2018–19 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Matches played | 41 |
| Goals scored | 92 (2.24 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Petar Atanasov Maurides (5 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Vytautas Černiauskas (4 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | CSKA Sofia 4–0 Vereya (26 August 2018)[1] |
| Biggest away win | Cherno More 1–5 Septemvri Sofia (4 August 2018)[2] |
← 2017–18 2019–20 →
All statistics correct as of 26 August 2018. | |
The 2018–19 First Professional Football League is the 95th season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 70th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid and also the 3rd season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season began on 20 July 2018 and is scheduled to finish on 2 June 2019.[3]
Teams
Fourteen teams are competing in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season, and one team promoted from the Second League.[4]
Botev Vratsa were promoted as champions of the 2017–18 Second League.[5] The promoted club replaced Pirin Blagoevgrad, who were relegated after elimination in the relegation play-offs by Vitosha Bistritsa.[6]
Stadia and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity (seating) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe | 12,128 |
| Botev | Plovdiv | Botev 1912 Football Complex | 4,000 |
| Botev | Vratsa | Hristo Botev Ogosta |
12,000 8,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Ticha | 8,250 |
| CSKA | Sofia | Balgarska Armiya | 18,495 |
| Dunav | Ruse | Gradski, Ruse | 12,400 |
| Etar | Veliko Tarnovo | Ivaylo | 18,000 |
| Levski | Sofia | Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov | 25,000 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv | 13,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 11,000 |
| Septemvri | Sofia | Vasil Levski National Stadium | 43,230 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Slavia Vasil Levski National Stadium |
25,556 43,230 |
| Vereya | Stara Zagora | Trace Arena | 3,500 |
| Vitosha | Bistritsa | Bistritsa Stadium | 2,500 |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitosha Bistritsa |  Kostadin Angelov
|
Promoted to Director of football | 30 May 2018 | Pre-season | Rosen Kirilov
|
1 June 2018[17] |
| Vereya |  Elias
|
Demoted to assistant1 | 4 June 2018 | Ivan Kolev
|
4 June 2018[18] | |
| Ludogorets | Dimitar Dimitrov
|
Mutual consent | 6 June 2018 | Paulo Autuori
|
6 June 2018[19] | |
| CSKA Sofia | Hristo Yanev
|
End of caretaker tenure | 7 June 2018 |  Nestor El Maestro
|
7 June 2018[20] | |
| Levski Sofia |  Delio Rossi
|
Mutual consent | 18 July 2018 | Todor Simov (caretaker)
|
18 July 2018[21] | |
| Todor Simov
|
End of caretaker tenure | 31 July 2018 | 4th |  Slaviša Stojanovič
|
31 July 2018[22] | |
| Vereya | Ivan Kolev
|
Mutual consent | 14 August 2018 | 14th | Nebojša Lekić
|
14th August 2018[23] |
1.^ No license for First League.
Regular season
League table
Template:2018–19 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) Regular Season table
Results
Positions by round
Template:Fb rbr pos header Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr t pos Template:Fb rbr pos footer
Top scorers
- As of match(es) played on 27 August 2018[24]
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chris Gadi |
Septemvri Sofia | Cherno More | 5–1[25] | 4 August 2018 |
Clean sheets
- As of match(es) played on 26 August 2018[26]
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vytautas Černiauskas
|
CSKA Sofia | 4 |
| 2 |  Dušan Perniš
|
Beroe | 3 |
 Daniel Kajzer
|
Botev Plovdiv | ||
| Martin Polaček
|
Levski Sofia | ||
| Martin Lukov
|
Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| 6 | Blagoy Makendzhiev
|
Cherno More | 2 |
 Jorge Broun
|
Ludogorets | ||
| Renan
|
Ludogorets | ||
| Georgi Petkov
|
Slavia Sofia | ||
| Nikolay Georgiev
|
Vitosha Bistritsa | ||
| 11 | Krasimir Kostov
|
Botev Vratsa | 1 |
| Filip Dimitrov
|
Dunav Ruse | ||
| Hristo Ivanov
|
Etar | ||
| Valentin Galev
|
Septemvri Sofia | ||
| Georgi Georgiev
|
Vereya |
Transfers
References
- ^ "CSKA Sofia vs. Vereya 4–0". soccerway.com. 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Cherno More vs. Septemvri Sofia 1–5". soccerway.com. 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Жребият за професионалния футбол е изтеглен" (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 8 June 2018.
- ^ "Състав на Първа и Втора професионална лига за сезон 2018/2019" (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 8 June 2018.
- ^ "След голяма драма Ботев Враца се завърна в Първа лига!" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 19 May 2018.
- ^ "Витоша изхвърли Пирин от Първа лига след обрат в луд мач" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Представяме ви екипа на "Берое" за новия сезон" (in Bulgarian). beroe.bg. 19 July 2018.
- ^ "ВИДЕО: Екипът на Ботев за новия сезон" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 13 July 2018.
- ^ "WINBET e новият спонсор на ПФК "Ботев"" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 3 August 2018.
- ^ ""Етър" с нови екипи през сезон 2018/2019 г." (in Bulgarian). etarvt.bg. 20 July 2018.
- ^ "Екипите на Локомотив за сезон 2018/2019" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivpd.com. 12 July 2018.
- ^ "Лудогорец ще играе с Umbro през следващите два сезона" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Efbet is Ludogorets' new official main sponsor". ludogorets.com. 6 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Септември представи новите екипи, целите пред отбора са ясни" (in Bulgarian). fcseptemvri.com. 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Звездно трио представи новите екипи на Витоша" (in Bulgarian). fcvitosha.bg. 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Третият във Втора лига обяви официален спонсор" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Новият старши треньор на Витоша: Искам да променя мисленето на играчите (видео)" (in Bulgarian). fcvitosha.bg. 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Иван Колев е новият треньор на Верея" (in Bulgarian). fcvereya.bg. 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Ludogorets has a new head manager" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 6 June 2018.
- ^ "Нестор Ел Маестро е новият треньор на ЦСКА" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 7 June 2018.
- ^ "Левски има временен треньор, той ще води "сините" срещу Ботев Пд" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Промени в треньорския щаб на клуба" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. 25 July 2018.
- ^ "Верея се раздели с Иван Колев, сърбинът Небойша Лекич пое отбора" (in Bulgarian). fcvereya.bg. 14 August 2018.
- ^ "Първа лига 2018/19" [First League 2018/19] (in Bulgarian). bulgarian-football.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ^ "CHERNO MORE VS. SEPTEMVRI SOFIA 1 - 5". soccerway.com. 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Първа лига 2018/19" [First League 2018/19] (in Bulgarian). bulgarian-football.com. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
