List of Bulgarian football champions
Bulgarian football champions mean those that won the highest league in Bulgarian football, which since 1948–1949 is the A Football Group.[1]
The first national football competition in Bulgaria was established in 1924 by the Bulgarian National Sport Federation and was named Bulgarian State Football Championship. The championship was a knockout tournament featuring six clubs that had won six regional divisions. These divisions were round-robin tournaments that included football clubs that were founded in different geographic areas. The winners of each division were drawn in pairs at random for each of the three one-match rounds. Two of the clubs qualified directly for the second round (the semi-final stage) and the other four had to play two quarter-final matches. The championship didn't finish in years 1924, 1927 and 1944 because of different reasons. At the end of the 1925 season, Vladislav Varna were the first club to be crowned champions.
The championship had many changes in its format during the years, mainly in the number of legs played in each round and the number of teams that qualified from the regional divisions. In seasons 1937–38, 1938–39 and 1939–40 the championship was reorganised to a 10 club National Football Division but it proved to be an unsuccessful decision and from season 1940–41 the division was reverted to a knockout tournament.
After 1944 it was replaced by the Republic Championship. It was organised for only four years between 1945 and 1948. The championship was a knockout tournament featuring clubs that had finished at the top of six regional divisions. These divisions were round-robin tournaments that included football clubs from different geographic areas.
CSKA Sofia have won 31 titles, the most of any club. CSKA's rivals Levski Sofia are second with 26. Slavia Sofia are third; their 6 of 7 titles came before 1948.
State Championship (1924–1944)
| Season | Champions (titles) | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | ||
| 1925 | Vladislav Varna (1) | Levski Sofia |
| 1926 | Vladislav Varna (2) | Slavia Sofia |
| 1927 | ||
| 1928 | Slavia Sofia (1) | Vladislav Varna |
| 1929 | Botev Plovdiv (1) | Levski Sofia |
| 1930 | Slavia Sofia (2) | Vladislav Varna |
| 1931 | AS 23 Sofia (1) | Spartak Varna |
| 1932 | Spartak Varna (1) | Slavia Sofia |
| 1933 | Levski Sofia (1) | Spartak Varna |
| 1934 | Vladislav Varna (3) | Slavia Sofia |
| 1935 | Sportklub Sofia (1) | Ticha Varna |
| 1936 | Slavia Sofia (3) | Ticha Varna |
| 1937 | Levski Sofia (2) | Levski Ruse |
| 1937–38 | Ticha Varna (1) | Vladislav Varna |
| 1938–39 | Slavia Sofia (4) | Vladislav Varna |
| 1939–40 | Lokomotiv Sofia (1) | Levski Sofia |
| 1941 | Slavia Sofia (5) | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1942 | Levski Sofia (3) | Makedonija GP |
| 1943 | Slavia Sofia (6) | Levski Sofia |
| 1944 | ||
Republic Championship (1945–1948)
| Season | Champions (titles) | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Lokomotiv Sofia (2) | Sportist Sofia |
| 1946 | Levski Sofia (4) | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1947 | Levski Sofia (5) | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1948 | CSKA Sofia (1) | Levski Sofia |
Notes:
- Bold indicates Double winners – i.e. League and Bulgarian Cup winners.
A Group (1948–present)
Notes:
- #1 Number of points.
- #2 Number of goals scored.
- Bold indicates Double winners – i.e. League and Bulgarian Cup winners.
- Bold Italic indicates Treble winners – i.e. League, Bulgarian Cup and Bulgarian Supercup winners.
Performances
Performance by club
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Sofia | |
|
1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2008 |
| Levski Sofia | |
|
1933, 1937, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009 |
| Slavia Sofia | |
|
1928, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1996 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | |
|
1940, 1945, 1964, 1978 |
| Litex Lovech | |
|
1998, 1999, 2010, 2011 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | |
|
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Vladislav Varna |
|
|
1925, 1926, 1934 |
| Botev Plovdiv | |
|
1929, 1967 |
| Spartak Varna | |
|
1932 |
| Ticha Varna |
|
|
1938 |
| Spartak Plovdiv | |
|
1963 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | |
|
2004 |
| Beroe Stara Zagora | |
|
1986 |
| Etar Veliko Tarnovo | |
|
1991 |
| Atletic Slava 1923 Sofia | |
|
1931 |
| Sportklub Sofia | |
|
1935 |
Notes:
- Cherno More Varna was created after Vladislav Varna and Ticha Varna merged.
- Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the top division.
- Italics indicates clubs no longer exist.
Performance by city
The following table lists the Bulgarian champions by cities.
| City / Town | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
 Sofia |
|
CSKA (31), Levski (26), Slavia (7), Lokomotiv (4), Atletic Slava 1923 (1), Sportklub (1) |
 Varna |
|
Vladislav (3), Ticha (1), Spartak (1) |
 Plovdiv |
|
Botev (2), Lokomotiv (1), Spartak (1) |
 Lovech |
|
Litex (4) |
 Razgrad |
|
Ludogorets (4) |
 Stara Zagora |
|
Beroe (1) |
 Veliko Tarnovo |
|
Etar (1) |
Notes:
- Cherno More Varna was created after Vladislav Varna and Ticha Varna merged.
- Italics indicates clubs no longer exist.
References
- ↑ "Всички шампиони на България по футбол от 1924-а година досега" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 7 May 2014.
External links
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