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2016–17 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

First Professional Football League
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) logo.jpg
Season 2016–17
Matches played 177
Goals scored 434 (2.45 per match)
Top goalscorer Claudiu Keșerü (19)
Best goalkeeper Georgi Kitanov
(13 clean sheets)
Biggest home win CSKA Sofia 5–1 (14 August 2016)
Biggest away win Lokomotiv GO 0–5 Ludogorets (12 March 2017)
Highest scoring Dunav 3–5 Ludogorets (28 October 2016)
Longest winning run 13 games by Ludogorets
Longest unbeaten run 23 games by Ludogorets
Longest winless run 10 games by Lokomotiv GO
Longest losing run 5 games by Lokomotiv GO, Montana and
Highest attendance

~21,000
CSKA Sofia 1–1 Levski Sofia (15 October 2016)

Levski Sofia 2–1 CSKA Sofia (4 March 2017)
Lowest attendance ~30
Montana 1–1 Vereya (13 December 2016)
2017–18
All statistics correct as of 31 March 2017.

~21,000
CSKA Sofia 1–1 Levski Sofia (15 October 2016)

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.

Ludogorets Razgrad are the five-time defending champions.

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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