Bulgarian V AFG
| Country |
 Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950 |
| Number of teams |
63 14 North-West 15 North-East 18 South-East 18 South-West |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Bulgarian B Professional Football Group |
| Relegation to | Bulgarian A Oblast Football Groups |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Bulgarian Cup Cup of Bulgarian AFL |
| Current champions |
Dunav Ruse (North-East) Sozopol (South-East) Lokomotiv Mezdra (North-West) Pirin Blagoevgrad (South-West) |
| TV partners | Kanal 3 |
 2015-16 season | |
The Bulgarian V Football Group (Bulgarian: "В" Футболна Група), commonly referred to as "V Group" (Bulgarian: "В" Група) is the third level of the Bulgarian football league system. V Group operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the second and the fourth tier of the Bulgarian football league pyramid – respectively being B Group and the A Oblast Groups. Currently V Group consists of four divisions that are formed by separating the country into four regions: North-West, South-West, North-East and South-East. The divisions run in parallel during the season, but since the number of teams in each division may vary, the number of rounds in each of them may vary. Each team must play at least two times against every other team on a home-away basis.
The V Group was created in 1950, along with the second level. It is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, and the clubs in it have an amateur status. Nowadays, only the top teams of each division have the right to participate in the Bulgarian Cup tournament, but since 1995 the clubs in the group can participate in the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League competition.
Overview
The V Group was created in 1950 as the third level of the Bulgarian football league system, along with the second tier in the same pyramid - B Group. The name is derived from the fact that "V" (Bulgarian: "В") is the third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet so the third level of the football pyramid is named after the third letter of the alphabet (and A Group and B Group are respectively the first and the second).
While the first two levels in the football pyramid - (A Group) and (B Group) - are professional, the third level is of amateur status and does not require professional licensing for the team. The amateur status of the third tier has resulted in the level being officially named V Amateur Football Group (or similar) on several occasions throughout the years, so V Group is commonly abbreviated "V AFG".
The V AFG has historically been divided into four different groups running in simultaneously (North-West V AFG, South-West V AFG, North-East V AFG and South-East V AFG). Each group is managed by a different administrative football zone center - Sofia for South-West, Plovdiv for South-East, Varna for North-East, and Veliko Tarnovo for North-West.
There are two domestic cups, in which every club from the V AFG is competing in - the Bulgarian Cup and the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League.
Competition format
The Bulgarian V Group (V AFG) has four geographically specified divisions, running in parallel: North-West V AFG, South-West V AFG, North-East V AFG and South-East V AFG. The size of each group is based on the geographical location of the clubs, where in each group are participating between 16 and 20 teams.
In all groups, every team must play twice with each other club in the group during the season - one time as home team and one time as away team. A team receives three (3) points for a win and one (1) point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. The matches of each fixture in V AFG are played every Sunday.
The four champions from the four different groups of the V AFG can be promoted to the higher division in Bulgarian football - B PFG (professional). Promotion is earned either directly by becoming a champion in the respective group, or through play-offs determining the teams to be promoted to B PFG for the next season.
The teams, which that finish at the last positions in their groups are relegated from the V Group, in the next season compete in their respective regional group.
Season 2013-14
As of season 2013-14 the four champions of the four V AFG divisions are directly promoted to B Group for the next season given that they acquire a professional license needed to participate at the higher level. If a club does not acquire a license, typically, the Executive Committee of the Bulgarian Football Union would decide what other team may be eligible for promotion and whether a play-off tournament is needed to fill the spot of the non-eligible club. The bottom two teams of each division are directly relegated to their respective regional group at the fourth level of the pyramid.
See also
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