First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

First Professional Football League
Organising bodyBulgarian Football Union (BFU)
Founded1924 (1924) (knockout)
1937–1940; 1948 (as round-robin)
Country Bulgaria
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams16
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toSecond League
Domestic cup(s)Bulgarian Cup
Bulgarian Supercup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsLudogorets Razgrad (12th title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsCSKA Sofia (31 titles)
Most appearancesGeorgi Iliev (461)
Top goalscorerMartin Kamburov (256 goals)
TV partnersNova Broadcasting Group
Websitefpleague.bg
Current: 2023–24 season

The First Professional Football League (Bulgarian: Първа професионална футболна лига, romanizedParva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons),[1] is a professional association football league, being the top tier of Bulgarian football league system. Contested by 16 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Second Professional Football League.

The Bulgarian football championship was inaugurated in 1924 as the Bulgarian State Football Championship and has been played in a league format since 1948, when the A Group was established. The champions of the First League have the right to participate in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League based on the league's European coefficient. Additionally, two UEFA Europa Conference League spots are allocated to the second team in the final standings and the winner of the European playoffs. A further fourth spot may also be granted to the fourth placed team in the final league ranking, given that the Bulgarian Cup holder has finished among the top three teams at the end of the season.

A total of 75 clubs have competed in the Bulgarian top-tier since its establishment, with FC Krumovgrad being the newest member of the top tier, after promotion in 2023. Since 1948, eleven different teams have been crowned champions of Bulgaria. The three most successful clubs are CSKA Sofia with 31 titles, Levski Sofia with 26 titles and Ludogorets Razgrad with 12 titles. The current champions Ludogorets Razgrad won their twelfth consecutive title in their twelfth First League season in 2022–23. Historically, the competition has been dominated by Sofia-based teams. Together they have won a total number of 70 titles.

  1. ^ "The Bulgarian first division has a new brand identity". bfunion.bg. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2019.