The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level of the
Bulgarian football league system The Bulgarian football league system or the Bulgarian football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Bulgaria. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and ...
, below
First League and above the
Third League. Sixteen teams take part in the league, each playing twice against all the other, once home and once away. Most matches are played on Saturdays and Sundays. The league is administered by the
Bulgarian Professional Football League
The Bulgarian Professional Football League (Българска професионална футболна лига) or BPFL (БПФЛ) organizes the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, Bulgarian B Professional Football Group and the Bulgaria ...
.
In 2016, the B Group's name was rebranded to Second Professional Football League.
Competition format
A team receives 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss.
Promotion and relegation positions
For 2021–22 Season :
* ''First place'' (champion) to ''Third place'': Direct promotion to
First Professional Football League.
* ''Fourth place'': Promotion playoff against the 13th place team from
First Professional Football League
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
.
* ''19th to 20th place'': Relegation to
Third Amateur Football League.
2022–23 clubs
History
B Republican Football Group
The B group was established in 1950 when the league was divided in two groups - ''North'' and ''South'', in each group participating 10 teams. The first champions of the ''B Republican Football Group'' are
Torpedo (Ruse) (North) and
Spartak (Sofia) (South).
In season 1951 the group is only one - B Republican Football Group with 12 teams. The regulations are - in
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
are going the top team in the final standings from
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
and the top two teams from the province (teams that aren't from Sofia).
In the next season 1952 the group is formed by 14 teams and from season 1953 the league is divided into five groups - ''Sofia B Group'', ''North-West B Group'', ''South-West B Group'', ''North-East B Group'' and ''South-East B Group''.
Second Professional Football Group
In the next seasons the league had many changes. In 2000 the
Bulgarian Football Union changed the name of the division.
The league is formed by 18 teams, not like previous seasons - 16 teams. To reduce the teams to 16 again in the next season the last six teams that finish in the final standings in the league were directly relegated.
First Professional Football League
Before the start of season 2001/2002 the league was again renamed. The championship started with 13 teams, because
Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) and
Belasitsa (Petrich) united with two teams from
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
-
Lokomotiv with
PFC Velbazhd Kyustendil
Velbazhd Kyustendil ( bg, Велбъжд Кюстендил) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Kyustendil. The club currently competes in the A RFG Kyustendil, the fourth tier of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1919. ...
and
Belasitsa with
PFC Hebar Pazardzhik
FC Hebar ( bg, Футболен клуб Хебър) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Pazardzhik. The club currently competes in the First League, the first tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
Founded in 1918, Hebar h ...
. That meant, that this was the end of professional football in the towns of
Kyustendil
Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see.
The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...
and
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...
.
B Professional Football Group
Returning to the traditions of the B Republican Football Group was the creating of the ''B Professional Football Group''. 16 teams participated in the league, each playing twice against all the other, once home and once away, with no play-offs.
Before the start of season
2005/2006 the
Bulgarian Football Union decided to divide B Group in two groups - ''West B Group'' and ''East B Group'' with 14 teams in each group. Every team plays 13 matches as home team and 13 matches as away team. The two champions of the groups were directly promoted to
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
and the two teams that finished in second place in their group played a play-off for winning the final third place for promotion in
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
. On May 19, 2008 the two groups were extended to 16 teams. For season
2010/2011 the two groups were reduced again with 12 teams in each.
But just before the start of season
2011/2012 the number of teams in the two groups was again reduced - 10 teams in both ''West B Group'' and ''East B Group'', with the winners of the groups directly promoting to
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
. The two teams that finished in second place in their group enter in a play-off for winning a place at the final play-off for promotion/relegation with the team that finished 14th in
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
.
Further changes were made before the start of season
2012/2013. The former format of B Group with the two groups (''West'' and ''East'') was replaced by a single division, formed by fourteen teams.
Second League
Former champions (from season 2005–06)
The following table presents the former champions of B Group (until season
2011–12 it had separate champions about the zones ''East'' and ''West'').
References
{{UEFA second leagues
2
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
Professional sports leagues in Bulgaria