 | |
| Organising body | Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) |
| Region | Bulgaria |
| Number of teams | Various |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Bulgarian Supercup |
| Current champions | Botev Plovdiv (4th title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Levski Sofia (26 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | Nova Broadcasting Group |
 2024–25 | |
TheBulgarian Cup (Bulgarian:Купа на България,romanized: Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annualfootball competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registeredBulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament's format issingle-elimination, with all matches being one-legged, except the semi-finals. The competition's winner gets the right to take part in theUEFA Europa League. If the winner has already secured a place through theBulgarian A Professional Football Group, the team that has comefourth in the championship substitutes it.
The competition has beendominated bySofia-based teams. TheSofia teams have won together a total number of 65 titles. The three most successful teams areLevski Sofia (26 cups),CSKA Sofia (21 cups) andSlavia Sofia (8 cups). The current cup holders areBotev Plovdiv, who beatLudogorets Razgrad 3–2 in the2024 final.
The Bulgarian Cup tournament is divided in two phases - thequalification phase and thefinal phase.
In this phase are participating teams from the four groups of the amateur divisionV AFG (3rd level of theBulgarian football league system) and teams fromBulgarian A Regional Football Group (A RFG) (4th level of theBulgarian football league system).
In this phase are participating the teams that have won their matches in thequalification phase, with the 20 teams from the two groups ofB PFG (10 teams fromWest B PFG and 10 teams fromEast B PFG) and 16 teams fromA PFG. The team from a lower league division is the home team. In matches between teams from the same division, the home team is determined by lot.
TheBulgarian Cup as a domestic cup knock-out tournament, has its roots in several tournaments held inBulgaria through the early 20th century, simultaneously or successively starting in the 1910s with regional Sofia competitions.
TheTsar's Cup (Bulgarian:Царска купа,romanized: Tsarska kupa) is recognised as the foundation of the modern domestic cup by theBulgarian Football Union. The cup was founded in 1924, and until 1937 (and in 1943), it was awarded to the winner of theBulgarian State Football Championship. The championship was aknockout tournament in which the champions of the country's districts (oblasts) played in one-legged single-elimination rounds.
From 1938 to 1942, a separate tournament was held to determine the cup champion, its winners are officially recognised as domestic cup holders by theBFS.
An annual cup competition was not held between 1943 and 1945 due toWorld War II. In 1946, Bulgaria, now acommunist state, reformed its football league structure and competitions alike those in theSoviet Union. The new Central Football Committee created theSoviet Army Cup (Bulgarian:Купа на Съветската армия,romanized: Kupa na Savetskata armiya) in time for the 1945-46 season. Until the end of communist administration in Bulgaria in 1990, the annual two-legged knock-out tournament was held, its winners qualified for theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
The Soviet Army Cup was the country's primary cup tournament up to 1982. In the following years until 1990, the championship served as a secondary cup tournament, before ceasing to exist. TheBulgarian Football Union recognises the historic winners of the Soviet Army Cup as official domestic cup holders for the seasons between 1945–46 to 1981–82.Levski Sofia, being the club to have won the tournament the most times, were given the original trophy permanently.
In 1981, in honour of the1300th Anniversary of the Bulgarian State, a national knock-out football tournament was introduced, awarding the winner with theBulgarian Cup. The Soviet Army Cup tournament gradually lost its importance due to the success of the Bulgarian Cup and in 1983 it ceded primacy to the new competition. The winners of the Bulgarian Cup from 1982-83 onwards are considered official domestic cup holders.
The most successful club in the cup tournament isLevski Sofia, having won 26 titles. Levski Sofia also holds the record for the biggest win in a Bulgarian Cup final, winning 5–0 againstPirin Blagoevgrad in 1992 and 5–0 againstCSKA Sofia in 1998. CSKA Sofia are the only team to have claimed the trophy from outside the toplevel of Bulgarian football, doing so in2016, while representing the third tier of the country's football pyramid. Furthermore, CSKA Sofia hold the record for winning the most consecutive Bulgarian Cups (3 titles in a row), achieving that on two occasions, between 1972-1974 and 1987-1989.
A summary of the performance of various clubs who have taken part in the competition is shown in the table below.[1]
| Club | Wins | Last win | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levski Sofia | 26 | 2022 | 12 | 2018 | 38 |
| CSKA Sofia | 21 | 2021 | 14 | 2022 | 35 |
| Slavia Sofia | 8 | 2018 | 3 | 2011 | 11 |
| Botev Plovdiv | 4 | 2024 | 10 | 2019 | 14 |
| Lovech | 4 | 2009 | 3 | 2007 | 7 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 4 | 1995 | 2 | 1977 | 6 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 3 | 2023 | 2 | 2024 | 5 |
| Beroe Stara Zagora | 2 | 2013 | 4 | 1980 | 6 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2 | 2020 | 4 | 2012 | 6 |
| FK 13 Sofia | 2 | 1940 | — | — | 2 |
| Spartak Plovdiv | 1 | 1958 | 2 | 1959 | 3 |
| Spartak Sofia | 1 | 1968 | 2 | 1967 | 3 |
| Cherno More Varna | 1 | 2015 | 2 | 2008 | 3 |
| Shipka Sofia | 1 | 1939 | — | — | 1 |
| Atletik-Slava 23 | 1 | 1941 | — | — | 1 |
| Septemvri Sofia | 1 | 1960 | — | — | 1 |
| Marek Dupnitsa | 1 | 1978 | — | — | 1 |
| Sliven | 1 | 1990 | — | — | 1 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | — | — | 4 | 2009 | 4 |
| Levski Ruse | — | — | 2 | 1939 | 2 |
| Sportklub Plovdiv | — | — | 2 | 1942 | 2 |
| Spartak Varna | — | — | 2 | 1983 | 2 |
| Napredak Ruse | — | — | 1 | 1941 | 1 |
| Chernolomets Popovo | — | — | 1 | 1946 | 1 |
| Slavia-Chengelov Plovdiv | — | — | 1 | 1948 | 1 |
| Akademik Sofia | — | — | 1 | 1951 | 1 |
| Spartak Pleven | — | — | 1 | 1957 | 1 |
| Minyor Pernik | — | — | 1 | 1958 | 1 |
| Dunav Ruse | — | — | 1 | 1962 | 1 |
| Chernomorets Burgas | — | — | 1 | 1989 | 1 |
| Naftex Burgas | — | — | 1 | 2000 | 1 |
| Velbazhd Kyustendil | — | — | 1 | 2001 | 1 |
| Montana | — | — | 1 | 2016 | 1 |
| Arda Kardzhali | — | — | 1 | 2021 | 1 |
| CSKA 1948 Sofia | — | — | 1 | 2023 | 1 |
During the 1981 and 1982 Bulgarian Cup seasons, the tournament was a secondary cup competition.
| Season | Winner | Result | Runner-up | Date | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | CSKA Sofia | 1–0 | Slavia Sofia | 6 June 1981 | Vasil Levski National Stadium,Sofia | 25,000 |
| 1982 | Levski Sofia | 4–0 | CSKA Sofia | 16 June 1982 | Vasil Levski National Stadium,Sofia | 30,000 |
Notes:
From 1997 to 2011 the Bulgarian Cup was sponsored by the American car manufacturerFord and its official distributor inBulgaria Moto-Pfohe.
Between season2011–12 and2013–14 the Bulgarian Cup was sponsored by the BulgarianCorporate Commercial Bank.
Between season2014–15 and2020–21 there was no sponsor.
Since season2021–22 the Bulgarian Cup is sponsored by gambling company Sesame.
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