July 31 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has signed a two-year partnership agreement with the bookmaker Elitbet. Who will become the main sponsor of the third tier of Bulgarian football.
The Third League, which is made up of amateur teams, will be renamed Elitbet Third League.
Desislava Zaharieva, marketing director of Elitbet, announced that there will be a complete rebranding of the Third League championships, which are divided into four leagues geographically – South-West Group, North-West Group, North-East Group and South-East Group.
It is expected that in the near future matches from the Third League will be broadcast live but it is not clear yet whether this will be agreed with one of the Bulgarian television stations or whether the broadcast will be online only.
“We have long been looking for an option to broadcast the matches from the Third League and I can say that we have signed a good contract. It is for one plus one years and will give us the opportunity to promote amateur football in Bulgaria. It was quite a long negotiation, but I think we protected the interest of Bulgarian football,” shared Borislav Popov, executive director of the Bulgarian Football Union.
“We have four zones with a total of 85 teams and 43 games a week. This is a potential that is not developed, but definitely enjoys interest. Hopefully we can show that joy of the game that local people feel with their teams,” he added.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to be the first general partner of the Third League. We see a huge potential that has not been fully fulfilled,” said Desislava Zaharieva, Elitbet’s marketing director.
“Our overall goal is to produce an attractive product that will promote even more football in Bulgaria. We are launching with a new logo, we will emphasize digitalization, we intend to develop promotion channels, and we are planning to broadcast matches live in the second half of the season. We are working on a total rebranding of the Third League, we also want to have feedback from the fans,”
The president of the Amateur Football League in Bulgaria, Rumen Valkov, added that money is planned for the teams whose matches will be broadcast live, but the amount will not be “incredible”.
“We want to promote the Third League championship, which is at a pretty good level. I want people in these clubs to feel the result of their work. There will be money for the teams whose matches will be broadcast, but don’t expect any incredible amounts. I hope that this will further motivate the clubs to continue looking for new sponsors. I think that the BFU is doing everything in our power to help these clubs,” said Valkov.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1726768121labto1726768121ofdlr1726768121owedi1726768121sni@o1726768121fni1726768121