2020–21 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2020–21 First Professional Football League, also known as Efbet League for sponsorship reasons,[1] will be the 97th season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 72nd since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid, and also the 5th season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. Ludogorets Razgrad are the defending champions for the ninth consecutive time. The season was initially set to start on 24 July 2020,[2] but began on 7 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation in Bulgaria.[3][4] All matches were initially envisioned to be held without spectators, at least until 31 August,[5] but this was reversed in early August, reportedly under pressure from fan groups, with the government's inconsistency on the matter in turn criticized in certain circles.

First Professional Football League
Season2020–21
Dates7 August 2020 – May 2021
Highest scoringMontana 3–3 Arda
(8 August 2020)
2021-22 →
All statistics correct as of 6 March 2020.

Teams

Fourteen teams are competing in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season, the team that finished in first place in the Second League, and the two winners of the promotion/relegation playoffs.[6]

CSKA 1948 were promoted as champions of the 2019–20 Second League and will make their debut in the top tier of Bulgarian football. The second team to be promoted was Montana, who earned promotion after winning their play-off match against Dunav Ruse.[7] The club returns after three seasons in the second tier, following their relegation in the 2016–17 season, while Dunav ended their four-year stay in the First League.

Stadiums and locations
Arda Beroe Botev Plovdiv Botev Vratsa
Arena Arda Stadion Beroe Futbolen kompleks Botev 1912 Stadion Hristo Botev
Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 12,128 Capacity: 4,000 Capacity: 12,000
Cherno More
2020–21 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) (Bulgaria)
Location of Sofia teams.
 CSKA
Stadion Ticha Stadion Balgarska Armia
Capacity: 8,250 Capacity: 22,995
CSKA 1948 Etar
Vasil Levski National Stadium Stadion Ivaylo
Capacity: 44,000 Capacity: 15,000
Levski Lokomotiv
Stadion Georgi Asparuhov Stadion Lokomotiv
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 13,220
Ludogorets Montana Slavia Tsarsko Selo
Huvepharma Arena Stadion Ogosta Stadion Slavia Sporten kompleks Tsarsko Selo
Capacity: 10,422 Capacity: 6,000 Capacity: 25,556 Capacity: 1,550

    Regular season

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
    1 Cherno More 2 1 1 0 5 1 +4 4 Qualification for the Championship group
    2 Tsarsko Selo 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 4
    3 Beroe 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4
    4 CSKA Sofia 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4
    5 Botev Plovdiv 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
    6 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
    7 Botev Vratsa 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 Qualification for the Europa Conference League group
    8 Ludogorets 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
    9 Arda 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 2
    10 Montana 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
    11 CSKA 1948 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 Qualification for the Relegation group
    12 Levski Sofia 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
    13 Slavia Sofia 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
    14 Etar 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0
    Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2020. Source: Soccerway, Bulgarian Football
    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.[8]

    Results
    Home \ Away ARD BSZ BPD BVR CHM CSK CSS ETA LEV LPD LUD MON SLA TSS
    Arda — 1–1
    Beroe — a 0–0
    Botev Plovdiv a — 2–0
    Botev Vratsa — 3–1
    Cherno More —
    CSKA 1948 — 2–2
    CSKA Sofia 2–1 a — a
    Etar 0–4 —
    Levski Sofia 0–2 a — a
    Lokomotiv Plovdiv a 2–1 —
    Ludogorets — 3–0
    Montana 3–3 —
    Slavia Sofia 1–1 a —
    Tsarsko Selo 3–0 0–0 —
    Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2020. Source: Bulgarian Football
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
    For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

    Positions by round
    Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
    Cherno More91
    Tsarsko Selo12
    Beroe33
    CSKA Sofia74
    Botev Plovdiv45
    Lokomotiv Plovdiv136
    Botev Vratsa27
    Ludogorets118
    Arda59
    Montana610
    CSKA 1948811
    Levski Sofia1212
    Slavia Sofia1013
    Etar1414
    Source: Bulgarian Football

    Results by round
    Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2020. Source: Bulgarian Football
    W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
    gollark: Authentic Dutch.
    gollark: ΩŁE®Ŧ¥↑ıØÞƧЪŊĦŁ<>>©‘’Nº
    gollark: @łe¶ŧ←↓→øþæßðđŋħł«»¢“”nµ
    gollark: PotatOS Tau.
    gollark: ↑ a misspelling of all words.

    References
    1. "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.
    2. "Официално: Отложиха старта на efbet Лига". nova.bg. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
    3. "Решения след заседанието на Изпълнителния комитет на БФС". Bulgarian Football Union. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
    4. "Решение СТК 28.07.2020". Bulgarian Football Union. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
    5. Dimitrov, Elin, ed. (31 July 2020). "Мачовете без публика на стадионите до края на август". actualno.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
    6. "Състав на Първа и Втора професионална лига за сезон 2019/2020" (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 4 June 2019.
    7. "Монтана влезе в елита след победа над Дунав" [Montana enters the elite after a victory over Dunav]. dsport.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-07-17.
    8. "A PFG - Regular season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.