Only 5 teams chose to reduce our elite pool to 14 teams or less. “For” were only “Levski”, CSKA, FC CSKA 1948, “Botev” (Plovdiv) and “Ludogorets”. This became clear after a nearly 3-hour meeting of the clubs from our “professional” groups in the BFS.
Five teams also supported restrictions on foreigners, but in the end that didn’t pass either. Thus, only a compensatory system will be thought of for teams that play with young Bulgarian players.
The reduction of the elite was due to the constantly presented argument for closing centers, because it was possible to reach five teams from Sofia, two from Plovdiv, two from Varna and one from Razgrad and that would be all, explained the new president of the BFS Georgi Ivanov-Gonzo , who promised the congress revolutionary changes.
The clubs themselves had to work to reduce the number of foreigners, to pay more attention to their schools and produce better quality players. Apparently no one notices that at the moment even the teams that are in danger of relegation are playing with foreigners.
“There was a proposal to have a minimum salary threshold for a foreigner
I accept it because when you hire a foreigner, it means he is good and you give him a big salary. There are teams with 12-13 foreigners, but they haven’t raised their level”, said the sports director of “Ludogorets” Georgi Karamandjukov after the meeting.
Thus, after long deliberations, it is only possible to change the playoffs after the end of the season. The elite will not be divided into six, four and six, but will be according to the 4-4-8 scheme. Only the eight will be played once, and the other two groups will be on alternate visits. Or there will be 36 matches in each of them, and in the last one with one more.
Finally, the fifth will play with the fourth Eurovisa playoff, the last two in the standings are eliminated directly, and the 13th and 14th will have a playoff against the third and fourth in the Second League.
There was a proposal to split everything into four, with the 12th going to the play-offs against League Two, but this was rejected.
“Ultimately, in our opinion, this is more fair, because currently the seventh is playing for Europe, and it can be 20 points away from the fourth or more than the third, which can be in this playoff. Now the forces will be equalized”, explained Georgi Ivanov.
The second league will have 20 teams, after
the second teams of CSKA and “Botev” (Pd) enter administratively
This is a bit confusing, because Plovdiv had one at this level, but it was dropped, and years ago the “reds” directly gave up this option.
To ease the calendar, League Two matches will not be suspended when there is a break for the national teams. This way the rounds will be played faster.
The head of the professional league, Atanas Karaivanov, described the discussion as very useful. Georgi Ivanov added that this is the first of many upcoming meetings with the clubs. But they will be in a smaller format. Because this one had teams with four representatives. The BFS also provided translators for the foreigners who have some management function in the clubs.
A transfer of the championship to a professional league, as is the case in most countries in Europe, is imminent, but not urgent.
“We will move with small steps, because if you take big ones, you either slip or you stumble,” Gonzo remarked philosophically.
He clarified his words that the Bulgarian championship was in the top 5 of Europe in terms of interest.
“It’s about interest, not level of play. The eternal derby attracts far more television viewers than the English Championship. So there are people who are interested, but don’t go to the stadium because of rockets, swearing and so on. We have to fight these problems”, the boss of football was categorical and announced that he does not intend to reduce the fines for the infamous article for swearing directly against the football union. In recent years, they have become one of the most reliable sources of income for the plant.
For a change in television rights, the current contract must first expire and then be thought about, Gonzo believes. As is known, there is a penalty of BGN 20 million. The new championship starts a week after the European one and ends on May 31. The spring half-season will begin on Trifon Zarezan and Saint Valentine.