2015–16 A Group
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Ludogorets Razgrad (5th title) |
| Relegated | Litex Lovech (Expelled) |
| Champions League | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Europa League | Levski Sofia Beroe Stara Zagora Slavia Sofia |
| Matches played | 144 |
| Goals scored | 317 (2.2 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Martin Kamburov (18) |
| Biggest home win | Montana 6–0 Botev Plovdiv |
| Biggest away win | Slavia Sofia 0–5 Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Highest scoring | Beroe Stara Zagora 5–2 Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 28 May 2016. | |
The 2015–16 A Group is 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.
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.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity (seating) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe Stadium | 12,128 |
| Botev | Plovdiv | Stadion Komatevo | 4,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Ticha Stadium | 8,250 |
| Levski | Sofia | Georgi Asparuhov Stadium | 25,000 |
| Litex | Lovech | Lovech Stadium | 8,100 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv Stadium | 10,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 7,500 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta Stadium | 6,000 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev Stadium | 7,000 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Ovcha Kupel Stadium | 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 Stara Zagora |  Plamen Lipenski (caretaker)
|
Ivo Ivanov
|
Uhlsport | BEROE, Refan |
| Botev Plovdiv | Nikolay Kostov
|
Yordan Hristov
|
Uhlsport | Efbet |
| Cherno More Varna | 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 | Obshtina Montana |
| Pirin |  Naci Şensoy
|
Yulian 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 Stara Zagora | 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
Template:2015–16 A group table
Results
Relegation play-offs
Positions by Round
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