World Footy News

First Match of Inaugural Bulgarian AFL Season

The Bulgarian AFL has officially begun with the round one match played between Sofia Magpies and Varna Demons on Saturday 26th June 2021, in Aksakovo with Sofia Magpies defeating the hosts to claim the first official points in the Bulgarian league.  Bulgaria AFL kicked off back in 2019 with friendlies with Zagreb Hawks and Festival of Footy matches in Sept 2020. See World Footy News articles: April 2019 & September 2020.

 

Below is round one match report thanks to Atana Kirachin from AFL Bulgaria.

Both teams battled throughout the hot weather and suffered from short numbers on the bench, especially the Magpies, who went into the game with just one person on the interchange.

 

Nevertheless, the visitors got off to a flying start, as the entirely French midfield were able to create many chances for the Magpies to score, and took a nice lead into quarter time.

The Demons started to gain momentum in the second quarter, but inaccuracy in front of goal proved costly for the red & blue. The home side attempted to hit the lead but were hampered by an injury to one of their players, who remained on the bench until halftime.

 

After the break, the Magpies were once again quick to pounce and made life for the Demons difficult. The Demons, who worked their way back into the quarter, would soon trail the Magpies by three goals at three quarter time.

Heading into the final term, Varna would need to give it their best to become the first winning side in the Bulgarian league. The Demons managed to win the quarter, but it just wasn’t enough, as the visitors went on to claim the victory by two goals 6. 16. (52) to 8. 16. (64).

 

Congratulations to the Magpies who would return to Sofia with both points and took the first step towards the AFL Bulgaria title. The two teams will meet three more times throughout the season to determine the league premiers. If the season finishes with two wins each, a fifth and final game will be played to determine the overall winner at a neutral venue.

The next match will be played in the capital, Sofia, and is scheduled for July 10th. It is possible that the match will be rescheduled at the request of the teams.

Great to see more matches being played across Europe post-pandemic. I believe Switzerland have managed a couple of mixed matches recently, and I saw that the Leeside League in Ireland has played several rounds over the last few weeks.