📅 ON THIS DAY IN BULGARIA, Friday 22 May
Bulgarian football operates on a loop most British expats only half-follow: Ludogorets win the league, Ludogorets reach the Cup final, Ludogorets qualify for European competition, repeat. Last year's Cup final on 22 May 2025 was the latest iteration of that pattern, a 1-0 victory over CSKA Sofia at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia. For Ludogorets, it was their fourth Cup triumph following 2012, 2014 and 2023. For CSKA, it was their 36th Cup final appearance in the club's long history, and their first since 2022. The result surprised nobody who follows Bulgarian football, but the consequences rippled outward in ways that still shape the 2025/26 season.
What happened on this day
The 2025 Bulgarian Cup final was the 85th edition of the competition, a tournament with roots stretching back to 1938. Ludogorets entered the match as defending champions of the First League, having already secured the title weeks earlier. CSKA, the historic Sofia powerhouse with 31 Cup wins to their name, were chasing their first trophy in three years. The final itself was decided by a single goal, details of which the Bulgarian Wikipedia entry leaves frustratingly sparse (no goalscorer named, no minute recorded, a characteristic Bulgarian archive gap). What mattered was the result: Ludogorets 1, CSKA 0.
For Ludogorets, based in the northeastern town of Razgrad, this was their third consecutive Cup final. They won in 2023, lost in 2024, and reclaimed the trophy in 2025. The club's dominance of Bulgarian football since their promotion to the top flight in 2011 has been staggering: thirteen consecutive league titles (2012–2024), four Cup wins, and regular Champions League group-stage appearances that dwarf the achievements of any other Bulgarian club in the modern era. They have become the Bulgarian equivalent of Celtic in Scotland or Bayern in Germany, a financial and tactical juggernaut in a league where most rivals operate on shoestring budgets.
For CSKA Sofia, the defeat was the latest chapter in a long, painful decline. The club that once ruled Bulgarian football in the communist era, with a trophy cabinet stuffed with domestic and European silverware, has spent the last two decades lurching between financial crises, relegations, and ownership disputes. Their 36 Cup final appearances (a Bulgarian record) speak to historical dominance; their failure to win since 2016 speaks to the present reality. Most of their fans left the stadium that night knowing the result was inevitable before kickoff.
Why this matters for British expats
Bulgarian football doesn't command the same pub-conversation space as the Premier League, but if you live here long enough, the Ludogorets phenomenon becomes unavoidable. The club's success has reshaped how European qualification slots work for Bulgarian teams, and that matters if you're the kind of expat who enjoys a modest flutter on the Europa League or follows lower-tier European competition.
Because Ludogorets had already won the 2024/25 First League title, their Cup victory didn't earn them a new European berth. They were guaranteed Champions League qualifying regardless. Instead, the Europa League first qualifying round slot that would normally go to the Cup winners passed to the league runners-up, Levski Sofia. This cascading qualification pattern is now baked into Bulgarian football: Ludogorets take the Champions League place, everyone else fights for the scraps.
For British expats in Bulgaria, the practical takeaway is simple: if you're planning to watch Bulgarian football live, Ludogorets away days are the only fixtures where you're likely to see Champions League-calibre opposition in the country. Their home ground in Razgrad (capacity just under 9,000) has hosted the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Inter Milan in recent years. CSKA, Levski, and the rest of the Bulgarian league can barely afford to keep their stadiums maintained, let alone compete at that level. The gap between Ludogorets and the rest is now so wide that watching a domestic league match feels less like competitive sport and more like watching a training exercise.
One practical note: Friday 22 May 2026 is an ordinary working day. The banks are open, the roads are clear, and unless you're planning to drive through central Sofia near the Vasil Levski Stadium on a match night (which you're not, because the final was last year), this anniversary won't disrupt your week. The value here is purely conversational. If your Bulgarian colleagues bring up Ludogorets' dominance, mentioning that you know about last year's Cup final and the cascading Europa League slot is the kind of localized sporting knowledge that earns a nod of respect. It signals you're paying attention to more than just the cost of living and the sunshine.
If you want the practical companion read, the Shumen.UK cultural calendar sits next to this one.
Sources and further reading
Details on the match draw from the Bulgarian Wikipedia entry on the 2025 Bulgarian Cup final, which carries the bare essentials (date, venue, score) but frustratingly omits the goalscorer and minute. Ludogorets' broader dominance and the cascading European qualification mechanics are public knowledge for anyone following Bulgarian football; the English Wikipedia entry offers a slightly fuller account of the match details and European slot allocation.