A serious change in the regulations of the First League was approved yesterday by the clubs before the draw for the second phase of the championship. Next season, it will be mandatory for teams to start with one Bulgarian born after January 1, 2003, in the starting lineup - i.e. to be under 23 years old. At the same time, the rule "4" is also maintained for four native footballers who must start, with the mandatory presence of one under 21 years old in the group for the match. He must play a minimum of 45 minutes, writes "Tema Sport".
Clubs that pay to be exempted from rule "4" will not be able to circumvent the new regulation and will be required to have at least one Bulgarian player under 23 years of age in the starting 11. The upcoming campaign (2026/27) will be used as an interim one, and from the 2027/28 season, teams will be required to include at least one native-born player under 21 years of age in their starting lineups.
The new rule will affect CSKA's selection plans. The army team intends to attract leading Bulgarian players in the summer, and in view of the upcoming changes, they will push these plans. Currently, there are only two players in the first team who meet the above-mentioned requirements – Teodor Ivanov (born 13.03.2004) and Petko Panayotov (born 20.07.2025). CSKA will certainly attract at least one more young native player in the summer, who will be a serious option for the starting 11. This will happen as early as early June, so that the player in question can be in line for the start of the season. At the top of CSKA's transfer list are the wings Sevi Idriz from Loko Pd and Kristiyan Balov from Slavia, but the army team is also keeping a close eye on other youth internationals.