2016–17 A PFG
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| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 29 July 2016 – 4 June 2017 |
| Champions | Ludogorets Razgrad (6th title) |
| Relegated |
Montana Lokomotiv GO |
| Champions League | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Europa League |
Botev Plovdiv Levski Sofia Dunav Ruse |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 616 (2.57 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Claudiu Keșerü (22) |
| Best goalkeeper |
Georgi Kitanov (18 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win |
Botev Plovdiv 7–1 Montana (7 April 2017) |
| Biggest away win |
Lokomotiv GO 0–5 Ludogorets Razgrad (12 March 2017) |
| Highest scoring |
Dunav Ruse 3–5 Ludogorets Razgrad (28 October 2016) Botev Plovdiv 7–1 Montana (7 April 2017) |
| Longest winning run | 13 games by Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Longest unbeaten run | 24 games by Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Longest winless run | 10 games by Lokomotiv GO |
| Longest losing run | 7 games by Montana |
| Highest attendance | ~21,000 CSKA Sofia 1–1 Levski Sofia (15 October 2016) Levski Sofia 2–1 CSKA Sofia (4 March 2017) |
| Lowest attendance | ~20 Montana 1–1 Vereya (10 May 2017) |
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← 2015–16
2017–18 →
All statistics correct as of 31 May 2017.
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The 2016–17 First Professional Football League is the 93rd season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 68th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid and also the inaugural season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season is the first with a new league structure and strict financial criteria where 14 clubs play each other home and away, until the league is split up in championship and relegation playoffs. The new league structure, inspired by the ones used by the Belgian First Division A and Danish Superliga, was approved by the Bulgarian Football Union on 6 June 2016. The fixtures were announced on 8 July 2016.
On 5 May 2017, five rounds before the end of the championship, after winning the away match with Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Ludogorets Razgrad managed to secure the title for a sixth consecutive and overall time. Ludogorets finished 16 points ahead of CSKA Sofia. Levski Sofia finished third.
Starting from the 2016-17 season, a new league format was approved by the Bulgarian Football Union, in an attempt to improve each participating club's competitiveness, match attendance and performance in the league, alongside strict financial criteria. It involves 14 teams playing in two phases, a regular season and playoffs. The first phase includes each club competing against every other team twice in a double round-robin system, on a home-away basis at a total of 26 games per team, also played in 26 fixtures. Seven matches are played in every fixture at a total of 182 games during the first phase. In the second phase, the top six teams form a European qualifying table, while the bottom eight teams participate in a relegation group. The winner of the top group is declared as Champions of Bulgaria and is awarded with the title.
The six top teams compete against each other on a home-away basis. Three matches are played in every fixture of the top six, with the results and points after the regular season also included. At the end of the stage, every team will have played a total of 36 games. The winner of the group is declared as Champions of Bulgaria and automatically secures participation in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. The team that ranks second is awarded with a place in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. The third team in the final standings would participate in a play-off match against a representative team from the bottom eight. Depending on the winner of the Bulgarian Cup final, a possible fourth team from the first six may compete in a play-off match for an UEFA Europa League spot instead of the third ranked team.
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