2015–16 A Group

The 2015–16 A Group was the 92nd season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, and 68th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid. The season has started on 17 July 2015 and is expected to end in May 2016. The league is contested by ten teams. Ludogorets Razgrad were the defending champions, and successfully defended the title after Levski Sofia's home loss against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the 29th round.[1] The title is Ludogorets' fifth consecutive and overall.

A Group
Season2015–16
Dates17 July 2015 – 28 May 2016
ChampionsLudogorets Razgrad (5th title)
RelegatedLitex Lovech (expelled)
Champions LeagueLudogorets Razgrad
Europa LeagueLevski Sofia
Beroe
Slavia Sofia
Matches played144
Goals scored317 (2.2 per match)
Top goalscorer Martin Kamburov (18)
Biggest home winMontana 6–0 Botev Plovdiv
Biggest away winSlavia Sofia 0–5 Ludogorets
Highest scoringBeroe 5–2 Lokomotiv Plovdiv
All statistics correct as of 28 May 2016.

Competition format

The league is contested by ten teams and will be played in a quadruple round robin format, with each team playing every other team four times over 36 rounds.[2]

Teams

A total of 12 teams were set to contest the league, including the best 10 sides from the previous season, plus two promoted clubs from the lower division B Group.

On 22 June 2015, the BFU announced the final list of participants for the 2015–16 season. CSKA Sofia and Lokomotiv Sofia were both denied a professional license for the following season due to outstanding debts and would have to compete in the V AFG or fold. The group was kept at 10 teams. Marek Dupnitsa and Haskovo, who finished in the bottom two places of the table at the end of previous season, also failed to receive professional license, and were relegated to V Group.[3]

The relegated teams were replaced by Montana, the 2014–15 B Group champions and Pirin Blagoevgrad, the 2014–15 B Group runner-up. While Montana returns to the top division after two years, Pirin reaches again the highest class after 4 years.

Stadia and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Location of teams in 2015–16 A Group
Sofia 2015–16 A Group football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity (seating)
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe 12,128
Botev Plovdiv Botev 1912 Football Complex 4,000
Cherno More Varna Ticha 8,250
Levski Sofia Georgi Asparuhov 25,000
Litex Lovech Gradski 8,100
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 10,000
Ludogorets Razgrad Ludogorets Arena 7,500
Montana Montana Ogosta 6,000
Pirin Blagoevgrad Hristo Botev 7,000
Slavia Sofia Slavia 25,556

Personnel and sponsoring

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Beroe Plamen Lipenski (caretaker) Ivo Ivanov Uhlsport BEROE, Refan
Botev Plovdiv Nikolay Kostov Yordan Hristov Uhlsport efbet
Cherno More Nikola Spasov Mihail Venkov Uhlsport Armeets
Levski Sofia Ljupko Petrović Veselin Minev Joma Vivacom, efbet, Strabag
Litex Lovech Lyuboslav Penev Anton Nedyalkov adidas Prima
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Ilian Iliev Martin Kamburov Uhlsport efbet
Ludogorets Razgrad Georgi Dermendzhiev Svetoslav Dyakov Macron eCasino.bg, Vivacom
Montana Emil Velev Hristo Ivanov Jako Montana Municipality
Pirin Blagoevgrad Naci Şensoy Yuliyan Popev Joma Lafka
Slavia Sofia Aleksandr Tarkhanov Georgi Petkov Joma Asset Insurance, efbet

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Pirin Blagoevgrad Ivo Trenchev End of caretaker tenure 31 May 2015 Pre-season Nedelcho Matushev 6 June 2015[4]
Ludogorets Razgrad Georgi Dermendzhiev Resigned 31 May 2015 Bruno Ribeiro 17 June 2015[5]
Litex Lovech Krasimir Balakov 11 July 2015 Ljupko Petrović (interim) 12 July 2015
Botev Plovdiv Petar Penchev Sacked 25 July 2015 9th Ermin Šiljak 27 July 2015
Litex Lovech Ljupko Petrović (interim) Resigned 5 August 2015 1st Laurențiu Reghecampf 5 August 2015
Ludogorets Razgrad Bruno Ribeiro Sacked 2 September 2015[6] 1st Eduard Eranosyan 2 September 2015
Pirin Blagoevgrad Nedelcho Matushev Resigned 26 September 2015 10th Naci Şensoy 14 October 2015
Ludogorets Razgrad Eduard Eranosyan 6 November 2015 3rd Georgi Dermendzhiev 6 November 2015
Montana Ferario Spasov 8 November 2015 9th Emil Velev 11 November 2015
Botev Plovdiv Ermin Šiljak 9 November 2015 8th Nikolay Kostov 11 November 2015
Slavia Sofia Ivan Kolev 30 November 2015 6th Vladimir Ivanov (caretaker) 30 November 2015
Litex Lovech Laurențiu Reghecampf Signed by Steaua București 3 December 2015 3rd Ljupko Petrović (interim) 3 December 2015
Slavia Sofia Vladimir Ivanov End of caretaker tenure 18 December 2015 5th Aleksandr Tarkhanov 18 December 2015
Litex Lovech Ljupko Petrović (interim) End of contract 23 December 2015 10th Lyuboslav Penev 22 January 2016
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Hristo Kolev Mutual agreement 26 February 2016 7th Ilian Iliev 26 February 2016[7]
Beroe Petar Hubchev Sacked 7 April 2016[8] 4th Plamen Lipenski (caretaker) 8 April 2016
Levski Sofia Stoycho Stoev Mutual agreement 13 May 2016 2nd Ljupko Petrović 17 May 2016

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Ludogorets Razgrad (C) 32 21 7 4 55 21 +34 70 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2 Levski Sofia 32 16 8 8 36 18 +18 56 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
3 Beroe 32 14 11 7 37 27 +10 53 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
4 Slavia Sofia 32 14 7 11 36 29 +7 49[lower-alpha 1]
5 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 32 15 4 13 40 45 −5 49[lower-alpha 1]
6 Cherno More 32 10 8 14 36 45 −9 38
7 Botev Plovdiv 32 8 9 15 27 44 −17 33
8 Pirin Blagoevgrad 32 5 11 16 27 45 −18 26
9 Montana (O) 32 4 9 19 23 43 −20 21 Qualification for the relegation playoff
10 Litex Lovech (D, R) 0 0 (8) 0 (9) 0 (3) 0 (29) 0 (19) — 0 Expelled and relegated to the Second League[lower-alpha 2]
Source: Bulgarian Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.[13]
(C) Champion; (D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Slavia Sofia ahead of Lokomotiv Plovdiv on head-to-head record; Slavia Sofia–Lokomotiv Plovdiv 3–0, Lokomotiv Plovdiv–Slavia Sofia 2–0, Slavia Sofia–Lokomotiv Plovdiv 3–0, Lokomotiv Plovdiv–Slavia Sofia 3–1.
  2. On 16 December 2015, Litex Lovech were expelled from the league after their players left the field in protest over referee decisions in a match against Levski Sofia on 12 December 2015.[9][10] On 20 January 2016 it was announced that Litex Lovech would be relegated to B Group[11] All results from played matches involving Litex Lovech were annulled on 22 January 2016.[12]

Results

Relegation playoff
Montana2–1Pomorie
S. Georgiev 54'
Iliev 86'		 Report Bozhinov 73' (pen.)
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Nikola Popov (Sofia)

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Beroe742244235644443444342343344433333333
Botev Plovdiv398787688989888888876666555767777777
Cherno More476876766565666655655555666676666666
Levski Sofia567655543311111112223222222222222222
Litex Lovech23111241113232222341010101010101010101010101010101010
Lokomotiv Plovdiv10109999999897777777767777777555555555
Ludogorets Razgrad954431122223234331111111111111111111
Montana82556887777899999101099999999999999999
Pirin Blagoevgrad681010101010101010101010101010109988888888888888888
Slavia Sofia113323354456555566534434433344444444
Updated to match(es) played on 28 May 2016. Source: en.bulgarian-football.com

Season statistics
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