Football in Bulgaria

Football (soccer) ( _bg. 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, 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 S.K. 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. PFC Botev Plovdiv was founded in 1912, PFC Slavia Sofia in 1913, and PFC 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. What is today PFC CSKA Sofia was established on 5 May 1948, and it was in the 1950s and 1960s that 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, and, although participating in 1966, 1970 and 1974, was eliminated in the group stage without recording a win. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Bulgaria did reach the round of 16, but still did not win a single match. 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.

Bulgarian football competitions

* Championship:
** Top division: Bulgarian A Professional Football Group - 16 teams
** Second division: Bulgarian B Professional Football Group - 2 groups with 14 teams each
** Third division: Bulgarian V Amateur Football Group - 4 groups with 18 teams each
* Cup: Bulgarian Cup
* Super Cup: Bulgarian Super Cup

ee also

* List of football clubs 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

* cite book
last = Пайташев
first = Румен
year = 2001
title = Световна футболна енциклопедия
publisher = КК Труд
location = София
chapter = Футболът в България
pages = pp. 10-11
id = ISBN 954-528-201-0