| Countries | Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Founded | 1924 (as BSFC) 1948 (as A RFG) |
| Divisions | 1 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | B PFG |
| Domestic cup(s) | Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup |
| International cup(s) | Champions League Europa League |
| Current champions | Litex Lovech (2010-2011) |
| Most championships | CSKA Sofia (31) |
| TV partners | BNT1, TV7 |
| Website | Official Site |
| 2011–12 A PFG | |
The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group (Bulgarian: "А" Професионална футболна група) commonly known as A PFG (Bulgarian: А ПФГ) is the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The league is sponsored by Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore is officially known as Victoria A Football Group (Bulgarian: Виктория "А" Футболна група) since 2011. A PFG determines the champion of Bulgaria and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the lower league B PFG. Seasons run from August to May. Sixteen teams take part in the league, each playing twice against all the other, once home and once away, totalling 240 matches in the season. Most matches are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with some played on Monday evenings. It is administered by the Bulgarian Professional Football League and the Bulgarian Football Union.
A total of 63 clubs have competed in A PFG. In season 2011/12, two teams had been for their first time in A PFG - Ludogorets Razgrad (East B PFG champions) and Svetkavitsa Targovishte (B PFG Play-off winners). The two most successful teams of A PFG are CSKA Sofia (31 championships) and Levski Sofia (26 championships). The current champions are Litex Lovech, who won their 4th title in the last season.
The champion of A PFG has the right to take part in the UEFA Champions League from the stage allowed by the league's coefficient. The teams that finish 2nd and 3rd in the final standings take part in the UEFA Europa League together with the Bulgarian Cup winner. The team that finish 14th in the final standings is entering a final play-off for remaining place in A PFG with the winner of the B PFG play-offs. The last two teams are directly relegated to the B PFG. The domestic cup for the league is the Bulgarian Cup. In every season, the teams in A PFG start participating in the competition from Round 2 (Round of 32).
Contents |
The following sixteen clubs will be competing in A PFG during the 2011/12 season.
The first football championship of Bulgaria started in 1924 and it is playing as a league format from 1948. An attempts to form a league as the top division of Bulgarian football league system are made in the period of 1937-1940 when it was created the National Football Division. There were 10 teams, each playing twice against all the other, once home and once away. The team that finished first in the table becomes a champion.
In the autumn of 1948 started the first season in history of the A Republican Football Group. In that season 10 teams were participating in the league - Levski, Septemvri, Lokomotiv, Slavia and Spartak from the capital city Sofia, Botev (Varna), Slavia (Plovdiv), Marek Stanke Dimitrov, Benkovski (Vidin) and Luybislav (Burgas). The first football champion of the A Republican Football Group is Levski in season 1948/49.
Season 1949/50 in A RFG didn't end. The league was stopped after the first fixture played in the championship. Then it was decided that the championship of Bulgaria will be played in the spring-autumn cycle like in the Soviet Union. In the autumn of 1949 were played qualification tournaments to determine the teams that will play in the next 1950 season. In the next two seasons the number of teams in the league was increased to 12, as for season 1953 the teams were 15 (the 16th team was the Bulgarian National Football Team). In seasons 1954 and 1955 the teams in the league were 14 and for seasons 1956 and 1957 - 10.
In 1958 the championship was stopped again like in 1948 after the spring half-season. New re-organizations were accepted and the league was again going to be played in the format autumn-spring. No matter that the teams were played just 1 match CDNA was crowned as the champion of Bulgaria.
There were many reforms in the league in the period of 1960 and 2000. And finally it was decided that the number of teams in A RFG is going to be 16.
The 52 years of traditions of the A Republican Football Group were finally broken at the doorstep of the new millеnium when the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Football Union decides to make brave reforms. The created in the autumn of 2000 Premier Professional Football League had 14 teams participating in it. At the end of season 2000/2001 the last two teams were directly relegated to the lower division and the team that finished 12th had the chance to compete in the promotion/relegation play-off for remaining place in the league.
With historical importance are the regulations for the next season - 2001/2002. The championship was divided into 2 phases. In the first phase the teams are playing a regular season, each team playing twice against all the other, once home and once away. The second phase was a play-off phase. The league is again divided into 2 subgroups. The teams finished at the positions of 1st to 6th are playing in a home and away format to determine the champion of Bulgaria and the rest of the teams that in the next season will play in the UEFA European club tournaments. The teams finished in the positions of 7th to 14th are playing again in a home and away format to determine the teams that will be relegated to the lower division. But this experiment was tested only in that season.
In the next season 2002/2003 the championship was with the same regulations as the format of the A RFG - 14 teams playing in a home and away format.
Returning to the traditions of A RFG was the creating of the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group. The regulations are well known - 16 teams playing in home-and-away format.
From season 2003/2004 to present A PFG is formed by 16 teams, each playing twice all the other, once home and once away. Only in the second half of season 2009/2010 the championship ended with 15 teams, because Botev (Plovdiv) had problems with their budget and didn't received license to continue playing in A PFG. The teams that were going to play against Botev (Plovdiv) had won their matches respectively with result of 3-0.
It is need to be clear that A RFG, the Premier League and the present A PFG are presented from the football history and statistics as the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group - the top level of Bulgarian football league system.
There is only one team which has finished a full season of A Professional Football Group without a loss. That is the most successful club in the history of A PFG - PFC CSKA Sofia. They finished with 24 wins and 6 draws out of 30 games in season 2007/2008 when they became champions for the record-breaking 31st time.
In the years of A PFG there were formed many derbies between teams. The two biggest derbies in Bulgarian football are known as The Eternal Derby (between PFC CSKA Sofia and PFC Levski Sofia) and The Plovdiv Derby (between Botev Plovdiv and Lokomotiv Plovdiv).
The top three positions in the final standings of A PFG are qualifing for the next season's UEFA competitions - UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The team finished 14th is entering a final play-off for remaining place in A PFG with the winner of the B PFG play-offs. The last two teams are directly relegated to B PFG.
European qualification (as for season 2011/12):
The Eternal Derby of Bulgarian football is formed by the two most successful clubs in Bulgaria - PFC CSKA Sofia and PFC Levski Sofia. On every match between the two teams no matter in which league or cup is, there is a fantastic fanatic atmosphere with thousands of fans supporting their favourite team.
130 matches have been played between the two clubs in A PFG. The wins for Levski Sofia are 53, while the wins for CSKA Sofia are 41. The drawn matches are 36. The goal difference is 191:175 for Levski Sofia.[1]
There are results, that will remain as a great success or a great failure in the clubs history. The biggest wins are with the results of 7:2 (17 November 1968) and 7:1 (23 September 1994) for Levski Sofia against CSKA Sofia. The biggest wins for CSKA Sofia are with 5:0 (23 September 1959 and 1 October 1989) and 4:0 (14 April 1957).
The highest attendance is registered on 11 March 1967, on the Vasil Levski National Stadium - 70,000 spectators (Levski Sofia 1:1 CSKA Sofia). The lowest attendance is only 8,000 spectators, on 26 May 2002, at the Balgarska Armiya Stadium (CSKA Sofia 1:0 Levski Sofia).
The Plovdiv Derby is the second largest football derby in Bulgaria, performed by the two historic clubs of the city, Botev Plovdiv and Lokomotiv Plovdiv. Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria and has the oldest football club in Bulgaria, Botev Plovdiv (1912).
The first match between the two teams in A PFG was in 1951 when Lokomotiv Plovdiv had won with 3-0. The biggest win for Lokomotiv is with 7:3 (8 September 1974), as the biggest win for Botev is with 5:0 in two times (season 1988/89 and season 1995/96). The last match that was played in A PFG between the teams ended with the result of 1:0 for Botev in 31 October 2009.
The games between the two teams are well known to the Bulgarian football community as well as to the police - after every game there are violent incidents with the supporters of the clubs. The atmosphere at those games is electric - comparable even to the best Latin American football derbies.
From 2000 to 2008 the Bulgarian National Television broadcasted all matches for the championship on its first channel - Kanal 1.
In 2008 the broadcasting rights were purchased by the private channels TV2 and Ring TV for 3 plus 2 years. BNT had the first pick for each fixture and had broadcasted the most interesting match for the weekend.
For the seasons 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 PRO.BG (the former TV2) and RING.BG (the former Ring TV) bought the rights to broadcast the full pack of 6 matches from each fixture.
At the end of season 2010/2011, after bTV bought PRO.BG, the channel was rebranded to bTV Action and got on broadcasting only on cable networks. The new owners didn't wanted to fully pay to every club in the league. The clubs weren't happy and they menaced to allow cameras at their matches from the league.
Days before the start of season 2011/2012 the private terrestrial channel TV7 bought the rights and will broadcast two matches per fixture. As like before 3 seasons the national television BNT1 got the first pick and its' broadcast the most interesting match for the fixture. The rest of the matches will be broadcasted live online in to the internet portals Topsport.bg, Livesport.bg, Bookmakers.bg and Sportline.bg.
Until 2011 the official sponsor of A PFG was the TBI Credit and the league was officially known as TBI A Football Group.
From season 2011/12 A PFG has new sponsor - the Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore the league name is Victoria A Football Group.
The bolded teams play in the 2011/12 season of "A" PFG. The teams in italics no longer exist.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Sofia |
|
|
1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2008 |
| Levski Sofia |
|
|
1933, 1937, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
| Slavia Sofia |
|
|
1928, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1996 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia |
|
|
1940, 1945, 1964, 1978 |
| Litex Lovech |
|
|
1998, 1999, 2010, 2011 |
| Vladislav Varna |
|
|
1925, 1926, 1934 |
| Botev Plovdiv |
|
|
1929, 1967 |
| Ticha Varna |
|
|
1938 |
| AS 23 Sofia |
|
|
1931 |
| Spartak Varna |
|
|
1932 |
| Sportclub Sofia |
|
|
1935 |
| Spartak Plovdiv |
|
|
1963 |
| Beroe Stara Zagora |
|
|
1986 |
| Etar Veliko Tarnovo |
|
|
1991 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
|
|
2004 |
The following table lists the Bulgarian champions by cities.
| City | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Sofia |
|
CSKA Sofia (31), Levski Sofia (26), Slavia Sofia (7), Lokomotiv Sofia (4), AS 23 Sofia (1), Sportclub Sofia (1) |
| Varna |
|
Vladislav Varna (3), Ticha Varna (1), Spartak Varna (1) |
| Plovdiv |
|
Botev Plovdiv (2), Lokomotiv Plovdiv (1), Spartak Plovdiv (1) |
| Lovech |
|
Litex Lovech (4) |
| Stara Zagora |
|
Beroe Stara Zagora (1) |
| Veliko Tarnovo |
|
Etar Veliko Tarnovo (1) |
| Pos. | Team | N | S | G | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | 1º | 2º | 3º |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CSKA Sofia | 1st | 63 | 1782 | 1089 | 405 | 288 | 3740 | 1592 | 2583 | 31 | 20 | 5 |
| 2 | Levski Sofia | 1st | 63 | 1782 | 1061 | 421 | 300 | 3525 | 1596 | 2543 | 21 | 25 | 8 |
| 3 | Slavia Sofia | 1st | 62 | 1760 | 771 | 425 | 564 | 2681 | 2043 | 1967 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 1st | 60 | 1705 | 726 | 428 | 551 | 2506 | 2044 | 1880 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Botev Plovdiv | 2nd | 57 | 1625 | 620 | 378 | 627 | 2359 | 2299 | 1618 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 1st | 50 | 1464 | 570 | 339 | 555 | 2019 | 2007 | 1479 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Cherno More Varna | 1st | 47 | 1343 | 467 | 349 | 527 | 1599 | 1736 | 1283 | – | – | 2 |
| 8 | Beroe Stara Zagora | 1st | 44 | 1291 | 419 | 295 | 577 | 1565 | 1958 | 1133 | 1 | – | 1 |
| 9 | Spartak Varna | 2nd | 43 | 1202 | 378 | 270 | 554 | 1385 | 1829 | 1026 | – | – | 2 |
| 10 | Minyor Pernik | 1st | 36 | 995 | 317 | 231 | 447 | 1120 | 1505 | 865 | – | – | – |
| 11 | Spartak Pleven | 3rd | 35 | 994 | 314 | 245 | 435 | 1150 | 1511 | 873 | – | – | 1 |
| 12 | Chernomorets Burgas | 1st | 29 | 866 | 277 | 188 | 401 | 1057 | 1410 | 742 | – | – | – |
| 13 | Botev Vratsa | 1st | 26 | 788 | 273 | 170 | 345 | 1002 | 1171 | 716 | – | – | 1 |
| 14 | Litex Lovech | 1st | 16 | 478 | 285 | 95 | 98 | 877 | 427 | 665 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Etar Veliko Tarnovo | 2nd | 24 | 726 | 264 | 161 | 301 | 951 | 1043 | 689 | 1 | – | 2 |
| 16 | Marek Dupnitsa | 3rd | 28 | 806 | 246 | 172 | 388 | 906 | 1303 | 664 | – | – | 1 |
| 17 | OFC Sliven 2000 | 2nd | 25 | 750 | 246 | 164 | 340 | 906 | 1109 | 656 | – | – | – |
| 18 | Dunav Ruse | 3rd | 25 | 699 | 220 | 172 | 307 | 747 | 1064 | 612 | – | – | – |
| 19 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 3rd | 23 | 688 | 220 | 167 | 301 | 743 | 934 | 607 | – | – | – |
| 20 | Akademic Sofia | 2nd | 18 | 505 | 163 | 136 | 206 | 589 | 676 | 462 | – | – | 2 |
| 21 | Spartak Plovdiv | 2nd | 17 | 441 | 158 | 121 | 162 | 562 | 581 | 437 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 22 | Spartak Sofia | N.E. | 15 | 377 | 135 | 124 | 118 | 456 | 416 | 394 | – | 2 | – |
| 23 | Neftochimic Burgas | 2nd | 12 | 356 | 154 | 72 | 130 | 534 | 420 | 380 | – | 1 | – |
| 24 | Dobrudzha Dobrich | 2nd | 14 | 414 | 126 | 82 | 206 | 448 | 682 | 334 | – | – | – |
| 25 | Belasitsa Petrich | 3rd | 12 | 368 | 116 | 68 | 184 | 377 | 590 | 300 | – | – | – |
| 26 | Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 3rd | 9 | 268 | 95 | 48 | 125 | 280 | 390 | 238 | – | – | – |
| 27 | Velbazhd Kyustendil | 3rd | 7 | 201 | 98 | 27 | 76 | 299 | 269 | 223 | – | – | 3 |
The national league rankings for the 2012/13 season of UEFA competitions is based upon results in UEFA competitions from the 2007/08 through 2011/12 seasons.
Current Bulgarian A PFG ranking (2012)
A PFG has over 20 active referees that are available for matches as for season 2011/12. Only 7 of them are fully certified international FIFA referees. They are: Anton Genov, Angel Angelov, Stanislav Todorov, Georgi Yordanov, Tsvetan Georgiev, Nikolay Yordanov and Alexander Kostadinov. There are other 9 assistant referees that are fully certified international FIFA referees.
| Year | Topscorer(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Krum Milev | Slavia Sofia | 12 |
| 1939 | Georgi Pachedzhiev | AS 23 Sofia | 14 |
| 1940 | Yanko Stoyanov Dimitar Nikolaev |
Levski Sofia FK 13 Sofia |
14 |
| 1949 | Dimitar Milanov Nedko Nedev |
CSKA Sofia Cherno More Varna |
11 |
| 1950 | Lyubomir Hranov | Levski Sofia | 13 |
| 1951 | Dimitar Milanov | CSKA Sofia | 14 |
| 1952 | Dimitar Isakov Dobromir Tashkov |
Slavia Sofia Spartak Sofia |
10 |
| 1953 | Dimitar Minchev | Spartak Pleven; VVS Sofia | 15 |
| 1954 | Dobromir Tashkov | Slavia Sofia | 25 |
| 1955 | Todor Diev | Spartak Plovdiv | 13 |
| 1956 | Pavel Vladimirov | Minyor Pernik | 16 |
| 1957 | Hristo Iliev Dimitar Milanov |
Levski Sofia CSKA Sofia |
14 |
| 1958 | Dobromir Tashkov Georgi Arnaudov |
Slavia Sofia Spartak Varna |
9 |
| 1959 | Aleksandar Vasilev | Slavia Sofia | 13 |
| 1960 | Dimitar Yordanov Lyuben Kostov |
Levski Sofia Spartak Varna |
12 |
| 1961 | Ivan Sotirov | Botev Plovdiv | 20 |
| 1962 | Nikola Yordanov Todor Diev |
Dunav Ruse Spartak Plovdiv |
23 |
| 1963 | Todor Diev | Spartak Plovdiv | 26 |
| 1964 | Nikola Tsanev | CSKA Sofia | 26 |
| 1965 | Georgi Asparuhov | Levski Sofia | 27 |
| 1966 | Traycho Spasov | Marek Dupnitsa | 21 |
| 1967 | Petar Zhekov | Beroe Stara Zagora | 21 |
| 1968 | Petar Zhekov | Beroe Stara Zagora | 31 |
| 1969 | Petar Zhekov | CSKA Sofia | 36 |
| 1970 | Petar Zhekov | CSKA Sofia | 31 |
| 1971 | Dimitar Yakimov | CSKA | 26 |
| 1972 | Petar Zhekov | CSKA Sofia | 27 |
| 1973 | Petar Zhekov | CSKA Sofia | 29 |
| 1974 | Petko Petkov Kiril Milanov |
Beroe Stara Zagora Levski Sofia |
19 |
| 1975 | Ivan Pritargov | Botev Plovdiv | 20 |
| 1976 | Petko Petkov Pavel Panov |
Beroe Stara Zagora Levski Sofia |
18 |
| 1977 | Pavel Panov | Levski Sofia | 20 |
| 1978 | Stoycho Mladenov | Beroe Stara Zagora | 21 |
| 1979 | Rusi Gochev | Chernomorets Burgas and Levski Sofia | 19 |
| 1980 | Spas Dzhevizov | CSKA Sofia | 23 |
| 1981 | Georgi Slavkov | Botev Plovdiv | 31 |
| 1982 | Mihail Valchev | Levski Sofia | 24 |
| 1983 | Antim Pehlivanov | Botev | 20 |
| 1984 | Eduard Eranosyan Emil Spasov |
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Levski Sofia |
19 |
| 1985 | Plamen Getov | Spartak Pleven | 26 |
| 1986 | Atanas Pashev | Botev Plovdiv | 30 |
| 1987 | Nasko Sirakov | Levski Sofia | 36 |
| 1988 | Nasko Sirakov | Levski Sofia | 28 |
| 1989 | Hristo Stoichkov | CSKA Sofia | 23 |
| 1990 | Hristo Stoichkov | CSKA Sofia | 38 |
| 1991 | Ivaylo Yordanov | Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa | 21 |
| 1992 | Nasko Sirakov | Levski Sofia | 26 |
| 1993 | Plamen Getov | Levski Sofia | 26 |
| 1994 | Nasko Sirakov | Levski Sofia | 30 |
| 1995 | Petar Mihtarski | CSKA Sofia | 24 |
| 1996 | Ivo Georgiev | Spartak Varna | 21 |
| 1997 | Todor Pramatarov | Slavia Sofia | 26 |
| 1998 | Anton Spasov Bontcho Guentchev |
Naftex Burgas CSKA Sofia |
17 |
| 1999 | Dimcho Belyakov | Litex Lovech | 21 |
| 2000 | Mihail Mihaylov | Velbazhd Kyustendil | 20 |
| 2001 | Georgi Ivanov |
Levski Sofia |
22 |
| 2002 | Vladimir Manchev | CSKA Sofia | 21 |
| 2003 | Georgi Chilikov | Levski Sofia | 23 |
| 2004 | Martin Kamburov | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 26 |
| 2005 | Martin Kamburov | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 27 |
| 2006 | Milivoje Novakovič Jose Emilio Furtado |
Litex Lovech Vihren and CSKA Sofia |
16 |
| 2007 | Tsvetan Genkov | Lokomotiv Sofia | 27 |
| 2008 | Georgi Hristov | Botev Plovdiv | 19 |
| 2009 | Martin Kamburov | Lokomotiv Sofia | 17 |
| 2010 | Wilfried Niflore | Litex Lovech | 19 |
| 2011 | Garra Dembele | Levski Sofia | 26 |
| Rank | Player | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petar Zhekov | 253 | |
| 2 | Nasko Sirakov | 195 | |
| 3 | Dinko Dermendzhiev | 194 | |
| 4 | Hristo Bonev | 185 | |
| 5 | Plamen Getov | 164 | |
| 6 | Nikola Kotkov | 163 | |
| 7 | Stefan Bogomilov | 162 | |
| 8 | Petar Mihtarski | 158 | |
| 9 | Petko Petkov | 152 | |
| 10 | Dimitar Yakimov | 151 | |
| In bold Currently playing in A Group | |||
| Rank | Player | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marin Bakalov | 454 | |
| 2 | Dinko Dermendzhiev | 447 | |
| 3 | Viden Apostolov | 444 | |
| 4 | Todor Marev | 422 | |
| 5 | Hristo Bonev | 410 | |
| 6 | Zapryan Rakov | 403 | |
| 7 | Malin Orachev | 398 | |
| 8 | Dimitar Mladenov | 388 | |
| 9 | Bozhil Kolev | 373 | |
| 10 | Dobromir Zhechev | 369 | |
| In bold Currently playing in A Group | |||
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