Bulgarian A Football Group

For other sports leagues which may be referred to by this name, see List of professional sports leagues.

A Football Group

Country	Bulgaria
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1924 (as BSFC) 1948 (as A RFG)
Divisions	1
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	B Group
Domestic cup(s)	Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	Ludogorets Razgrad (4th) (2014–2015)
Most championships	CSKA Sofia (31)
TV partners	Nova, Diema Nova Sport, Diema Sport
Website	a-pfg.com
2015–16 season

The Bulgarian A Football Group (Bulgarian: "А" Футболна Група), commonly known as A Group (Bulgarian: А Група), is a Bulgarian professional league for association football clubs and is the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. A Group determines the champion of Bulgaria and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the second tier of the Bulgarian football league pyramid – B Group. Currently, it is contested by fourteen teams and the competition is formed by a regular season and playoffs. Seasons run from late July to May in the following year with a winter break, which usually lasts two months. Each team must play at least two times against every other team on a home-away basis. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with some played during weekday evenings, mainly on Friday and Monday. The TV rights are owned by Nova Broadcasting Group and the matches are broadcast live on their channels Nova, Diema, Nova Sport and Diema Sport.

The Bulgarian football championship was inaugurated in 1924 as BSFC and it has been playing as a league format since 1948 when the present A Group was created. It is administered by the Bulgarian Professional Football League and the Bulgarian Football Union. The champion of A Group has the right to take part in the UEFA Champions League from the stage allowed by the league's coefficient. The two UEFA Europa League spots for the league are for the second and third teams in the final standings. The last four teams are directly relegated to B Group. All teams qualify for the domestic cup – the Bulgarian Cup. In every season, the teams in A Group start participating in the competition from Round 2 (Round of 32) in the middle of November.

A total of 66 clubs have competed in A Group. In the last couple of seasons, many teams such as the current champions Ludogorets made their debuts in the league. In the 2013–14 season, PFC Lyubimets became the last 66th club in that table. Since 1948, eleven teams have been crowned champions of Bulgaria. The three most successful clubs are CSKA Sofia (thirty-one championships), Levski Sofia (twenty-six championships) and Slavia Sofia (seven championships). The current champions are Ludogorets Razgrad, who won their 4th championship title in their 4th A Group season.

History

Bulgarian State Football Championship

Main article: Bulgarian State Football Championship

The first football championship of Bulgaria started in 1924 with a knockout format. An attempt to form a league as the top division of the Bulgarian football league system was made in 1937–1940, when the National Football Division was created. There were 10 teams, each playing twice against all the others, once home and once away. The team that finished first in the table became champions.

A Republican Football Group

The first season of the A Republican Football Group started in the autumn of 1948. In that season, ten teams participated in the league: Levski, Septemvri, Lokomotiv, Slavia and Spartak from the capital city Sofia, and Botev (Varna), Slavia (Plovdiv), Marek Stanke Dimitrov, Benkovski (Vidin) and Luybislav (Burgas). The first football champion of the A Republican Football Group was Levski in 1948–49.

The 1949/50 season in the A Group was not completed. The league was stopped after the first fixture. It was then decided that the championship of Bulgaria would be played in a spring-autumn cycle as in the Soviet Union. In the autumn of 1949, qualification tournaments were played to determine the teams that would play in the next 1950 season. In the next two seasons the number of teams in the league was increased to 12, and for the 1953 season there were 15 teams (the 16th team was the Bulgarian National Football Team). In seasons 1954 and 1955 there were 14 teams in the league, and in seasons 1956 and 1957 there were 10.

In 1958, the championship was again stopped after the spring half-season, as had happened in 1948. New re-organizations were accepted and the league was again going to be played in the autumn-spring format. Despite the fact that the teams had played just 1 match, CDNA was crowned as the champion of Bulgaria.

The frequent changes in the number of teams in A Group continued in the 1960s. In the first two seasons after the reforms in 1958, the number of teams in the league was 12, in the period 1960–1962 – 14, until season 1967/68, when the teams were 16.

There were new reforms at the end of the 1960s. There were many mergers between Bulgarian clubs. The most-famous are between CSKA Red Flag and Septemvri Sofia in CSKA September Flag, the capital teams Levski and Spartak in Levski-Spartak, Lokomotiv and Slavia in Slavia, the Plovdiv teams Botev, Spartak and Academic in Trakiya. Mergers happened between other Bulgarian clubs too. These mergers between clubs and reforms in A Group where made at the winter break of the 1968/69 season and after that A Group began to look like "a punctured bag".

After the winter reforms in 1968 until 2000, A Group remained with 16 teams, except in seasons 1971/72 and 1972/73, when 18 teams competed in the league.

Premier Professional Football League

The 52 years of traditions of the A Republican Football Group were finally broken at the doorstep of the new millеnnium when the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Football Union decided to make reforms. The Premier Professional Football League, created in the autumn of 2000, had 14 teams participating in it. At the end of the 2000/01 season, 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 the remaining place in the league. Levski Sofia became champions in the first season of the Premier League. They finished with 22 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss in 26 games. They were followed by CSKA Sofia (2nd) and Velbazhd (3rd). The relegated teams were Botev and Minyor.

In the 2001/02 season there was experimentation with the regulations. The championship was divided into two phases. In the first phase the teams played a regular season, each team playing twice against all the others, once home and once away. The second phase was a play-off phase. The league was again divided into 2 subgroups. The teams who finished from 1st to 6th played in a home and away format to determine the champion of Bulgaria and the other teams that would play in the UEFA European club tournaments the following season. The teams from 7th to 14th played in a home and away format to determine the teams that would be relegated to the lower division. Levski were again the champions in 2001/02, finishing with 56 points. The UEFA Cup spots were filled by Litex Lovech and CSKA Sofia. The relegated teams were Spartak Pleven, Belasitsa and Beroe. But this experiment was tested only in that season.

In the following season, 2002/03, the championship returned to the regulations of 2000/01 – 14 teams playing in a home and away format. For the first time in 6 years, CSKA Sofia became champions: they were 6 points ahead of their biggest rivals, Levski. Dobrudzha and Rilski Sportist were relegated after just one season.

Bulgarian A Professional Football Group

The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group was created in 2003, returning to the traditions of A Republican Football Group. The group was formed by 16 teams, each playing twice against all the others, once home and once away. In the first season of the newly created A Group, the 2003/04 season, for the first time in history, Lokomotiv Plovdiv became champions, finishing with 75 points. In 2004/05, CSKA Sofia won A Group for the 30th time. For the next two seasons, Levski Sofia became champions under manager Stanimir Stoilov. From 2005/2006 the league's name has been A Football Group. In 2007/08, CSKA became champions of A Group for a record-breaking 31st time without a loss out of 30 matches. But in the summer, UEFA didn't give a license for the club to play in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds and Levski Sofia entered to play in the tournament instead of CSKA. In the following season Levski Sofia won their last A Group title, finishing just one point ahead of CSKA. Later on, two years in a row Litex Lovech won another 2 titles like in 1997/98 and 1998/99. In 2011/12, after winning promotion from B Group, Ludogorets Razgrad became the second team after Litex to win the A Group in their first season.

A Republican Football Group, the Premier Professional Football League and the present A Group are all presented in football history and statistics as the Bulgarian A Football Group – the top level of the Bulgarian football league system.

Competition format

As of the 2013–14 season, the number of teams competing in A Group has been reduced from sixteen to fourteen. The championship is divided into two stages. In the first stage, the regular season, each team must play two times against the other thirteen teams on a home-away basis until each team has played with each of the other teams twice, for a subtotal of 26 matches per team. In the second stage, the playoffs, the top seven teams and the bottom seven are divided into two subgroups, which are to play twice with each of their respective group rivals, again on a home-away basis, for a subtotal of 12 games per team. The top seven teams determine the champion of Bulgaria as well as the teams eligible to play in the European tournaments because of their position at the end of the season. The bottom seven determine the four teams that are to be relegated to B Group for season 2014–15. The total number of games each team have to play is 38.

Three points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. A club's place in the league table is determined by the number of points it has earned during the season. If two or more teams have equal points in the standings of A Group, the team with the better aggregate result form the head-to-head matches is placed higher. If some of the teams are tied in the aggregate result, the number of head-to-head away goals between those teams are considered. If tied again, the team with the better goal difference in the season is placed higher. If those teams have the same goal difference, the one with more goals scored during the season concerned is placed higher. If tied again, teams are positioned by "sportsmanship" – the one with fewer red cards (and if equal – fewer yellow cards) is placed higher. In the case where teams are tied again, their position is determined by a draw.

As of the 2014–15 season, the number of teams competing in A Group has been reduced to twelve so only two teams are to be promoted to the top division from B Group.

The top three positions in the final standings of A Group qualify for the following season's UEFA competitions – the champion (first place) advances to the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds and the teams that finish 2nd and 3rd in the final standings – to the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. The league operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system – B Group. In season 2013/14 the last four teams are directly relegated. Typically, seasons start in August, and end in May or June of the following year. However, because of the two stages, season 2013–2014 began on 20 July 2013.

European qualification (as for season 2013–14):

• First place: Second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
• Second place: First qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
• Third place: First qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
• Bulgarian Cup winner: Second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
  • If the Bulgarian Cup winner qualifies for European competition through the league, the Bulgarian Cup winner's place in the UEFA Europa League goes to the runner-up in the Bulgarian Cup final, if that team has as well not already qualified for European competition through their league standing.
    • In the latter case, the third position for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Europa League tournament goes to the fourth standing team of Bulgaria's top football division.

Clubs

From the creation of A Group in 1948, 65 clubs have competed in the top level of the Bulgarian football league system. In the last couple of seasons many of them, just like the current champions Ludogorets made their debut in the league. In season 2011/12, PFC Svetkavitsa competed for the first time but relegated in the same season after finishing at the bottom of the table, and in the last 2012/13 season PFC Pirin from Gotse Delchev who remained place in the league after finishing 11th. In the coming season, PFC Lyubimets will become the 66th club that have been part of the top division.

Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia are the only two teams to have never been relegating from A group since the inception of round robin format in 1948. They played in all 67 seasons of the A PFG, with a dispute for the latter. (Slavia Sofia, as runners-up, in 1950 was separated in two teams – Udarnik Sofia (something like Slavia A) – sent in B group and Stroitel Sofia (something like Slavia B) – in A group, both members of same sports society (then DFS organization). Slavia inherited the accounts of Stroitel in A group for 1951 and the accounts of Udarnik for the next seasons until the unification of the team in 1953. Thus, it is very unclear and disputed on whether Slavia Sofia collects maximum number of seasons in A group or not. Most of statistics display 1 season outside A group for Slavia, despite the club never being relegated.)

A Group members for season 2014–15

The following twelve clubs will compete in A Group during the 2014–15 season.

• Ludogorets (Razgrad) – 2013–14 A Group champions.
• Marek (Dupnitsa) – 2013–14 B Group champions.
• Haskovo – 2013–14 B Group runner-up.

Club	Finishing position in 2013/14	First season in top division	First season after most recent promotion	Stadium
Beroe (Stara Zagora)	7th	1954	2009–10	Beroe Stadium
Botev (Plovdiv)	4th	1937–38	2012–13	Hristo Botev Stadium
Cherno More (Varna)	6th	1937–38	2000–01	Ticha Stadium
CSKA (Sofia)	2nd	1948–49	1948–49	Balgarska Armiya Stadium
Levski (Sofia)	5th	1937–38	1937–38	Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
Litex (Lovech)	3rd	1994–95	1997–98	Lovech Stadium
Lokomotiv (Plovdiv)	7th	1938–39	2001–02	Lokomotiv Stadium (Plovdiv)
Lokomotiv (Sofia)	10th	1939–40	1971–72	Lokomotiv Stadium (Sofia)
Ludogorets (Razgrad)	1st	2011–12	2011–12	Ludogorets Arena
Marek (Dupnitsa)	1st in 2013/14 B Group	1957	2014–15	Bonchuk Stadium
Haskovo	2nd in 2013/14 B Group	1978–79	2014–15	Haskovo Stadium
Slavia (Sofia)	9th	1937–38	1952	Slavia Stadium

List of champions

Main article: List of Bulgarian football champions

Performances

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Years
CSKA Sofia	31	22	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	26	31	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	7	10	1928, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1996
Lokomotiv Sofia	4	6	1940, 1945, 1964, 1978
Litex Lovech	4	1	1998, 1999, 2010, 2011
Ludogorets Razgrad	4	–	2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Vladislav Varna	3	4	1925, 1926, 1934
Botev Plovdiv	2	2	1929, 1967
Spartak Varna	1	2	1932
Ticha Varna	1	2	1938
Spartak Plovdiv	1	1	1963
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	1	1	2004
Beroe Stara Zagora	1	1	1986
Etar Veliko Tarnovo	1	–	1991
Atletic Slava 1923 Sofia	1	–	1931
Sportklub Sofia	1	–	1935

Notes:

• Cherno More Varna was created after Vladislav Varna and Ticha Varna merged.
• Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the top division.
• Italics indicates clubs no longer exist.

The A Group Trophy as of 2005

Performance by city

The following table lists the Bulgarian champions by cities.

City / Town	Titles	Winning Clubs
Sofia	70	CSKA (31), Levski (26), Slavia (7), Lokomotiv (4), Atletic Slava 1923 (1), Sportklub (1)
Varna	5	Vladislav (3), Ticha (1), Spartak (1)
Plovdiv	4	Botev (2), Lokomotiv (1), Spartak (1)
Lovech	4	Litex (4)
Razgrad	4	Ludogorets (4)
Stara Zagora	1	Beroe (1)
Veliko Tarnovo	1	Etar (1)

Notes:

• Cherno More Varna was created after Vladislav Varna and Ticha Varna merged.
• Italics indicates clubs no longer exist.

A Group All-time ranking 1948–2015

• Clubs marked in Bold are participating in the 2015–16 season.

Pos.	Team	N	S	G	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	1º	2º	3º
1	CSKA Sofia	3rd	66	1912	1161	433	314	3955	1678	3159	31	22	6
2	Levski Sofia	1st	67	1912	1139	438	335	3770	1716	3143	26	31	9
3	Slavia Sofia	1st	66	1890	826	451	613	2860	2198	2383	7	10	10
4	Lokomotiv Sofia	4th	63	1835	770	460	605	2644	2215	2279	4	3	10
5	Botev Plovdiv	1st	60	1725	668	401	656	2505	2391	1916	2	2	10
6	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	1st	54	1594	621	363	609	2177	2187	1836	1	1	4
7	Cherno More Varna	1st	51	1473	521	378	572	1760	1869	1599	–	–	2
8	Beroe Stara Zagora	1st	48	1421	477	326	618	1732	2092	1419	1	1	1
9	Litex Lovech	1st	20	608	354	123	131	1113	552	1149	4	1	3
10	Spartak Varna	N.E.	43	1202	378	270	554	1385	1829	1144	–	–	2
11	Minyor Pernik	3rd	38	1055	330	248	477	1175	1594	1000	–	–	–
12	Spartak Pleven	3rd	35	994	314	245	435	1150	1511	886	–	–	1
13	Chernomorets	N.E.	29	866	277	188	401	1057	1410	775	–	–	–
14	Botev Vratsa	2nd	28	848	288	185	375	1055	1266	774	–	–	1
15	Etar Veliko Tarnovo	Y.A.	24	726	264	161	301	951	1043	731	1	–	2
16	Marek Dupnitsa	4th	29	838	251	177	410	920	1374	737	–	–	1
17	Sliven 2000	3rd	25	750	246	164	340	906	1109	675	–	–	–
18	Pirin	1st	23	688	220	167	301	743	934	650	–	–	–
19	Dunav Ruse	2nd	25	699	220	172	307	747	1064	609	–	–	–
20	Neftochimic Burgas	N.E.	13	394	161	76	157	560	512	538	–	1	–
21	Akademik Sofia	4th	18	505	163	136	206	589	676	467	–	–	2
22	Spartak Plovdiv	3rd	17	441	158	121	162	562	581	455	1	1	–
23	Dobrudzha Dobrich	2nd	14	414	126	82	206	448	682	411	–	–	–
24	Spartak Sofia	N.E.	15	377	135	124	118	456	416	394	–	1	–
25	Belasitsa Petrich	3rd	12	368	116	68	184	377	590	360	–	–	–
26	Chernomorets Burgas	3rd	7	218	92	53	73	288	223	329	–	–	–
27	Velbazhd Kyustendil	3rd	7	201	98	27	76	299	269	314	–	–	3
28	Ludogorets Razgrad	1st	5	130	87	28	15	268	73	289	4	–	–
29	Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa	2nd	9	268	95	48	125	280	390	259	–	–	–
30	Montana	1st	7	210	55	48	107	212	321	213	–	–	–
31	Shumen 2010	N.E.	7	212	61	38	113	219	368	201	–	–	–
32	Pirin Blagoevgrad	N.E.	6	178	53	41	84	189	254	200	–	–	–
33	Yantra Gabrovo	3rd	7	214	65	50	99	239	332	174	–	–	–
34	Vihren Sandanski	3rd	4	118	38	14	66	117	173	128	–	–	–
35	Haskovo	4th	7	212	52	31	129	210	400	139	–	–	–
36	Vidima-Rakovski	3rd	5	150	28	36	86	126	271	120	–	–	–
37	Rodopa Smolyan	4th	4	118	31	17	70	106	194	110	–	–	–
38	Akademik Svishtov	3rd	4	120	36	26	58	136	195	97	–	–	–
39	Maritsa Plovdiv	3rd	4	120	28	25	67	129	225	89	–	–	–
40	Tundzha Yambol	3rd	3	97	28	22	47	98	152	78	–	–	–
41	Zavod 12 Sofia	N.E.	3	74	23	27	24	72	80	73	–	–	–
42	Metalurg Pernik	4th	2	58	22	6	30	60	77	72	–	–	–
43	Hebar Pazardzhik	N.E.	3	86	20	21	45	85	141	68	–	–	–
44	Lokomotiv Mezdra	N.E.	2	60	17	13	30	69	89	64	–	–	–
45	Pirin Gotse Delchev	3rd	2	68	16	8	44	62	148	56	–	–	–
46	Septemvri Sofia	3rd	3	78	16	20	42	101	160	56	–	–	–
47	VVS Sofia	N.E.	2	54	13	21	20	60	63	47	–	–	–
48	Stroitel Sofia	N.E.	2	50	13	18	19	47	53	44	–	–	–
49	Kaliakra Kavarna	3rd	2	60	10	11	39	45	117	41	–	–	–
50	Cherveno Zname Sofia	N.E.	2	40	13	13	14	46	50	39	–	–	–
51	Rilski Sportist	4th	2	56	11	6	39	51	116	39	–	–	–
52	Olimpik Teteven	4th	1	30	11	2	17	26	50	35	–	–	–
53	Rakovski Ruse	N.E.	2	60	9	6	45	41	151	33	–	–	–
54	Torpedo Pleven	N.E.	3	66	9	14	43	48	137	32	–	–	–
55	Akademik Varna	N.E.	1	28	9	7	12	26	43	25	–	–	–
56	Lyubimets	3rd	1	38	6	3	29	35	104	21	–	–	–
57	Dimitrovgrad	3rd	1	30	8	6	16	32	66	21	–	–	–
58	Himik Dimitrovgrad	N.E.	1	30	7	6	17	36	60	20	–	–	–
59	Nesebar	3rd	1	30	5	5	20	26	63	20	–	–	–
60	Rozova Dolina	3rd	1	30	7	5	18	30	53	19	–	–	–
61	Sportist Svoge	3rd	1	30	5	4	21	23	59	19	–	–	–
62	Slavia Plovdiv	N.E.	1	18	4	8	6	16	21	16	–	–	–
63	Pavlikeni	3rd	1	26	5	4	17	12	45	14	–	–	–
64	Etar 1924	N.E.	1	30	4	4	22	20	75	13	–	–	–
65	Bdin Vidin	3rd	1	18	2	4	12	13	35	8	–	–	–
66	Svetkavitsa	3rd	1	30	1	5	24	8	71	8	–	–	–
67	Chernomorets Burgas Sofia	N.E.	1	30	0	1	29	8	131	−2	–	–	–

• N.E. – Club currently doesn't exist.
• Y.A. – Club currently have only youth academy.

The Derbies

There are a few matches in the Bulgarian football, that can be called derby matches. Of course the matches between the two most successful clubs in the history of Bulgarian football, CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia are called as the Eternal Derby. The second largest city in Bulgaria Plovdiv – "The Plovdiv Derby" between Botev and Lokomotiv. Other derby matches with teams from one city are: The derby of the third largest city Varna – "The Varna Derby" between Spartak and Cherno More from Varna and "The Burgas Derby'" between Chernomorets and Neftochimic from Burgas.

In the years of A Group were formed many derby matches with big clubs participating in them, usually between teams aiming for the championship title. Those are the matches between Levski Sofia, CSKA Sofia, Litex Lovech and Ludogorets Razgrad. The oldest Sofia derby is Levski against Slavia.

The Eternal Derby

The Eternal Derby of Bulgarian football is contested by the two most successful clubs in Bulgaria – CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia. On every match between the two teams no matter in which league or cup is, there is a fantastic atmosphere with thousands of fans supporting their favourite team.

Over 130 matches have been played between the two teams in A Group, with Levski Sofia having the upper hand.

The biggest derby wins have been 7:2 (17 November 1968) and 7:1 (23 September 1994) for Levski. The biggest wins for CSKA Sofia were 5:0 (23 September 1953 and 1 October 1989) and 4:0 (14 April 1957).

The highest attendance was on 11 March 1967, at the Vasil Levski National Stadium – 70,000 spectators (Levski Sofia 1:1 CSKA Sofia). The lowest attendance is 8,000 spectators, on 18 November 1995, at the Vasil Levski National Stadium (Levski Sofia 3:1 CSKA Sofia).

The Plovdiv Derby

The second largest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv also has football derby in Bulgaria, The Plovdiv Derby, performed by the two historic clubs of the city, Botev and Lokomotiv.

The first match between the two teams in A Group was in 1951 when Lokomotiv Plovdiv won 3–0. The biggest win for Lokomotiv was 7:3 (8 September 1974), and the biggest win for Botev is 5:0 twice, in season 1988/89 and in season 1995/96.

The two teams are the most supported ones in the second largest city in Bulgaria – Plovdiv – and the games between them are well known to the Bulgarian football community, and is one of the fiercest rivalries in the world. Botev is one the country's oldest teams, whereas Lokomotiv grew popular in the 70s. Traditionally, Lokomotiv's drew support from the lower working classes of society whereas Botev drew support form the middle and upper classes, although that no longer applies.

Broadcasting

Georgi Hristov and Slavia against Nikolay Bodurov and Litex in a 2011 A Group match.

From 2000 to 2008 the Bulgarian National Television broadcast all matches from A Group on its first channel – Kanal 1.

In 2008, the broadcasting rights were purchased by the private channels TV2 and Ring TV for three plus 2 years for the price of $33 million. BNT had the first pick for each fixture and broadcast the most interesting match for the weekend. For seasons 2009/10 and 2010/11, PRO.BG (the former TV2) and RING.BG (the former Ring TV) bought the rights to broadcast the full pack of six matches from each fixture. At the end of season 2010/11, after bTV bought PRO.BG, the channel was re-branded to bTV Action and got on broadcasting only on cable networks. The new owners didn't want to fully pay to every club in the league, because of the unmet stadium requirements for journalists and cameramen places at some stadiums. The clubs weren't happy and they threatened to ban cameras at their matches. Matches in that period were broadcast also in Romania. In the 2008–09 season, the Romanian sports channel Sport.ro broadcast the Friday game, and in the next 2009/10 season, only the matches of CSKA Sofia.

Days before the start of the 2011/12 season, the private terrestrial channel TV7 bought the rights to broadcast two matches per fixture. As before, the national television BNT1 got the first pick and broadcast the most interesting match for the fixture. The rest of the matches were broadcast live online on the websites Topsport.bg, Livesport.bg, Bookmakers.bg and Sportline.bg.

For the start of the new 2012/2013 season, the clubs refused the rights requests from four TV stations because of low payments offered – Bulgarian National Television, Nova Television, TV7 and TV+. Finally after the first set of fixtures, the satellite broadcaster Bulsatcom with its channel TV+ bought the rights, along with BNT. Before the start of the spring half-season the rights were bought by TV7 and News7, who had rights for the first, third and fourth pick, and BNT 1 along with the international channel BNT World broadcasting the second pick of a match.

For the 2013–14 season, 7 Media Group bought the full rights for another three seasons prior to 2016 and will broadcast six matches per fixture on their channels – TV7 and News7. In 2014 because of financial problems TV7 lost the rights for the championship and they were transferred to Nova Broadcasting Group. The 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons will be broadcast by Nova, Diema, Nova Sport and Diema Sport.

Sponsorship

Until 2011 the official sponsor of A Group was TBI Credit and the league was officially known as TBI A Football Group.

For 2011–12, A Group had new sponsor – the Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore the league name in that season was Victoria A Football Championship.

In early 2013, for a short period of time the naming rights of A Group were bought from the news television network News7 and therefore the league's name was NEWS7 Football Championship.

UEFA Ranking

The national league rankings for the 2013/14 season of UEFA competitions is based upon results in UEFA competitions from the 2008/09 through 2012/13 seasons.

Current Bulgarian A Group ranking (2013)

• 22 (19) Czech Gambrinus Liga
• 23 (25) Slovak First League
• 24 (24) Swedish Allsvenskan
• 25 (27) Serbian SuperLiga
• 26 (28) Bulgarian A Football Group
• 27 (26) Norwegian Tippeligaen
• 28 (18) Scottish Premier League
• 29 (29) Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I
• 30 (31) Georgian Umaglesi Liga
• Full List

Referees

A Group has over 20 active referees that are available for matches as from the 2012/13 season. Only 7 of them are fully certified international FIFA referees. They are: Anton Genov, Angel Angelov, Stanislav Todorov, Georgi Yordanov, Tsvetan Georgiev, Nikolai Yordanov and Alexander Kostadinov. There are other 9 assistant referees that are fully certified international FIFA referees.

Records

Teams

• Most times champion — CSKA Sofia — 31 times.
• Most seasons played in the division from 1924 to 2015/16 — Levski Sofia (78).
• Most seasons played in A Group from 1948 to 2015/16 – Levski Sofia (67).
• Fewest seasons played in the division — Benkovski Vidin, Cherveno Zname Pavlikeni, Rozova Dolina Kazanlak, Akademik Varna, Olimpik Teteven, Nesebar and Chernomorets Burgas Sofia each have played only a single season in the division.
• Most wins in a single season — CSKA Sofia 25 of 30 games (2004/2005) and Ludogorets Razgrad 25 of 36 games (2013/2014).
• Fewest wins in a single season — Torpedo Ruse (out of 22 matches during 1951) and Rakovski Ruse (out of 30 matches during 1996/97) and Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (out of 30 matches during 2006/07) each did not win a game in a single season.
• Most defeats in a single season — Rakovski Ruse (out of 30 matches during 1996/97) and Chernomorets Burgas Sofia — 29 (out of 30 matches during 2006/2007).
• Fewest defeats in a single season — Spartak Sofia (out of 22 matches during 1951), Levski Sofia (out of 18 matches during 1948/49), CSKA Sofia (then CDNA; out of 11 matches in 1958) and CSKA Sofia (out of 30 matches during 2007/2008) each did not lose a game in a single season.
• Most goals scored in a single season — Levski Sofia — 96 goals in 30 matches during 2006/07.
• Fewest goals scored in a single season — Rakovski Ruse (out of 30 matches during 1996/97), Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (out of 30 matches during 2006/07), Torpedo Ruse (out of 22 matches during 1951) and Cherno More Varna (out of 11 matches during 1968) each scored only 8 goals in a single season.
• Most goals conceded in a single season — Chernomorets Burgas Sofia — 131 (out of 30 matches during 2006/07).
• Least goals conceded in a single season — Levski Sofia – 6 goals.
• Most consecutive matches without scoring a goal — Rakovski Ruse – 19 matches (during 1996/97 season)
• Biggest win — CSKA Sofia 12:0 Torpedo Ruse in 1951.

Players

• Most times champion — Manol Manolov with CSKA Sofia — 12 times
• Most matches played in the division — Marin Bakalov — 454 matches for Botev Plovdiv, CSKA Sofia, Spartak Plovdiv, Maritsa Plovdiv and Olimpik Teteven
• Most goals in the division — Petar Zhekov — 253 goals; 8 for Dimitrovgrad, 101 for Beroe Stara Zagora and 144 for CSKA Sofia
• Most goals in a single season — Hristo Stoichkov — 38 goals for CSKA Sofia during 1989/90
• Most goals in a single match — Petar Mihaylov (for CSKA Sofia against Torpedo Ruse in 1951), Ivo Georgiev (for Spartak Varna against Spartak Plovdiv in 1995/96), Todor Pramatarov (for Slavia Sofia against Rakovski Ruse in 1996/97) and Tsvetan Genkov (for Lokomotiv Sofia against Chernomorets Burgas Sofia in 2006/2007) each scored 6 goals in a single match

All-time top scorers

All-time top scorers in A Group

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	Martin Kamburov	160
9	Petar Mihtarski	158
10	Petko Petkov	152
In bold Currently playing in A Group Goals updated as of October 18, 2015.

All-time appearances

All-time appearances 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	Todor Yanchev	393
9	Dimitar Mladenov	388
10	Bozhil Kolev	373
11	Dobromir Zhechev	369
In bold Currently playing in A Group

Topscorers

Year	Topscorer(s)	Club(s)	Goals
1937–38	Krum Milev	PFC Slavia Sofia	12
1938–39	Georgi Pachedzhiev	AS 23 Sofia	14
1939–40	Yanko Stoyanov Dimitar Nikolaev	PFC Levski Sofia FK 13 Sofia	14
1948–49	Dimitar Milanov Nedko Nedev	PFC CSKA Sofia PFC Cherno More Varna	11
1950	Lyubomir Hranov	PFC Levski Sofia	13
1951	Dimitar Milanov	PFC CSKA Sofia	14
1952	Dimitar Isakov Dobromir Tashkov	PFC Slavia Sofia Spartak Sofia	10
1953	Dimitar Minchev	PFC Spartak Pleven and VVS Sofia	15
1954	Dobromir Tashkov	PFC Slavia Sofia	25
1955	Todor Diev	FC Spartak Plovdiv	13
1956	Pavel Vladimirov	PFC Minyor Pernik	16
1957	Hristo Iliev Dimitar Milanov	PFC Levski Sofia PFC CSKA Sofia	14
1958	Dobromir Tashkov Georgi Arnaudov	PFC Slavia Sofia PFC Spartak Varna	9
1958–59	Aleksandar Vasilev	PFC Slavia Sofia	13
1959–60	Dimitar Yordanov Lyuben Kostov	PFC Levski Sofia PFC Spartak Varna	12
1960–61	Ivan Sotirov	PFC Botev Plovdiv	20
1961–62	Nikola Yordanov Todor Diev	FC Dunav Ruse FC Spartak Plovdiv	23
1962–63	Todor Diev	FC Spartak Plovdiv	26
1963–64	Nikola Tsanev	PFC CSKA Sofia	26
1964–65	Georgi Asparuhov	PFC Levski Sofia	27
1965–66	Traycho Spasov	PFC Marek Dupnitsa	21
1966–67	Petar Zhekov	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora	21
1967–68	Petar Zhekov	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora	31
1968–69	Petar Zhekov	PFC CSKA Sofia	36
1969–70	Petar Zhekov	PFC CSKA Sofia	31
1970–71	Dimitar Yakimov	PFC CSKA Sofia	26
1971–72	Petar Zhekov	PFC CSKA Sofia	27
1972–73	Petar Zhekov	PFC CSKA Sofia	29
1973–74	Petko Petkov Kiril Milanov	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora PFC Levski Sofia	19
1974–75	Ivan Pritargov	PFC Botev Plovdiv	20
1975–76	Petko Petkov Pavel Panov	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora PFC Levski Sofia	18
1976–77	Pavel Panov	PFC Levski Sofia	20
1977–78	Stoycho Mladenov	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora	21
1978–79	Rusi Gochev	PSFC Chernomorets Burgas and PFC Levski Sofia	19
1979–80	Spas Dzhevizov	PFC CSKA Sofia	23
1980–81	Georgi Slavkov	PFC Botev Plovdiv	31
1981–82	Mihail Valchev	PFC Levski Sofia	24
1982–83	Antim Pehlivanov	PFC Botev Plovdiv	20
1983–84	Eduard Eranosyan Emil Spasov	PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Levski Sofia	19
1984–85	Plamen Getov	PFC Spartak Pleven	26
1985–86	Atanas Pashev	PFC Botev Plovdiv	30
1986–87	Nasko Sirakov	PFC Levski Sofia	36
1987–88	Nasko Sirakov	PFC Levski Sofia	28
1988–89	Hristo Stoichkov	PFC CSKA Sofia	23
1989–90	Hristo Stoichkov	PFC CSKA Sofia	38
1990–91	Ivaylo Yordanov	FC Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa	21
1991–92	Nasko Sirakov	PFC Levski Sofia	26
1992–93	Plamen Getov	PFC Levski Sofia	26
1993–94	Nasko Sirakov	PFC Levski Sofia	30
1994–95	Petar Mihtarski	PFC CSKA Sofia	24
1995–96	Ivo Georgiev	PFC Spartak Varna	21
1996–97	Todor Pramatarov	PFC Slavia Sofia	26
1997–98	Anton Spasov Bontcho Guentchev	Neftochimic Burgas PFC CSKA Sofia	17
1998–99	Dimcho Belyakov	PFC Litex Lovech	21
1999–2000	Mihail Mihaylov	Velbazhd Kyustendil	20
2000–01	Georgi Ivanov	PFC Levski Sofia	22
2001–02	Vladimir Manchev	PFC CSKA Sofia	21
2002–03	Georgi Chilikov	PFC Levski Sofia	23
2003–04	Martin Kamburov	PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv	25
2004–05	Martin Kamburov	PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv	27
2005–06	Milivoje Novakovič Jose Emilio Furtado	PFC Litex Lovech Vihren and PFC CSKA Sofia	16
2006–07	Tsvetan Genkov	PFC Lokomotiv Sofia	27
2007–08	Georgi Hristov	PFC Botev Plovdiv	19
2008–09	Martin Kamburov	PFC Lokomotiv Sofia	17
2009–10	Wilfried Niflore	PFC Litex Lovech	19
2010–11	Garra Dembele	PFC Levski Sofia	26
2011–12	Ivan Stoyanov Júnior Moraes	PFC Ludogorets Razgrad PFC CSKA Sofia	16
2012–13	Basile de Carvalho	PFC Levski Sofia	19
2013–14	Wilmar Jordán Martin Kamburov	PFC Litex Lovech PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv	20
2014–15	Antonio Salas Quinta	PFC Levski Sofia	14

See also

• Bulgarian State Football Championship (Champions 1924–1944)
• Bulgarian Republic Football Championship (Champions 1945–1948)
• List of foreign football players in A PFG

External links

• League at UEFA
• Bulgaria – List of Champions, RSSSF.com
• Table , at xscores.com