Country | Bulgaria |
---|---|
Founded | 1950 |
Number of teams | 63 16 North-West 12 North-East 18 South-East 17 South-West |
Level on pyramid | 3 |
Promotion to | Second League |
Relegation to | Regional Groups |
Domestic cup(s) |
Bulgarian Cup Cup of Bulgarian AFL |
Current champions |
Chernomorets Balchik (North-East) Nesebar (South-East) Etar Veliko Tarnovo (North-West) CSKA Sofia (South-West) |
2016–17 season |
The Bulgarian Third League is the third level of the Bulgarian football league system. Third League operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the second and the fourth tier of the Bulgarian football league pyramid – the Second League and the A Oblast Groups.
Currently, the Third League consists of four divisions that are formed by separating the country into four regions: North-West, South-West, North-East and South-East.
The Third League was created in 1950 as the third level of the Bulgarian football league system, along with the second tier in the same pyramid - Second League.
While the first two levels in the football pyramid - (A Group) and (B Group) - are professional, the third level is of amateur status and does not require professional licensing for the team. The amateur status of the third tier has resulted in the level being officially named V Amateur Football Group (or similar) on several occasions throughout the years, so V Group is commonly abbreviated "V AFG". From 2016 the league is renamed "Third Amateur Football League"
The Third League has historically been divided into four different groups running in simultaneously (North-West TAFL, South-West TAFL, North-East TAFL and South-East TAFL). Each group is managed by a different administrative football zone center - Sofia for South-West, Plovdiv for South-East, Varna for North-East, and Veliko Tarnovo for North-West.