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 goalscorerBulgaria 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

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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

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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

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Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

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

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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

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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

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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[a]
5 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 32 15 4 13 40 45 −5 49[a]
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, R, R) 0 0 (8) 0 (9) 0 (3) 0 (29) 0 (19) 0 Expelled and relegated to the Second League[b]
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) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b 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

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Relegation playoff

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

Positions by round

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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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Round Goal of the week Club
1   Danilo Aspirilla vs Ludogorets [1] Litex
2   Sténio vs Ludogorets [2] Cherno More
3   Georgi Bozhilov vs Pirin Blagievgrad [3] Beroe
4   Aleksandar Kolev vs Pirin Blagievgrad [4] Botev Plovdiv
5   Atanas Zehirov vs Cherno More [5] Beroe
6   Aleksandar Vasilev vs Pirin Blagievgrad [6] Ludogorets
7   Bozhidar Vasev vs Cherno More [7] Botev Plovdiv
8   Arsénio Nunes vs Botev Plovdiv [8] Litex
9   Ivan Minchev vs Slavia [9] Montana
10   Georgi Kostadinov vs Botev Plovdiv [10] Levski Sofia
11   Roman Procházka vs Litex [11] Levski Sofia
12   Claudiu Keșerü vs Levski Sofia [12] Ludogorets
13   Atanas Zehirov vs Slavia [13] Beroe
14   Nemanja Milisavljević vs Cherno More [14] Beroe
15   Atanas Zehirov vs Botev Plovdiv [15] Beroe
16   Igor Djoman vs Litex [16] Beroe
17   Roman Procházka vs Slavia [17] Levski Sofia
18   Spas Delev vs Levski Sofia [18] Beroe
19   Strahil Popov vs Ludogorets [19] Litex
20   Georgi Dinkov vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv [20] Beroe
21   Nemanja Milisavljević vs Pirin Blagoevgrad [21] Beroe
22   Miguel Bedoya vs Cherno More [22] Levski Sofia
23   Serder Serderov vs Botev Plovdiv [23] Slavia
24   Georgi Andonov vs Botev Plovdiv [24] Beroe
25   Ventsislav Hristov vs Pirin Blagoevgrad [25] Levski Sofia
26   Marcelinho vs Beroe [26] Ludogorets
27   Martin Kamburov vs Pirin Blagoevgrad [27] Lokomotiv Plovdiv
28   Roman Procházka vs Botev Plovdiv [28] Levski Sofia
29   Nemanja Milisavljević vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv [29] Beroe
30   Stefan Velev vs Botev Plovdiv [30] Lokomotiv Plovdiv
31   Ventsislav Hristov vs Cherno More [31] Levski Sofia
32   Emil Gargorov vs Ludogorets [32] Lokomotiv Plovdiv
33   Ventsislav Hristov vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv [33] Levski Sofia
34   Georgi Iliev vs Botev Plovdiv [34] Cherno More
35   Martin Kamburov vs Cherno More [35] Lokomotiv Plovdiv
36   Veselin Marchev vs Pirin Blagoevgrad [36] Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Top scorers

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Rank Scorer Club Goals
1   Martin Kamburov Lokomotiv Plovdiv 18
2   Claudiu Keșerü Ludogorets Razgrad 15
3   Mathias Coureur Cherno More 11
4   Martin Toshev Pirin Blagoevgrad 10
5   Wanderson Ludogorets Razgrad 9
6   Ventsislav Hristov Levski Sofia 8
7   Marcelinho Ludogorets Razgrad 7
  Ivaylo Dimitrov Slavia Sofia
  Lachezar Baltanov Botev Plovdiv
  Jonathan Cafu Ludogorets Razgrad
  Borislav Baldzhiyski1 Slavia Sofia
12   Anton Karachanakov Slavia Sofia 6
  Roman Procházka Levski Sofia
  Ivan Minchev Montana
  Ismail Isa Beroe Stara Zagora
  Miguel Bedoya Levski Sofia
Note

1 Including 2 goals for Montana.

Updated on 28 May 2016

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date
  Ivan Minchev Montana Botev Plovdiv 6–0 25 July 2015
  Martin Kamburov Lokomotiv Plovdiv Pirin Blagoevgrad 4–2 1 April 2016
  Ventsislav Hristov Levski Sofia Cherno More 5–1 28 April 2016

Updated on 28 April 2016

Clean sheets

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Transfers

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References

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  1. ^ "Левски сгафи на "Герена" и връчи титлата на Лудогорец" (in Bulgarian). gong. 10 May 2016.
  2. ^ ""А" група стартира на 18 юли" (in Bulgarian). bfunion.bg. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Очакваме жребий без ЦСКА и Локомотив Сф" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 30 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Неделчо Матушев поема Пирин" (in Bulgarian). pirinfc.com. 6 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Bruno Ribeiro is the new head coach of PFC Ludogorets". ludogorets.com. 17 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Лудогорец пусна Рибейро по пързалката с дисциплинарно уволнение" (in Bulgarian). gong. 2 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Илиан Илиев е новият старши треньор на Локомотив" (in Bulgarian). PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv. 26 February 2016.
  8. ^ ""Берое" се раздели с Хубчев, нов Съвет на директорите" (in Bulgarian). PFC Beroe Stara Zagora. 7 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Decision DK 12/16/2015" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Litex Lovech expelled from Bulgarian league over protest". BBC Sport. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Михайлов обяви бъдещето на Литекс и заяви, че има идея ЦСКА да играе в "А" група (видео)" [Mikhailov said the future of Litex and said he has an idea CSKA to play in group "A" (video)] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Анулираха резултатите на Литекс" [Cancellation results Litex] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.[ ]
  13. ^ "A PFG 2015/2016 – Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2015.