The Parwa liga 2019/20 (officially: efbet Liga after the league sponsor Efbet ) was the 96th season of the highest Bulgarian football league and the fourth under the reformed mode of the Parwa liga (German First League).
The season started on July 12, 2019 and was originally supposed to end on May 31, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , gaming operations were suspended on March 13, 2020. After the Bulgarian government announced the easing of measures against the pandemic on May 6, the Bulgarian Football Association announced its plan on May 7, 2020 to restart the game on June 5. The plan also contained a scenario that in the event of another interruption of the game, the championship would be declared complete and the table status after the last fully played round will be used as the final result. On June 21, 2020, Ludogorez Razgrad became Bulgarian champions for the ninth year in a row after the club beat Beroe 2-1.
The 14 clubs initially play the regular season in a double round. This table serves as the basis for qualifying for various placement rounds. The six best-placed clubs reach the championship round, the teams in places seven to fourteen play in the relegation round for a possible international starting place and determine the teams that take part in the relegation.
The six best-placed clubs in the regular season reached the championship round, in which, in addition to the championship, it was also a question of international places in the European Cup . The champions qualified for the first qualifying round for the Champions League and the runner-up reached the first qualifying rounds of the Europa League . The third-placed took part in the Europa League playoffs.
Originally, another double round was to be played between the six clubs, with all results from the regular season being carried over. After the COVID pandemic, it was decided that the six clubs should only play against each other once.
The teams in places 7 to 14 of the regular season were divided into two groups using the serpentine method. The two best clubs in each group qualified for the Europa League playoffs, while the two worst clubs had to continue to play in order to remain in the Parwa Liga .
Originally another double round was to be played between the four clubs in each group, with all results from the preliminary round being carried over. After the COVID pandemic, it was decided that the four clubs from each group should only play once between each other.
The two best-placed clubs in each group in the play-offs as well as the third-placed club in the championship round played another starting place in the UEFA Europa League in three rounds, each with a home and away leg . The four teams from the play-offs determined in the first two rounds the club that competed in the 3rd round against the third-placed team from the championship round. The winner of this game will then start in the 1st qualifying round of the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League . After the COVID pandemic, it was decided that the qualifying games should be played as individual games.
The club that has the fewest points in the relegation round was automatically relegated. The remaining three worst-placed clubs in the Parwa League formed a group, where they carry out another double round. In contrast to the previous rounds, the previous results were not carried over. The group's winner stayed in the Parwa League the next season. The runner-up scored on the third in the Wtora Liga, while the third placed played against the runner-up in the Wtora Liga. The two winners qualified for the Parwa liga , while the losers had to play in the Wtora liga. After the COVID pandemic, it was decided that the three clubs should only play against each other once.
Dunaw Russe came in 12th against the third in the Wtora league, Tsarsko Selo in 13th against the second in the Wtora league. Both games took place on neutral ground.