first success came a year later. With 13 goals scored in 14 league games, Papava became the top scorer of the 2016 season. He was a member of the squad that reached the cup final in 2018.
Following a year-long tenure at Guria, Papava joined Liga 3 club Spaeri in 2020. In his first season, he scored nearly half of the team goals (15 out of 31) while wearing a captain's armband. The next year saw Spaeri winning the league with Papava leading the goalscorers list with 23 goals in 26 matches. On 18 November 2021, he netted four in a 5–0 win over Kolkheti Khobi.
The player continued to extend his record as the most prolific marksman in 2022. As Spaeri came second in their debut season in Liga 2, Papava beat his rivals in a goalscoring race again with 18 goals. In a decisive play-off game held on 12 December 2022, Papava scored twice, added another in penalty shootout, although Spaeri failed to overcome Gagra.
In early 2023, Papava moved to 2nd division side Gareji. The club managed to make a historic achievement by winning the top-flight promotion in 2024. As a team captain, Papava took part in all 72 league games during this two-year period, bagging 50 goals in total. It included 13 goals in ten successive league games in the autumn of 2024. In addition, he played a key role in knocking out two Erovnuli Liga clubs, Samtredia and Dila, from the cup competition, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–0 demolition of the former.
After three consecutive individual achievements as a topscorer in the 2nd tier, Papava as well as his club made their Erovnuli Liga debut in a goalless draw against Dinamo Batumi on 6 March 2025. Ten days later, he netted a historic winner against Kolkheti 1913. Papava finished the season among the top five goalscorers with 11 league goals. Statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Mark Stars 2013–14 Meore Liga 2921–––2921 Algeti 2014–15 Pirveli Liga 286–––286Gagra 2015–16 Pirveli Liga 349–––349 2016 Pirveli Liga 141310––1513 2017 Erovnuli Liga 2 30510––315 2018 Erovnuli Liga 2 33540–20395Total 1113260002011932Spaeri 2020 Liga 3 181534––2119 2021 Liga 3 262322––2825 2022 Erovnuli Liga 2 311821–223521Total 75567700228465Gareji 2023 Erovnuli Liga 2 362320–234026 2024 Erovnuli Liga 2 362734––3931 2025 Erovnuli Liga 3511––223713Total 1076154004511670 Samgurali 2026 Erovnuli Liga 171–––Career total 36717718110087393195
Honours Club Gareji Erovnuli Liga 2 winner: 2024 Spaeri Liga 3 winner: 2021
Individual Pirveli Liga / Erovnuli Liga 2 topscorer: 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024
References
External links Soccerway
Profile on Erovnuli Liga