2024–25 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)
Season | 2024–25 |
---|---|
Dates | 19 July 2024 – 31 May 2025 |
Matches played | 62 |
Goals scored | 144 (2.32 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Ahmed Ahmedov (6 goals) |
Best goalkeeper | Sergio Padt (5 clean sheets) |
Biggest home win | Ludogorets Razgrad 5–1 Arda (3 August 2024) Levski Sofia 4–0 Botev Vratsa (27 July 2024) |
Biggest away win | Lokomotiv Sofia 1–6 Levski Sofia (20 July 2024) |
Highest scoring | Lokomotiv Sofia 1–6 Levski Sofia (20 July 2024) |
Longest winning run | 4 games Levski Sofia Ludogorets Razgrad |
Longest unbeaten run | 7 games Ludogorets Razgrad |
Longest winless run | 6 games Hebar Septemvri Sofia |
Longest losing run | 6 games Septemvri Sofia |
← 2023–24 2025–26 →
All statistics correct as of 10:54, 20 September 2024 (UTC). |
The 2024–25 First Professional Football League, also known as efbet League for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the 101st season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 77th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid, and also the 9th season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season began on 19 July 2024.
Ludogorets Razgrad are the 13-time defending champions.
Teams
[edit]As in the last season, 16 teams will compete in the league this year. Two teams were promoted from the 2023–24 Second League, and another place is for the winner of the promotion/relegation playoff.
The first team to earn promotion from the Second League was Spartak Varna, who mathematically secured a top two finish after Marek lost to Sportist Svoge on 3 May.[2] Spartak return to the top level after 1-year absence.
The second team to earn promotion from the Second League was Septemvri Sofia, who mathematically secured a top two finish after winning against Chernomorets Balchik on the last matchday of the season.[3] Septemvri return to the top level also after 1-year absence.
Additionally, Botev Vratsa managed to defeat Marek with a score of 4–2 after penalties in the promotion/relegation playoff, thus remaining in the First League.[4]
Stadia and locations
[edit]Arda | Beroe | Botev Plovdiv | Botev Vratsa |
---|---|---|---|
Arena Arda | Beroe | Hristo Botev | Hristo Botev |
Capacity: 11,114 | Capacity: 12,128 | Capacity: 18,777 | Capacity: 25,000 |
Cherno More | CSKA 1948 | CSKA Sofia | Hebar |
Ticha | Bistritsa | Vasil Levski National Stadium | Georgi Benkovski |
Capacity: 6,250 | Capacity: 2,500 | Capacity: 22,995 | Capacity: 13,128 |
Krumovgrad |
|
Levski Sofia | |
Nikola Shterev - Starika Sports Complex | Georgi Asparuhov | ||
Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 18,000 | ||
Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Lokomotiv Sofia | ||
Lokomotiv | Lokomotiv | ||
Capacity: 8,610 | Capacity: 22,000 | ||
Ludogorets Razgrad | Septemvri Sofia | Slavia Sofia | Spartak Varna |
Huvepharma Arena | Vasil Levski National Stadium | Aleksandar Shalamanov | Spartak |
Capacity: 10,422 | Capacity: 22,995 | Capacity: 25,556 | Capacity: 10,000 |
Personnel and kits
[edit]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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arda | Aleksandar Tunchev | Anatoli Gospodinov | Uhlsport | efbet | IK Nataliya Ltd. |
Beroe | José Acciari | Juan Pablo Salomoni | Nike | 8888.bg | — |
Botev Plovdiv | Dušan Kerkez | Ivelin Popov | Macron[5] | WinBet | Bitcoin |
Botev Vratsa | Hristo Yanev | Brayan Perea | Erima | WinBet | Vratsa Municipality, Inex, Predsednik Ltd. |
Cherno More | Ilian Iliev | Daniel Dimov | Macron | Armeets | — |
CSKA 1948 | Valentin Iliev | Radoslav Kirilov | Puma | efbet | Bachkovo |
CSKA Sofia | Aleksandar Tomash | Ivan Turitsov | Macron[6] | WinBet | — |
Hebar | Veselin Velikov | Petar Debarliev | Erima | efbet | — |
Krumovgrad | Atanas Ribarski | Bozhidar Katsarov | Uhlsport | Compass Cargo Airlines | Bethub |
Levski Sofia | Stanislav Genchev | Wenderson Tsunami | Adidas[7] | PalmsBet | CT Interactive |
Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Lyuboslav Penev | Dimitar Iliev | Joma[8] | WinBet | General Broker Club |
Lokomotiv Sofia | Ivan Kolev | Valentin Nikolov | Joma | 8888.bg | VIA 2000 |
Ludogorets Razgrad | Zahari Sirakov (interim) | Anton Nedyalkov | Jako | efbet | Vivacom, Huvepharma, Navibulgar |
Septemvri Sofia | Nikolay Mitov | Dimitar Sheytanov | Uhlsport | 8888.bg | — |
Slavia Sofia | Zlatomir Zagorčić | Georgi Petkov | Zeus | bet365 | Asset Insurance, SportRespect |
Spartak Varna | Kyriakos Georgiou | Viktor Mitev | Nike | efbet | Intercom Group, Mussala Insurance Broker, 100 Tona |
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
[edit]Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ludogorets Razgrad | Georgi Dermendzhiev | Resigned | 15 August 2024[9] | 8th | Zahari Sirakov (interim) | 15 August 2024 |
Spartak Varna | Aleksandar Tomash | Mutual agreement | 28 August 2024[10] | 3rd | Ivan Tsvetanov (interim) | 28 August 2024 |
CSKA Sofia | Tomislav Stipić | Sacked | 28 August 2024[11] | 13th | Aleksandar Tomash | 28 August 2024[12] |
Botev Vratsa | Todor Yanchev | 1 September 2024[13] | 13th | Hristo Yanev | 6 September 2024[14] | |
Spartak Varna | Ivan Tsvetanov | End of interim spell | 5 September 2024 | 3rd | Kyriakos Georgiou | 5 September 2024[15] |
Regular season
[edit]League table
[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | +11 | 19[a] | Qualification for the Championship group |
2 | Levski Sofia | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 19[a] | |
3 | Botev Plovdiv | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 16 | |
4 | Cherno More | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 15 | |
5 | Spartak Varna | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 15 | Qualification for the Conference League group |
6 | CSKA 1948 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 12 | |
7 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 12 | |
8 | Arda | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 11 | |
9 | Beroe | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 10 | Qualification for the Relegation group |
10 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 9 | |
11 | Slavia Sofia | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | |
12 | Botev Vratsa | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 7 | |
13 | CSKA Sofia | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 6 | |
14 | Septemvri Sofia | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 6 | |
15 | Krumovgrad | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 6 | |
16 | Hebar | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −6 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw[16]
Notes:
Results
[edit]Season statistics
[edit]Top scorers
[edit]- As of 19 September 2024[17]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ahmed Ahmedov | Spartak Varna | 6 |
2 | Julien Lamy | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 5 |
Nabil Makni | Hebar | ||
Mustapha Sangaré | Levski Sofia | ||
5 | Aleksandar Kolev | Levski Sofia | 4 |
6 | Rwan Cruz | Ludogorets Razgrad | 3 |
Jawad El Jemili | Levski Sofia | ||
Hassimi Fadiga | Levski Sofia | ||
Daniel Genov | Botev Vratsa | ||
Santiago Godoy | Beroe | ||
Mario Ilievski | CSKA 1948 | ||
Stanislav Ivanov | Arda | ||
Yevheniy Serdyuk | CSKA 1948 | ||
Antonio Vutov | Spartak Varna | ||
15 | nineteen players | 2 |
Clean sheets
[edit]- As of 19 September 2024[17]
Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | Clean sheets |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergio Padt | Ludogorets Razgrad | 5 |
2 | Plamen Andreev | Levski Sofia | 4 |
Hans Christian Bernat | Botev Plovdiv | ||
Plamen Iliev | Cherno More | ||
Petar Marinov | CSKA 1948 | ||
Martin Velichkov | Spartak Varna | ||
7 | Aleksandar Lyubenov | Lokomotiv Sofia | 3 |
Arthur Motta | Beroe | ||
9 | Federico Barrios | Botev Vratsa | 2 |
Yanko Georgiev | Krumovgrad |
References
[edit]- ^ "Обявиха официално новото име и лого на Първа лига" [Officially announced the new name and logo of First League.]. Sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ "Спартак Варна се завърна в Първа лига" (in Bulgarian). bntnews.bg. 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Септември София се завърна в Първа лига, Марек ще играе бараж" (in Bulgarian). bntnews.bg. 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Страхотна драма във Враца! Ботев пречупи борбен Марек и остава в efbet Лига" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 30 May 2024.
- ^ "Започват предварителните поръчки на екипа за новия сезон" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Не просто екип, а кауза" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Левски представи новия екип, реплика е на шампионския от 90-те години на миналия век". 24 May 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "ТИТУЛЯРНИЯТ ЕКИП НА ЛОКОМОТИВ ЗА СЕЗОН 2024/25" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivpd.com. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Лудогорец прие оставката на Георги Дерменджиев - ето кой ще води тима срещу Левски" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Босът на Спартак (Варна): Сагата с Томаш приключи" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "ЦСКА ще се раздели официално днес със Стипич" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Александър Томаш се завърна в ЦСКА" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Ботев (Враца) освободи Тодор Янчев" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "Христо Янев отново пое Ботев Враца" (in Bulgarian). dsport.bg. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Кирякос Георгиу е новият старши треньор на Спартак (Варна)" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "Наредба за първенствата и турнирите по футбол в системата на БФС за сезон 2023/2024 година" (PDF) (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Първа професионална лига 2024/25". bulgarian-football.com (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 13 July 2024.