September 16 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and the Bulgarian Professional Football League (BPFL) have launched a new knockout tournament featuring eight of the country’s top-tier clubs.
Naming rights for the competition have been sold to bookmaker Bethub with the new competition to be called the Bethub Pro Cup.
Setting a new benchmark for national football, the tournament opens with a record prize of €720,000, the biggest financial incentive in the history of Bulgarian football.
Organizers have already announced plans to increase the prize’s total endowment to €900,000 in future editions, with part of the funds earmarked to support Second Division clubs and regional youth development.
Although the tournament features the nation’s elite, Ludogorets Razgrad refused to participate in this inaugural edition. As a result of his retirement, Botev Vratsa, who finished ninth in the final efbet League standings last season, has stepped in to take his place on the grid.
The tournament features a fast-paced, competitive knockout format consisting of just seven matches in total: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a grand final.
In a unique regulatory twist designed to maximize stadium atmosphere and reward fan participation, home ground advantage is awarded to the club with the highest average home attendance in the previous season.
To heighten the drama, games tied at the end of regulation time will bypass the traditional extra time and go straight to a penalty shootout. Teams will also enjoy full roster flexibility as the tournament imposes no roster restrictions on registered players.
The official draw has set the opening quarter-final action for next month, with substitutes Botev Vratsa traveling to face Botev Plovdiv on October 14, followed by Cherno More against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on October 21.
The remaining two quarter-finals, with Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia, have been rescheduled for February 2027 due to European team congestion, paving the way for the semi-finals in March and the final clash on 7 April 2027.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, a (email protected)
