| Competition: | First Professional Football League |
| Season: | 2019–20 |
| Dates: | 12 July 2019 – 11 July 2020 |
| Winners: | Ludogorets Razgrad (9th title) |
| Relegated: | Dunav Ruse Vitosha Bistritsa |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Lokomotiv Plovdiv CSKA Sofia Slavia Sofia |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Gustavo Busatto (17 clean sheets) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (15 February 2020)[1] |
| Biggest Away Win: | Etar 0–5 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (5 October 2019)[2] |
| Highest Scoring: | Vitosha Bistritsa 2–6 Etar (2 March 2020)[3] Etar 5–3 Dunav Ruse (11 June 2020)[4] |
| Longest Wins: | 10 games by Ludogorets |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 30 games by Ludogorets |
| Longest Winless: | 29 games by Vitosha Bistritsa |
| Longest Losses: | 7 games by Vitosha Bistritsa |
| Matches: | 215 |
| Total Goals: | 539 |
| Highest Attendance: | 24,687 (15 February 2020)[5] [6] |
| Lowest Attendance: | 60 (22 November 2019)[7] (30 November 2019)[8] |
| Prevseason: | 2018–19 |
| Nextseason: | 2020–21 |
| Updated: | 12 July 2020 |
The 2019–20 First Professional Football League, also known as Efbet League for sponsorship reasons,[9] was the 96th 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 4th season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. Ludogorets Razgrad were the defending champions after winning their 8th consecutive title in the previous season. On 21 June 2020 the team from Razgrad clinched its 9th championship with four games to spare after a 2:1 win home win over Beroe.[10] The season began in July 2019 and was scheduled to end in May 2020,[11] but was completed in July 2020.
After the possibility of playing matches without spectators was initially envisioned,[12] on 13 March 2020, the Bulgarian Football Union decided to suspend all fixtures until 13 April in accordance with the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] On 3 April 2020, the state of national emergency was extended until 13 May 2020[14] and on 11 April the Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev confirmed that no mass participation sports events and full training sessions will be held until that date.[15] On 14 May, it was announced that footballers would be given the opportunity to train together over the course of the next three weeks, subject to the observance of strict rules and a gradual increase in the number of participants. The competitive matches resumed on 5 June (with the post-regular season phase – the championship and relegation rounds – shortened in half).[16] The expectations in mid May were that no fans would be allowed, but on 2 June a decree by Minister of Health Kiril Ananiev permitted the presence of spectators, subject to the restriction that no more than 30% of the stadium capacity is occupied and social distancing in terms of seating is adhered to.[17] On 12 June, it was decided that since 15 June the stadiums could be filled up to 50% capacity.[18] On 23 June, a requirement of no more than 1000 spectators per section of the stands was imposed.[19] The match between Vitosha and Tsarsko Selo was postponed from 26 June to 27 June after it was reported that four Vitosha players and a physiotherapist had tested positive for COVID-19, but their PCR tests eventually produced negative results.[20] Due to a number of fans and Lokomotiv Plovdiv players who had tested positive in the aftermath of the Bulgarian Cup final, the 9 July match between Lokomotiv Plovdiv and CSKA Sofia (the same teams that contested the final) was held behind closed doors.[21] After a continuous rise in the number of infections in the period between mid June and early July,[22] in a decree valid from 10 July, spectators were once again forbidden to attend football matches.[23]
In May 2020, prior to the restart of the matches, Emil Viyachki and Krasimir Stanoev tested positive for the coronavirus.[24] Tomi Juric (in June 2020)[25] and Martin Kavdanski's results (in July 2020)[26] also turned out to be positive. In Kavdanski case, his initial result had come back negative due to a laboratory mix-up, as a result of which he played in the match against Cherno More on 2 July.[27] On 6 July, it was announced that three additional Tsarsko Selo footballers as well as sixteen footballers and staff members from Cherno More had been identified as having the virus.[28] Between 8 July and 10 July, it was officially confirmed that nine Lokomotiv Plovdiv players and two non-playing personnel members had been infected.[29] [30] Positive tests were also reported for two Dunav Ruse footballers[31] and one from Botev Plovdiv.[32] Infected footballers were subject to a 14-day quarantine,[33] with the majority of them reportedly either asymptomatic or with mild symptoms that did not require hospitalization.[34]
Fourteen teams are competing in the league – the top twelve teams from the previous season, and two teams promoted from the Second League.[35]
Tsarsko Selo Sofia were promoted as champions of the 2018–19 Second League.[36] This will be their debut in the Bulgarian top tier. Tsarsko Selo replaces Vereya, who were disqualified for match-fixing, ending their 3-year stay in the Bulgarian top tier.[37] [38]
The second team to be promoted was Arda, who earned promotion after winning their play-off match against Septemvri Sofia.[39] Arda's win meant that the team will make their first appearance in the Bulgarian top tier, while Septemvri ended their two-year stay in the First League.
| 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 | CSKA | |||
| Stadion Ticha | Stadion Balgarska Armia | |||
| Capacity: 8,250 | Capacity: 22,995 | |||
| Dunav Ruse | Etar | |||
| Gradski stadion | Stadion Ivaylo | |||
| Capacity: 12,400 | Capacity: 15,000 | |||
| Levski | Lokomotiv | |||
| Stadion Georgi Asparuhov | Stadion Lokomotiv | |||
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 13,220 | |||
| Ludogorets | Slavia | Tsarsko Selo | Vitosha | |
| Huvepharma Arena | Stadion Slavia | Arena Tsarsko Selo | Stadion Bistritsa | |
| Capacity: 10,422 | Capacity: 25,556 | Capacity: 1,550 | Capacity: 2,500 | |
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 | Nikolay Kirov | Plamen Krumov | Nike[40] | Efbet | — |
| Beroe | Dimitar Dimitrov | Martin Kamburov | Uhlsport[41] | — | Refan, Ajax Group |
| Botev Plovdiv | Ferario Spasov | Lachezar Baltanov | Uhlsport[42] | WinBet | — |
| Botev Vratsa | Antoni Zdravkov | Valeri Domovchiyski | Errea[43] | WinBet | — |
| CSKA Sofia | Stamen Belchev | Petar Zanev | Adidas[44] | WinBet, Baristo | |
| Cherno More | Ilian Iliev | Daniel Dimov | Uhlsport | Armeets | — |
| Dunav Ruse | Lyudmil Kirov | Diyan Dimov | Joma | WinBet | — |
| Etar | Petko Petkov | Hristo Ivanov | Joma[45] | WinBet | — |
| Levski Sofia | Georgi Todorov | Zhivko Milanov | Nike[46] | 7777.bg | — |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv |  Bruno Akrapović | Dimitar Iliev | Uhlsport[47] | Efbet | General Broker |
| Ludogorets |  Pavel Vrba | Svetoslav Dyakov | Nike | Efbet | Vivacom |
| Slavia Sofia | Zlatomir Zagorčić | Georgi Petkov | Joma | bet365 | Asset Insurance |
| Tsarsko Selo | Luboslav Penev | Reyan Daskalov | Nike | WinBet | — |
| Vitosha Bistritsa | Asen Bukarev | Chetin Sadula | Jumper | Efbet | Athletic Fitness |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levski Sofia | End of caretaker tenure | 29 May 2019 | Pre-season | Petar Hubchev | 29 May 2019[48] | |
| Etar | Krasimir Balakov | Signed by Bulgaria | 29 May 2019 | Rosen Kirilov | 9 June 2019[49] | |
| Botev Plovdiv | Sacked | 29 May 2019[50] |  Željko Petrović | 9 June 2019[51] | ||
| Vitosha Bistritsa | Rosen Kirilov | Mutual consent | 3 June 2019[52] | Engibar Engibarov | 6 June 2019[53] | |
| Ludogorets | Stoycho Stoev | Sacked | 25 August 2019 | 2nd | Stanislav Genchev | 25 August 2019[54] |
| CSKA Sofia |  Ljupko Petrović | Mutual consent | 2 October 2019 | 4th | Miloš Kruščić | 2 October 2019[55] |
| Botev Plovdiv | Željko Petrović | Sacked | 16 October 2019 | 13th | Ferario Spasov | 16 October 2019[56] |
| Beroe | Aleksandar Tomash | Mutual consent | 22 October 2019[57] | 8th | Dimitar Dimitrov | 23 October 2019[58] |
| Botev Vratsa | Sasho Angelov | 5 November 2019[59] | 12th | Antoni Zdravkov | 11 November 2019[60] | |
| Etar | Rosen Kirilov | 2 December 2019[61] | 10th | Petko Petkov | 10 December 2019[62] | |
| Vitosha Bistritsa | Engibar Engibarov | 17 December 2019[63] | 14th | Asen Bukarev | 27 December 2019[64] | |
| Ludogorets | Stanislav Genchev | End of caretaker tenure | 1 January 2020 | 1st | Pavel Vrba | 1 January 2020[65] |
| Tsarsko Selo | Nikola Spasov | Mutual consent | 1 April 2020[66] | 11th | Luboslav Penev | 30 April 2020[67] |
| Arda Kardzhali | Stamen Belchev | 14 April 2020[68] | 9th | Nikolay Kirov | 21 April 2020[69] | |
| Levski Sofia | Petar Hubchev | 11 June 2020[70] | 4th | 11 June 2020[71] | ||
| CSKA Sofia | Miloš Kruščić | 2 July 2020[72] | 3rd | Stamen Belchev | 2 July 2020[73] |
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.
Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.
Dunav Ruse are relegated to the Third League.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Kamburov | Beroe | 18 |
| 2 | Ismail Isa | Cherno More | 13 |
| Ali Sowe | CSKA Sofia | ||
| 4 | Dimitar Iliev | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 12 |
| Claudiu Keșerü | Ludogorets | ||
| 6 | Nigel Robertha | Levski Sofia | 11 |
| 7 |  Evandro | CSKA Sofia | 10 |
| Radoslav Vasilev | Arda | ||
| 9 | Todor Nedelev | Botev Plovdiv | 9 |
| Stanislav Ivanov | Levski Sofia | ||
| Rodney Antwi | Tsarsko Selo | ||
| 12 | Daniel Mladenov | Etar | 8 |
| Paulinho | Levski Sofia | ||
| Tiago Rodrigues | CSKA Sofia |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gustavo Busatto | CSKA Sofia | 17 |
| 2 | Milan Mijatović | Levski Sofia | 13 |
| 3 | Martin Lukov | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 11 |
| 4 | Plamen Iliev | Ludogorets | 9 |
 Dušan Perniš | Beroe | ||
| 6 | Georgi Georgiev | Levski Sofia | 8 |
| Krasimir Kostov | Botev Vratsa | ||
| Blagoy Makendzhiev | Dunav | ||
| Miodrag Mitrovic | Cherno More | ||
| 10 | Ivan Karadzhov | Arda | 7 |
| Yanko Georgiev | Botev Plovdiv | ||
