Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
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For other sports leagues which may be referred to by this name, see List of professional sports leagues.
| Bulgarian "A" Professional Football Group |
|---|
 "A" PFG Season 2007-08 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1948 |
| Nation |
 Bulgaria |
| Relegation To |
| Bulgarian B PFG |
| Number of Teams |
| 16 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 1 |
| European Qualification |
| Champions League - 1 UEFA Cup - 2+1 (Cup) Intertoto Cup - 1 |
| Domestic Cups |
| Bulgarian Cup |
| Current Champions (2007-08) |
| CSKA Sofia |
| Most Successful Club |
| CSKA Sofia (31) |
| Website |
| Official Site |
The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group (Bulgarian: "А" Професионална футболна група) or A PFG (Bulgarian: А ПФГ) is the top division of Bulgarian football. It determines the champion of Bulgaria. Sixteen teams take part in the division, each playing twice against all the other, once home and once away. It is administered by the Bulgarian Professional Football League.
The champion of Bulgaria has the right to take part in the UEFA Champions League from the stage allowed by the league's coefficient. The teams that finish second and third in the final standings take part in the UEFA Cup together with the Bulgarian Cup winner.
Contents |
[edit] Seasons
[edit] Season 2008/2009
[edit] A PFG members for 2008–09
The following twenty clubs will be competing in A PFG during the 2008–09 season.
| Club |
Finishing position in 2007-08 |
First season in top division |
First season of current spell in top division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belasitsa | 13th | 1980–81 | 2003–04 |
| Botev | 12th | 1937–38 | 2005–06 |
| Cherno More | 5th | 1937–38 | 2000–01 |
| Chernomorets Burgas | 6th | 2007–08 | 2007–08 |
| CSKA Sofia | 1st | 1948–49 | 1948-49 |
| Minyor | 2nd in West B PFG | 1951 | 2008–09 |
| Levski | 2nd | 1937-38 | 1937-38 |
| Litex | 4th | 1994-95 | 1997–98 |
| Lokomotiv Mezdra | 1st in West B PFG | 2008–09 | 2008-09 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 9th | 1950 | 2001–02 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 3rd | 1939-40 | 1952 |
| Pirin | 8th | 2007–08 | 2007–08 |
| Slavia | 7th | 1937–38 | 1937-38 |
| OFC Sliven 2000 | 1st in East B PFG | 1963–64 | 2008–09 |
| Spartak | 11th | 1951 | 2006–07 |
| Vihren | 10th | 2005–06 | 2005–06 |
*The statistic cover the three season of the National division - 1937/38, 1938/39 and 1939/40.
[edit] Season 2007/2008
Participants:
- Belasitsa Petrich
- Beroe Stara Zagora
- Botev Plovdiv
- Cherno More Varna
- Chernomorets Burgas
- CSKA Sofia
- Levski Sofia
- Litex Lovech
- Lokomotiv Plovdiv
- Lokomotiv Sofia
- Marek Dupnitsa
- PFC Pirin 1922 Blagoevgrad
- Slavia Sofia
- Spartak Varna
- Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo
- Vihren Sandanski
[edit] Stadiums
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levski Sofia | Georgi Asparuhov Stadium | 29,800 | Largest stadium in "A" Group |
| Slavia Sofia | Slavia Stadium | 24,000 | |
| Beroe Stara Zagora | Beroe Stadium | 22,500 | |
| CSKA Sofia | Balgarska Armiya Stadium | 22,015 | |
| Botev Plovdiv | Hristo Botev Stadium (Plovdiv) | 22,000 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Lokomotiv Stadium (Sofia) | 19,000 | |
| FC Chernomorets 919 Burgas | Naftex Stadium | 18,037 | |
| Marek Dupnitsa | Bonchuk Stadium | 16,050 | |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev Stadium (Blagoevgrad) | 16,000 | |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Lokomotiv Stadium (Plovdiv) | 13,500 | The capacity of the stadium was reduced |
| Cherno More Varna | Ticha Stadium | 12,500 | |
| Spartak Varna | Spartak Stadium | 12,000 | |
| Belasitsa Petrich | Tsar Samuil Stadium | 9,000 | |
| Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo | Rakovski Stadium | 8,816 | |
| Litex Lovech | Lovech Stadium | 7,500 | |
| Vihren Sandanski | Sandanski Stadium | 6,000 |
On the average - 16 000
[edit] Champions
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|
|
|
[edit] Performance by club
- CSKA Sofia: 31
- 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 (*** 3 STARS- the best club in Bulgaria )
- Levski Sofia: 25
- 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
- Slavia Sofia: 7
- 1928, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1996
- Lokomotiv Sofia: 4
- 1940, 1945, 1964, 1978
- Cherno More Varna: 4
- 1925, 1926, 1934, 1938
- Botev Plovdiv: 2
- 1929, 1967
- Litex Lovech: 2
- 1998, 1999
- AS-23: 1
- 1931
- Spartak Varna: 1
- 1932
- Sportklub Sofia: 1
- 1935
- Spartak Plovdiv: 1
- 1963
- Beroe Stara Zagora: 1
- 1986
- Etar Veliko Tarnovo: 1
- 1991
- Lokomotiv Plovdiv: 1
- 2004
[edit] Cities
The following table lists the Bulgarian champions by cities.
| City | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
 Sofia |
|
CSKA Sofia (31), Levski Sofia (25), Slavia Sofia (7), Lokomotiv Sofia (4), AS-23 (1), Sportclub Sofia (1) |
 Varna |
|
Cherno More Varna (4), Spartak Varna (1) |
 Plovdiv |
|
Botev Plovdiv (2), Lokomotiv Plovdiv (1), Spartak Plovdiv (1) |
 Lovech |
|
Litex Lovech (2) |
 Stara Zagora |
|
Beroe Stara Zagora (1) |
 Veliko Tarnovo |
|
Etar Veliko Tarnovo |
[edit] Former famous foreign players
Altin Haxhi - Litex Lovech, PFC CSKA Sofia- Alban Bushi - Litex Lovech
Tiago Silva - Litex Lovech, PFC CSKA Sofia
Hamilton Ricard - PFC CSKA Sofia
Benoit Cauet - PFC CSKA Sofia- Cedric Bardon - PFC Levski Sofia
- Jean-Philippe Caillet - Litex Lovech
Njogu Demba-Nyrén - PFC Levski Sofia
István Ferenczi - PFC Levski Sofia
Andrea Parola - PFC Naftex Burgas
Artim Sakiri - PFC CSKA Sofia- Robert Popov - Litex Lovech
Stefan Giglio - PFC CSKA Sofia, PFC Lokomotiv Sofia
Abderrahman Kabous - PFC CSKA Sofia- Murad Hidiuad - Litex Lovech, PFC CSKA Sofia
Dino Eze - PFC Beroe Stara Zagora, PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv- Richard Eromoigbe - PFC Cherno More Varna, PFC Levski Sofia
- Garba Lawal - PFC Levski Sofia
Eugen Trica - Litex Lovech, PFC CSKA Sofia
Vladislav Radimov - PFC Levski Sofia
John Inglis - PFC Levski Sofia, PFC Botev Plovdiv
Milivoje Novakovič - Litex Lovech
MacDonald Mukansi - PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, PFC CSKA Sofia
Igor Tomašić - PFC Levski Sofia
[edit] Records
[edit] Teams
- Most times champion — CSKA Sofia — 31 times
- Most seasons played in the division — Levski Sofia, who participated in all 85 seasons to date
- Fewest seasons played in the division — Benkovski Vidin, Cherveno Zname Pavlikeni, Rozova Dolina Kazanlak, Akademik Varna, Olimpik Teteven, PFC Nesebar and PFC Chernomorets Burgas Sofia each have played only a single season in the division
- Most wins in a single season — Levski Sofia — 26 out of 36 matches during 2001/02
- Fewest wins in a single season — Torpedo Ruse (out of 22 matches during 1951) and Rakovski Ruse and Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (out of 30 matches during 1996/97) 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, Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (out of 30 matches during 1996/97), 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 — CSKA Sofia (then CDNA; out of 22 matches during 1951) and Spartak Sofia (out of 22 matches during 1951) each conceded only 7 goals in a single season
- Biggest win — CSKA Sofia 12:0 Torpedo Ruse in 1951
[edit] 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 Loko Sofia against Chernomorets Burgas Sofia in 2006/2007) each scored 6 goals in a single match
[edit] Topscorers
| Year | Topscorer(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Krum Milev | Slavia Sofia | 12 |
| 1939 | Georgi Pachedzhiev | AS`23 | 14 |
| 1940 | Yanko Stoyanov Dimitar Nikolaev |
Levski Sofia FK`13 |
14 |
| 1949 | Dimitar Milanov Nedko Nedev |
CSKA Sofia Cherno More Varna |
11 |
| 1950 | Lyubomir Hranov | Levski Sofia | 13 |
| 1951 | Dimitar Milanov | (*SKA 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 Petar Mihtarski |
Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa Levski Sofia |
20 |
| 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 Hristo Yovov |
Levski Sofia Litex Lovech |
19 |
| 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 |
[edit] Sponsors:
- August 1998 - June 2001: Kamenitza
- August 2001 - June 2003: M-tel
- August 2003 - 2005: Zagorka
- August 2005 - till now : TBI Bulgaria
