# 2019–20 Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2019–20 Second League was the 64th season of the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system, and the 4th season under this name and current league structure. The season began in July 2019 and ended in May 2020, but without playing all the scheduled games. The two promotion/relegation playoffs (involving teams from the First League as well) were held in July 2020.
After the possibility of holding matches without spectators was initially envisioned, on 13 March 2020, the Bulgarian Football Union decided to suspend all fixtures until 13 April in accordance with the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. On 3 April 2020, the state of national emergency was extended until 13 May 2020 and on 11 April the Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev confirmed that no mass participation sports events and full training sessions will be held until that date. On 15 May 2020, the Bulgarian Football Union announced that the league will not be completed, with the standings after 22 rounds to be considered final. Reportedly, 10 of the lower-ranked clubs expressed a preference for this scenario due to the financial and personnel difficulties experienced by them as a result of the crisis, though Septemvri Sofia and Lokomotiv Sofia were opposed. CSKA 1948 gained promotion to the First League while Septemvri Sofia and Montana faced the teams who finished in the 13th (Tsarsko Selo) and the 12th (Dunav Ruse) places respectively in the highest league in promotion/relegation playoffs, with the former losing the playoff and the latter promoted.
The season was marred by controversies, as several teams were disqualified from the Second League and admitted to lower divisions. Vereya was disqualified before the season started and relegated to the fourth division. During the season, Pomorie declined to further participate, resulting in demotion to the Third League for next season, due to financial problems. Similarly to Pomorie, Botev Galabovo and Chernomorets Balchik decided to withdraw from the league (during the period when the games were halted) due to financial issues.
In July 2020, after the season, three Lokomotiv GO players, twelve Minyor Pernik playing personnel, two Neftochimic footballers, four members of the Hebar squad and four Septemvri footballers as well as a trainer were reported to have tested positive for COVID-19.

## Teams

The following teams have changed division since the 2018–19 season.
Note: FC Vereya, who were disqualified from the First League for match fixing, failed to obtain a professional license from the Bulgarian Football Union with the team instead entering the Southeast group of the Third Football League. As a result the Second League will consist of only 17 teams with no replacement team for Vereya's vacated spot.

## Stadia and locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Botev | Galabovo | Energetik | 3,000 |
| Chernomorets | Balchik | Gradski, Balchik | 3,100 |
| CSKA 1948 | Sofia | Vasil Levski | 43,230 |
| Hebar | Pazardzhik | Georgi Benkovski | 13,128 |
| Kariana | Erden | Sport Complex Kariana | 1,000 |
| Litex | Lovech | Gradski, Lovech | 8,100 |
| Lokomotiv | Gorna Oryahovitsa | Lokomotiv, Gorna Oryahovitsa | 10,500 |
| Lokomotiv | Sofia | Lokomotiv, Sofia | 22,000 |
| Ludogorets II | Razgrad | Eagles' Nest | 2,000 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta | 8,000 |
| Neftochimic | Burgas | Arena Sozopol | 3,500 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev | 7,500 |
| Pomorie | Pomorie | Pomorie | 2,000 |
| Septemvri | Sofia | DIT | 2,000 |
| Spartak | Pleven | Pleven | 22,000 |
| Spartak | Varna | Spartak | 8,000 |
| Strumska Slava | Radomir | Gradski, Radomir | 3,500 |

## Personnel and sponsorship

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 | Kit sponsor |
| Botev Galabovo | Mitko Kotsinov | Nikolay Yankov | KRASIKO | Jeep | Knauf, Galabovo Municipality |
| Chernomorets Balchik | Georgi Ivanov | Genadi Lugo | Uhlsport | Balchik Municipality | Efbet |
| CSKA 1948 | Yordan Yurukov | Emil Mihaylov | Errea | Efbet | Bachkovo |
| Hebar | Nikolay Mitov | Vasil Gerov | Jako | Efbet | Pazardzhik Municipality |
| Kariana | Veselin Velikov | Evgeni Ignatov | Joma | — | — |
| Litex | Zhivko Zhelev | Plamen Nikolov | Givova | WINBET | — |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Mladen Dodić | Tom | Joma | Casa Boyana | Efbet, Malizia, Intesa, VIA 2000, Club 33 |
| Lokomotiv GO | Milcho Sarmov | Ivo Harizanov | KRASIKO | Efbet | Prity, Enel, Go Grill |
| Ludogorets II | Todor Zhivondov | Preslav Petrov | Nike | Efbet | Vivacom, Spetema |
| Montana | Vladimir Ivanov | Ivan Mihov | Jako | Efbet | — |
| Neftochimic | Diyan Petkov | Tsvetan Filipov | KRASIKO | Masterhaus | Burgas Municipality |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Warren Feeney | Vladislav Zlatinov | Umbro | Emirates Wealth | — |
| Pomorie | Malin Orachev | Georgi Petkov | Jako | Efbet | — |
| Septemvri Sofia | Milen Radukanov | Boris Galchev | Uhlsport | WINBET | — |
| Spartak Pleven | Krasimir Bislimov | Ivaylo Radentsov | Hummel | Efbet | — |
| Spartak Varna | Nedelcho Matushev | Boyan Iliev | Jako | Efbet | — |
| Strumska Slava | Vladimir Dimitrov | Borislav Nikolov | Givova | Efbet | — |
Note: Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey for official tournaments organised by UEFA in addition to that of the kit manufacturer (exceptions are made for non-profit organisations). Clubs in the domestic league can have more than one sponsorship per jersey which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. Shorts also have space available for advertisement.

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Spartak Varna | Engibar Engibarov | End of contract | 29 May 2019 | Pre-season | Diyan Bozhilov | 3 June 2019 |
| Septemvri Sofia | Marian Hristov | Mutual consent | 4 June 2019 | Pre-season | Milen Radukanov | 4 June 2019 |
| Montana | Atanas Atanasov | End of contract | 5 June 2019 | Pre-season | Vladimir Ivanov | 12 June 2019 |
| Ludogorets II | Radoslav Komitov | Mutual consent | 14 June 2019 | Pre-season | Todor Zhivondov | 14 June 2019 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Ivan Stoychev | Mutual consent | 19 June 2019 | Pre-season | Ivo Trenchev | 20 June 2019 |
| Botev Galabovo | Saša Simonović | Mutual consent | 2 July 2019 | Pre-season | Mitko Kotsinov | 4 July 2019 |
| Lokomotiv GO | Krasimir Mechev | Mutual consent | 2 August 2019 | 14th | Milcho Sarmov | 6 August 2019 |
| Spartak Varna | Diyan Bozhilov | Mutual consent | 3 August 2019 | 17th | Nedelcho Matushev | 13 August 2019 |
| CSKA 1948 | Petko Petkov | Mutual consent | 20 October 2019 | 2nd | Yordan Yurukov | 21 October 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CSKA 1948 (C, P) | 21 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 59 | 18 | +41 | 55 | Promotion to the First League |
| 2 | Septemvri Sofia | 20 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 52 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Montana (P) | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 40 | 17 | +23 | 42 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 21 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 18 | +16 | 39 | |
| 5 | Neftochimic | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 35 | 29 | +6 | 33 | |
| 6 | Hebar | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 33 | |
| 7 | Litex | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 15 | +14 | 32 | |
| 8 | Kariana | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 32 | |
| 9 | Lokomotiv GO | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 29 | |
| 10 | Botev Galabovo (R, D) | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 25 | Disqualified and relegated to the Third League |
| 11 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 25 | |
| 12 | Ludogorets II | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 25 | −5 | 24 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 13 | Strumska Slava | 21 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 21 | 34 | −13 | 22 | |
| 14 | Chernomorets Balchik (R, D) | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 22 | Disqualified and relegated to the Third League |
| 15 | Spartak Varna (R) | 21 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 42 | −36 | 10 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 16 | Spartak Pleven (R) | 21 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 41 | −31 | 7 | Relegation to the Third League |
| 17 | Pomorie (R, D) | 21 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 45 | −30 | 6 | Disqualified and relegated to the Third League |
* 1 2 Neftochimic ahead of Hebar on head-to-head points: Neftochimic–Hebar 2–1.
* 1 2 Litex ahead of Kariana on head-to-head points: Kariana–Litex 1–1, Litex with more away goals.
* 1 2 Botev Galabovo ahead of Pirin Blagoevgrad on head-to-head points: Botev Galabovo–Pirin 0–0, Pirin–Botev Galabovo 2–2, Botev Galabovo with more away goals.
* ↑ Botev Galabovo was disqualified to the Third League, after the team voluntarily decided to cancel their participation in the Second League, due to financial difficulties.
* 1 2 Strumska Slava ahead of Chernomorets Balchik on head-to-head points: Strumska Slava–Chernomorets Balchik 1–0, Chernomorets Balchik–Strumska Slava 2–1, Strumska Slava with more away goals.
* ↑ Chernomorets Balchik was disqualified from the league, due to financial problems. The team was demoted to the Third League.
* ↑ Spartak Pleven deducted 3 points for a first no-show without an excusable reason (round 8, against Montana).
* ↑ Pomorie deducted 3 points for a first no-show without an excusable reason (round 19, against Kariana).
* ↑ On 25 February 2020, Pomorie were disqualified and relegated from the league for not showing up to two consecutive matches. All results from played matches involving Pomorie were retained, and the team's opponents until the end of the season will be awarded 3–0 wins.

## Results

| Home \ Away | GAL | CBA | CSK | HEB | KAR | LIT | LGO | LSO | LUD | MON | NEF | PIR | POM | SEP | SPL | SVN | STR |
| Botev Galabovo | — | 2–1 | 4–5 | a | a | a | a | 0–3 | 1–0 | a | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Chernomorets Balchik | b | — | b | 1–1 | 1–0 | b | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | b | b | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | b | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| CSKA 1948 | c | 2–0 | — | c | c | c | c | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 7–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Hebar | 1–0 | d | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | d | d | 1–3 | d | 1–3 | 3–0 | d | 3–0 | 3–0 | d |
| Kariana | 0–0 | e | 3–2 | e | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | e | e | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | e | 2–3 | e | 1–0 |
| Litex | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | f | f | — | 5–0 | f | f | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | f | 1–0 | 0–0 | f | 0–2 |
| Lokomotiv GO | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | g | g | 2–1 | 1–0 | g | g | 0–1 | 3–0 | g | 3–2 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 2–0 | h | 2–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | h | 2–0 | h | h | 1–0 | h | h |
| Ludogorets II | 2–2 | i | i | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | i | 1–1 | i | i | 2–0 | 1–0 | i |
| Montana | 3–0 | 6–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | j | j | j | 2–0 | — | 4–2 | j | 5–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | j | 2–0 |
| Neftochimic | k | 1–0 | k | 2–1 | k | k | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | k | 5–0 | 3–0 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | 2–2 | l | l | l | l | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | l | 1–1 | l | — | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Pomorie | m | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | m | 0–3 | m | — | m | m | 2–0 | m |
| Septemvri Sofia | n | 4–0 | n | 4–2 | 3–2 | 4–3 | n | 2–1 | 2–2 | n | n | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | n | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Spartak Pleven | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | o | o | o | 0–2 | 0–1 | o | 1–2 | o | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Spartak Varna | 1–1 | o | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | o | o | o | o | — | o |
| Strumska Slava | p | 1–0 | p | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | p | 0–2 | 4–2 | p | 2–1 | p | 1–1 | 0–4 | p | 3–0 | — |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| CSKA 1948 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Septemvri | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Montana | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 12 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Neftochimic | 2 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Hebar | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Litex | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Kariana | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Lokomotiv GO | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Botev Galabovo | 7 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Pirin | 17 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Ludogorets II | 8 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Strumska Slava | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Chernomorets | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Spartak Varna | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Spartak Pleven | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| Pomorie | 6 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 |

### Results by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Botev Galabovo | D | D | L | D | W | L | W | L | W | – | L | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | D | L | D | D |
| Chernomorets | L | D | W | – | L | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | W | L | – | L |
| CSKA 1948 | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | – | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Hebar | W | W | L | W | D | L | – | L | W | D | W | L | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | L |
| Kariana | D | W | W | W | – | L | D | L | D | W | L | W | D | D | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | – |
| Litex | W | W | – | L | L | W | D | D | L | W | W | W | L | D | W | L | W | D | L | – | W | D |
| Lokomotiv GO | L | D | L | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | – | L | D | L | L | L | W |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | – | L | W | D | W | D | D | L | L | W | W | W |
| Ludogorets II | D | L | W | W | D | D | D | L | – | D | L | L | D | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | W | L |
| Montana | D | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | L | D | W | L | W | – | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W |
| Neftochimic | W | L | W | L | W | – | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | D | W | W | L | W | W | L |
| Pirin | – | D | L | L | W | W | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | W | D | – | D | L | L | D |
| Pomorie | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | D | – | L | L | D | L | L | L | L |
| Septemvri | W | – | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | – | W | L | W |
| Spartak Pleven | L | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | – | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | D | L |
| Spartak Varna | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | W | L | D | L | – | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D |
| Strumska Slava | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | L | – | L | W | W | L | W |

## Transfers

* List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2019