2017–18 First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)
The 2017–18 First Professional Football League was the 94th season of the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, the 69th since a league format was adopted for the national competition of A Group as a top tier of the pyramid and also the 2nd season of the First Professional Football League, which decides the Bulgarian champion. The season is the second with a new league structure and strict financial criteria where 14 clubs play each other home and away, until the league is split up in championship and relegation playoffs. The new league structure, inspired by the ones used by the Belgian First Division A and Danish Superliga, was approved by the Bulgarian Football Union on 6 June 2016. The fixture list was released on 22 June 2017.
On 29 April 2018, four rounds before the end of the championship, Ludogorets Razgrad managed to secure the title for a seventh consecutive and overall time.
Teams
A total of 14 teams would be contesting the league. Etar were promoted as champions of the 2016–17 Second League, sealing their title on the final day of the season with a 2–2 away draw against Nesebar, coupled with Septemvri Sofia's 0–2 away defeat to Oborishte. The promoted club replaced Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, who suffered an immediate return to the second tier after elimination in the relegation play-offs by Montana.Septemvri Sofia, runners-up of the 2016–17 Second League, won the play-off against Montana and return to the top flight for the first time since 1998–99 season. Montana return to the second tier after two seasons in the top flight.
Vitosha Bistritsa, who finished 3rd in the 2016–17 Second League, defeated Neftochimic in the play-off and won promotion to the top division for the first time in their history. Neftochimic spent only one season in the First League.
Stadia and locations
Note: From the 2016-17 season onwards, all participating clubs are required to have electric floodlights and adequate pitch conditions under the BFU and TV broadcaster's new licensing criteria. The following stadiums below have either obtained a license under UEFA's category ranking or fulfill the licensing criteria.| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe | 12,128 |
| Botev | Plovdiv | Botev 1912 Football Complex | 4,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Ticha | 8,250 |
| CSKA | Sofia | Balgarska Armiya | 18,495 |
| Dunav | Ruse | Gradski, Ruse | 12,400 |
| Etar | Veliko Tarnovo | Ivaylo | 18,000 |
| Levski | Sofia | Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov | 25,000 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv | 13,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 9,000 |
| Pirin | Blagoevgrad | Hristo Botev | 7,000 |
| Septemvri | Sofia | Vasil Levski National Stadium | 43,230 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Slavia Vasil Levski National Stadium | 25,556 43,230 |
| Vereya | Stara Zagora | Trace Arena | 3,500 |
| Vitosha | Bistritsa | Bistritsa Stadium | 2,500 |
a.Cherno More played their first home match at Kavarna Stadium in Kavarna due to ongoing renovation works at their Ticha Stadium.
b.Etar played their first two home matches at Lovech Stadium in Lovech due to ongoing renovation works at their Ivaylo Stadium.
c.Septemvri Sofia will play at the Vasil Levski National Stadium because their Dragalevtsi Stadium is not licensed for First League.
d.Slavia Sofia obtained permission from the Bulgarian Football Union to use their own stadium and will play their matches at the Vasil Levski National Stadium only when floodlights are necessary.
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 | Additional |
| Beroe |  Aleksandar Tomash | Veselin Penev | Uhlsport | — | Refan |
| Botev Plovdiv | Nikolay Kirov | Lachezar Baltanov | Uhlsport | Efbet | — |
| CSKA Sofia | Hristo Yanev | Bozhidar Chorbadzhiyski | adidas | Mtel | WinBet, Baristo |
| Cherno More | Ilian Iliev | Georgi Iliev | Uhlsport | Armeets | — |
| Dunav Ruse | Malin Orachev | Diyan Dimov | Joma | — | WinBet |
| Etar | Krasimir Balakov | Kiril Akalski | Joma | — | WinBet |
| Levski Sofia |  Delio Rossi | Bozhidar Mitrev | Joma | Vivacom | Strabag, Efbet, Spetema |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv |  Bruno Akrapović |  Vančo Trajanov | Uhlsport | Efbet | General Broker |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | Dimitar Dimitrov | Svetoslav Dyakov | Umbro | bet365 | Vivacom, Spetema |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad | Milen Radukanov | Yulian Popev | Erreà | Katarino Spa | — |
| Septemvri Sofia | Nikolay Mitov | Valentin Galev | Uhlsport | Efbet | — |
| Slavia Sofia | Zlatomir Zagorčić | Georgi Petkov | Joma | bet365 | — |
| Vereya |  Elias | Elias | Erreà | Efbet | Spetema |
| Vitosha Bistritsa | Kostadin Angelov | Chetin Sadula | Jumper | 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.
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
1.No license for First League.Regular season
League table
Results
Positions by round
Results by round
Championship round
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.Positions by round
Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.Relegation round
Points and goals will carry over in full from regular season.Group A
Group B
European play-offs
Bracket
European play-off quarter-finals
----European play-off semi-finals
European play-off final
Relegation play-offs
Bracket
Winners of matches 3, 5 and 6 will play in the top division next seasonFirst round
----Second round
----Pirin Blagoevgrad are relegated to the Second League.
Third round
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 |  Claudiu Keșerü | Ludogorets Razgrad | 26 |
| 2 | Fernando Karanga | CSKA Sofia | 23 |
| 3 |  Pedro Eugénio | Beroe | 16 |
| 4 | Steven Petkov | Botev Plovdiv | 15 |
| 5 | Martin Kamburov | Beroe Stara Zagora | 14 |
| 6 |  Virgil Misidjan | Ludogorets Razgrad | 12 |
| 7 | Ivaylo Dimitrov | Slavia Sofia | 11 |
| 7 | Martin Toshev | Septemvri Sofia | 11 |
| 9 |  Alioune Badará | Etar | 10 |
| 9 | João Paulo | Botev Plovdiv | 10 |
| 11 | Fernando Viana | Botev Plovdiv | 9 |
| 11 | Marcelinho | Ludogorets Razgrad | 9 |
| 11 | Todor Nedelev | Botev Plovdiv | 9 |
| 11 | Tiago Rodrigues | CSKA Sofia | 9 |
| 11 | Galin Ivanov | Slavia Sofia | 9 |
| 11 |  David Jablonský | Levski Sofia | 9 |
| 11 | Dimo Bakalov | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 9 |
| 11 | Stanislav Kostov | Levski Sofia | 9 |
| 19 | Vasil Shopov | Dunav Ruse | 8 |
| 19 | Kiril Despodov | CSKA Sofia | 8 |
| 19 | Paulinho | Levski Sofia | 8 |
| 22 | Miroslav Budinov | Septemvri Sofia | 7 |
| 22 |  Sergiu Buș | Levski Sofia | 7 |
| 22 | Boris Galchev | Septemvri Sofia | 7 |
| 22 |  Chris Gadi | Septemvri Sofia | 7 |
| 22 |  Jody Lukoki | Ludogorets Razgrad | 7 |
| 22 |  Jakub Świerczok | Ludogorets Razgrad | 7 |
| 22 | Wanderson | Ludogorets Razgrad | 7 |
| 29 | Junior Mapuku | Levski Sofia | 6 |
| 29 | Mariyan Ognyanov | Cherno More | 6 |
| 29 | Ivan Minchev | Slavia Sofia | 6 |
| 29 | Radoslav Vasilev | Cherno More | 6 |
| 29 | Ismail Isa | Dunav Ruse | 6 |
| 29 | Georgi Iliev | Cherno More | 6 |
| 29 |  Mehdi Fennouche | Cherno More | 6 |
;Notes
Hat-tricks
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Bozhidar Mitrev | Levski Sofia | 19 |
| 2 |  Vytautas Černiauskas | CSKA Sofia | 17 |
| 3 |  Jorge Broun | Ludogorets Razgrad | 12 |
| 4 |  Dušan Perniš | Beroe | 11 |
| 5 | Blagoy Makendzhiev | Cherno More | 10 |
| 6 | Ivan Čvorović | Botev Plovdiv | 9 |
| 6 | Renan | Ludogorets Razgrad | 9 |
| 8 | Yanko Georgiev | Septemvri Sofia | 8 |
| 8 | Ilko Pirgov | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 8 |
| 10 | Georgi Argilashki | Beroe | 7 |
| 11 | Stanislav Antonov | Dunav Ruse | 6 |
| 11 | Emil Mihaylov | Cherno More | 6 |
| 13 | Martin Lukov | Dunav Ruse | 5 |
| 13 |  Antonis Stergiakis | Slavia Sofia | 5 |
| 13 | Hristo Ivanov | Etar | 5 |
| 16 | Nikolay Georgiev | Vitosha Bistritsa | 3 |
| 16 | Valentin Galev | Septemvri Sofia | 3 |
| 16 | Georgi Georgiev | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 3 |
| 19 | Georgi Petkov | Slavia Sofia | 2 |
| 19 |  Antoni Milina | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2 |
| 19 | Daniel Kajzer | Botev Plovdiv | 2 |
| 22 |  Yevhen Borovyk | Cherno More | 1 |
| 22 | Ivan Dyulgerov | Cherno More | 1 |
| 22 | Mihail Ivanov | Vitosha Bistritsa | 1 |
| 22 | Petar Ivanov | Levski Sofia | 1 |
| 22 | Aleksandar Lyubenov | Levski Sofia | 1 |
| 22 | Nikolay Radev | Vitosha Bistritsa | 1 |
| 22 | Hristiyan Vasilev | Vitosha Bistritsa | 1 |
| 22 | - | - | 1 |
;Notes