Bulgarian State Football Championship
The State Football Championship was the first national football competition in Bulgaria. It was organised between 1924 and 1944 by the Bulgarian National Sport Federation.
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1924 |
| Ceased | 1944 |
| No. of teams | 5–26 |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Most titles | Slavia Sofia (6 titles) |
| Related competitions | Republic Championship Bulgarian A Football Group |
The championship did not finish in years 1924, 1927 and 1944 because of different reasons. After 1944 it was replaced by the Republic Championship.
Format
The championship was a knockout tournament featuring six clubs that had won six regional divisions. These divisions were round-robin tournaments that included football clubs that were founded in different geographic areas. The winners of each division were drawn in pairs at random for each of the three one-match rounds. Two of the clubs qualified directly for the second round (the semi-final stage) and the other four had to play two quarter-final matches.
The championship had many changes in its format during the years, mainly in the number of legs played in each round and the number of teams that qualified from the regional divisions. In seasons 1937–38, 1938–39 and 1939–40 the championship was reorganised to a 10 club National Football Division but it proved to be an unsuccessful decision and from season 1940–41 the division was reverted to a knockout tournament.
Winners
| Season | Champions (titles) | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Not finished | ||
| 1925 | Vladislav Varna (1) | Levski Sofia | – |
| 1926 | Vladislav Varna (2) | Slavia Sofia | – |
| 1927 | Not held | ||
| 1928 | Slavia Sofia (1) | Vladislav Varna | – |
| 1929 | Botev Plovdiv (1) | Levski Sofia | – |
| 1930 | Slavia Sofia (2) | Vladislav Varna | – |
| 1931 | AS 23 Sofia (1) | Spartak Varna | – |
| 1932 | Spartak Varna (1) | Slavia Sofia | – |
| 1933 | Levski Sofia (1) | Spartak Varna | – |
| 1934 | Vladislav Varna (3) | Slavia Sofia | – |
| 1935 | Sportklub Sofia (1) | Ticha Varna | – |
| 1936 | Slavia Sofia (3) | Ticha Varna | – |
| 1937 | Levski Sofia (2) | Levski Ruse | – |
| 1937–38 | Ticha Varna (1) | Vladislav Varna | Shipka Sofia |
| 1938–39 | Slavia Sofia (4) | Vladislav Varna | Ticha Varna |
| 1939–40 | ZhSK Sofia (1) | Levski Sofia | Slavia Sofia |
| 1941 | Slavia Sofia (5) | ZhSK Sofia | – |
| 1942 | Levski Sofia (3) | Makedonia Skopie | – |
| 1943 | Slavia Sofia (6) | Levski Sofia | – |
| 1944 | Not finished, due to World War II | ||
Performances
Performance by club
Key
Italics indicates defunct clubs.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slavia Sofia | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Vladislav Varna | 3 | 4 | — |
| Levski Sofia | 3 | 4 | — |
| Shipchenski Sokol | 1 | 2 | — |
| Ticha Varna | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| ZhSK Sofia | 1 | 1 | — |
| Botev Plovdiv | 1 |
— | — |
| Athletic Slava 1923 | 1 | — | — |
| Sportklub Sofia | 1 | — | — |
| Levski Ruse | — | 1 | — |
| Makedonia Skopie | — | 1 | — |
| Shipka Sofia | — | — | 1 |
Performance by city
| City | Winners | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sofia | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| Varna | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| Plovdiv | 1 | — | — |
| Ruse | — | 1 | — |
| Skopje[lower-alpha 1] | — |
1 |
— |
- Skopje, was part of Bulgaria when Makedonia Skopie reached the championship final in 1942.
See also
- Bulgarian Republic Football Championship (Champions 1945–1948)
- Bulgarian A Football Group (Champions 1948–present)
References
- Bulgarian-football.com - State Championship. Retrieved 2009-05-26.