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League stub
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| First Professional Football League 2017–18 | ||
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| Season information | ||
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| Continental cup qualifiers | ||
| Champions League | ||
| Europa League | ||
| Season statistics | ||
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| ← 2016–17
| 2018–19 →
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The 2017–18 First Professional Football League is the 94th season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 69th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid and also the 2nd season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season is the second with a new league structure and strict financial criteria where 14 clubs play each other home and away, until the league is split up in championship and relegation playoffs. The new league structure, inspired by the ones used by the Belgian First Division A and Danish Superliga, was approved by the Bulgarian Football Union on 6 June 2016.
The fixture list was released on 22 June 2017. Ludogorets Razgrad are the defending champions.
Teams
A total of 14 teams would be contesting the league. Etar were promoted as champions of the 2016–17 Second League, sealing their title on the final day of the season with a 2–2 away draw against Nesebar, coupled with Septemvri Sofia's 2–0 away defeat to Oborishte. The promoted club replaced Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, who suffered an immediate return to the second tier after elimination in the relegation play-offs by Montana.
Septemvri Sofia, runners-up of the 2016–17 Second League, won the play-off against Montana and return to the top flight for the first time since 1998–99 season. Montana return to the second tier after two seasons in the top flight.
Vitosha Bistritsa, who finished 3rd in the 2016–17 Second League, defeated Neftochimic in the play-off and won promotion to the top division for the first time in their history. Neftochimic spent only one season in the First League.
Stadia and locations
Note: From the 2016-17 season onwards, all participating clubs are required to have electric floodlights and adequate pitch conditions under the BFU and TV broadcaster's new licensing criteria.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity (seating) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe | 12,128 |
| Botev | Plovdiv | Botev 1912 Football Complex | 4,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Gradski, Kavarnaa | 5,000 |
| CSKA | Sofia | Balgarska Armiya | 18,495 |
| Dunav | Ruse | Gradski, Ruse | 12,400 |
| Etar | Veliko Tarnovo | Gradski, Lovechb | 8,100 |
| Levski | Sofia | Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov | 25,000 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv | 13,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 8,808 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev | 7,000 |
| Septemvri | Sofia | Vasil Levski National Stadiumc | 43,230 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Slavia Stadium, Vasil Levski National Stadiumd | 25,556 |
| Vereya | Stara Zagora | Trace Arena | 3,500 |
| Vitosha | Bistritsa | Vasil Levski National Stadiume | 43,230 |
a.^Cherno More will play at Kavarna Stadium in Kavarna due to ongoing repair works at their Ticha Stadium.
b.^Etar will play at Lovech Stadium in Lovech due to ongoing repair works at their Ivaylo Stadium.
c.^Septemvri Sofia will play at Vasil Levski National Stadium because their Dragalevtsi Stadium is not licensed for First League.
d.^Slavia Sofia obtained permission from the Bulgarian Football Union to use their own stadium and will play at Vasil Levski National Stadium only matches which require floodlights.
e.^Vitosha Bistritsa will play at Vasil Levski National Stadium because their Bistritsa Stadium is not licensed for First League.
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe |  Aleksandar Tomash
| Uhlsport | — | Refan | |
| Botev Plovdiv | Nikolay Kirov
| Lachezar Baltanov
| Uhlsport | Efbet | — |
| CSKA Sofia | Stamen Belchev
| Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski
| adidas | Mtel | WinBet |
| Cherno More | Georgi Ivanov
| Georgi Iliev
| Uhlsport | Armeets | — |
| Dunav Ruse | Veselin Velikov
| Diyan Dimov
| Joma | — | — |
| Etar | Stanislav Genchev
| Kiril Akalski
| Joma | — | — |
| Levski Sofia | Nikolay Mitov
|  Roman Procházka
| Joma | Vivacom | Strabag, Efbet, Spetema |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Voyn Voynov
| Martin Kamburov
| Uhlsport | Efbet | — |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | Georgi Dermendzhiev
| Svetoslav Dyakov
| Umbro | bet365 | Vivacom, Spetema |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Milen Radukanov
| Yulian Popev
| Erreà | — | — |
| Septemvri Sofia | Dimitar Vasev
| Valentin Galev
| Joma | — | — |
| Slavia Sofia | Zlatomir Zagorčić
| Georgi Petkov
| Joma | bet365 | — |
| Vereya | Ilian Iliev
|  Elias
| Erreà | Trace Group | Spetema |
| Vitosha Bistritsa | Kostadin Angelov
| Chetin Sadula
| Jumper | Efbet |
Note: Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey for official tournaments organised by UEFA in addition to that of the kit manufacturer (exceptions are made for non-profit organisations). Clubs in the domestic league can have more than one sponsorship per jersey which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. Shorts also have space available for advertisement.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Ferario Spasov
| Mutual consent | 19 May 2017 | Pre-season | Aleksandar Tomash
| 8 June 2017 |
| Septemvri | Hristo Arangelov
| Demoted to assistant1 | 4 June 2017 | Dimitar Vasev
| 8 June 2017 | |
| Vereya | Aleksandar Tomash
| Signed by Beroe | 5 June 2017 | Ilian Iliev
| 9 June 2017 |
1.^No license for First League.
Regular season
League table
Template:2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) Regular Season table
Results
Source: bulgarian-football.com
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Positions by round
| Team \ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Botev Plovdiv | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cherno More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CSKA Sofia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dunav Ruse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Etar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Levski Sofia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ludogorets Razgrad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Septemvri Sofia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Slavia Sofia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vereya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vitosha Bistritsa |
Last updated: July 2017
Source: [1]
Championship round
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season. Template:2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) Championship Round table
Relegation round
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.
Group A
Template:2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) Relegation Round Group A table
Group B
Template:2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) Relegation Round Group B table
European play-offs
European play-off quarter-finals
| TBD | Runners-up of Group A | v | Winners of Group B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Winners of Group B | v | Runners-up of Group A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Runners-up of Group B | v | Winners of Group A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Winners of Group A | v | Runners-up of Group B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
European play-off semi-finals
| TBD | Winners of quarter-final 1 | v | Winners of quarter-final 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Winners of quarter-final 2 | v | Winners of quarter-final 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
European play-off final
| TBD | Third-placed team Championship round | v | Winners of semi-finals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Relegation play-offs
First round
| TBD | 4th Group A | v | 3rd Group B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | 3rd Group B | v | 4th Group A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | 4th Group B | v | 3rd Group A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | 3rd Group A | v | 4th Group B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Second round
| TBD | Winners match 1 | v | Winners match 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Winners match 2 | v | Winners match 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Losers match 1 | v | Losers match 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Losers match 2 | v | Losers match 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Third round
| TBD | Losers match 3 | v | 3rd Second League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Winners match 4 | v | 2nd Second League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Player | Club | Goals |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Player | Club | Number |
External links
Template:BG A PFG Template:2017–18 in Bulgarian football Template:First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) seasons
