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Football in Bulgaria
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Country	Bulgaria
Governing body	Bulgarian Football Union
National team(s)	Bulgaria national football team
First played	1894; 130 years ago (1894)
National competitions
FIFA World Cup UEFA European Championship UEFA Nations League
Club competitions
League First League Second League Cups Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Super Cup
International competitions
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League UEFA Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup

Football (Bulgarian: футбол, futbol) is the most popular sport in Bulgaria. It was introduced in 1893–1894 by Swiss gymnastics teachers invited to the country. A football (initially called ритнитоп, ritnitop, "kickball") match was first played in Varna's High School for Boys in 1894, where it was introduced by Georges de Regibus, and the game was brought to Sofia by Charles Champaud the following year. The rules of the game were published in Bulgarian by Swiss teachers in the Uchilishten pregled magazine in 1897, and football continued to gain popularity in the early 20th century. Among the founders of the Turkish team Galatasaray in 1905 was the Bulgarian Lycée de Galatasaray student Blagoy Balakchiev, and the first Bulgarian club, Futbol Klub, was established in Sofia in 1909 on the initiative of Sava Kirov. Botev Plovdiv was founded in 1912, Slavia Sofia in 1913, and Levski Sofia in 1914.

The Bulgaria national football team debuted on 21 May 1924 in a 1924 Summer Olympics qualifier, losing 0–6 to Austria in Vienna. In the 1950s and 1960s Bulgarian football achieved its biggest Olympic success, being third in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and second in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, also finishing fifth in Euro 1968. In 1962, Bulgaria first qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament, in total of seven participations to date. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Bulgaria did reach the round of 16. Then, in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, came Bulgaria's biggest World Cup success, the fourth place, the elimination of reigning world champions Germany and Hristo Stoichkov's top goalscorer prize. Bulgaria is also three times European champion in under-19, three times Balkan champion, and three times Balkan Youth champion. The titles won by the national team make Bulgaria one of the best performing nations in European football competitions.

Bulgarian football competitions

• Championships:
  • Top division: First League - 14 teams
  • Second division: Second League - 16 teams
  • Third division: Third League - 4 groups with 12-18 teams each
  • Fourth division: Regional Groups - divided by region
• Cup: Bulgarian Cup
• Super Cup: Bulgarian Super Cup
• AFL Cup: Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League

Crime and corruption

Between 2003 and 2013, 15 club presidents or previous owners of Bulgarian top league clubs were murdered. A leaked US diplomatic cable of 2010 claimed that since the end of Communism, allegations of illegal gambling, match fixing, money laundering, and tax evasion abound in Bulgarian football, which has become a symbol of organised crime's corrupt influence on important institutions.

See also

• List of football clubs in Bulgaria
• List of football stadiums in Bulgaria
• Bulgaria national football team
• Bulgaria national under-21 football team
• Bulgaria national under-19 football team
• Bulgarian Football Union
• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year
• Bulgarian Professional Football League

References

1. "Bulgaria: Can Soccer Success Mean Business? - Baltimore Sun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. 31 July 1994. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
2. "WORLD CUP '94; Bulgaria, a Small Foot in Soccer, Steps Closer to Glass Slipper - New York Times". The New York Times. Germany; Bulgaria. 11 July 1994. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
3. "BBC SPORT | Football | Euro 2004 | Bulgaria | The alternative guide to Bulgaria". BBC News. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
4. "WikiLeaks: Bulgarian Soccer Symbol of Organized Crime, Corruption - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
5. "Bulgarian football's 'mafia links' exposed in cables". Yahoo News. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
6. "Welcome to the beautiful game". The Economist. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

• Пайташев, Румен (2001). "Футболът в България". Световна футболна енциклопедия. София: КК Труд. pp. 10–11. ISBN 954-528-201-0.

v t e Football in Bulgaria
League competitions	First League Second League Third League (4 divisions) Regional Groups Bulgarian Women's League
Cup competitions	Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup Cup of AFL Bulgarian Women's Cup
Defunct competitions	State Championship (1924–1936, 1941–1945) Tsar's Cup (1924–44) National Football Division (1937–1940) Republic Championship (1945–1948) Cup of the Soviet Army (1983–90) BFU's Cup (1990–91) PFL's Cup (1994–97) Doubles Group (2008–2010) A Group (1948–2016)
National teams	Men Women Olympic team (U-23) Under-21 Under-19 Under-18 Under-17
Regional Amateur Football Groups	Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad Ruse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia City Sofia (province) Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol
Lists	Clubs Stadiums Foreign players National team results Clubs in European competitions Bulgarian club rivalries
Awards	Footballers' Footballer of the Year
BFU PFL

• Football in Bulgaria