Bulgaria
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Bulgaria is a country located in South-eastern Europe which is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. It has a population of 7.36 million people and the capital is Sofia.
The Bulgarian Football Union (Български футболен съюз) is the governing body of football in Bulgaria and is based in Sofia. The BFU oversees all aspects of football in the country including the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group and the Bulgarian national football team. The organisation was founded in 1923 and became affiliated FIFA in 1924 and to UEFA in 1954. The Bulgarian A Football Group ( "А" Футболна Група) is the highest football league in Bulgaria. The original national competition was established in 1924 as the Bulgarian State Football Championship which was run until 1944 normally as a knockout tournament. It was replaced by the Republic Football Championship from 1945 to 1948. The first season of the A Republican Football Group started in the autumn of 1948 and continued until 2000 when the BFU started the Premier Professional Football League. The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group was created in 2003, returning to the traditions of A Republican Football Group. There are currently 16 teams in the top division. The most successful club in Bulgarian football since 1924 in terms of championship wins is CSKA Sofia, closely followed by Levski Sofia. |
Below the top tier, the league structure comprises the B Professional Football Group (1 section of 14 clubs) and V Amateur Football Group (4 sections serving 70 clubs) which were created in 1950. The fourth tier comprises A Regional Football Group (39 divisions) and the fifth tier the B Regional Football Groups (10 divisions). There is a system of promotion and relegation between the tiers. The Bulgarian Professional Football League administers the top two tiers.
The Bulgarian Cup (Купа на България) is the national knockout cup competition in Bulgarian football. It was first held in 1938 and the most successful club has been Levski Sofia, followed by CSKA Sofia. Around 38 clubs enter the competition comprising the 30 clubs from the A PFG and B PFG along with the winners of the 8 regional competitions. |
Main league tables & results
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See Current League Tables - for more coverage
Season by season matrix
Appreciation: Full recognition and acknowledgement is made to the work of Claudio Nicoletti, Foot.dk and the contributors to the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation who have catalogued the above tables.
See Historic League Tables - for more coverage
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