Azerbaijan Premier League

Azerbaijan Premier League

Founded	1992
Country	Azerbaijan
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	First League
Domestic cup(s)	Azerbaijan Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League
Current champions	Qarabağ (10th title) (2022–23)
Most championships	Qarabağ (10 titles)
TV partners	CBC Sport
Website	pfl.az
Current: 2023–24 Azerbaijan Premier League

The Azerbaijan Premier League (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is the top Azerbaijani professional league for men's association football teams. It is contested by 10 clubs. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 36 matches each (playing each team in the league four times, twice at home and twice away). The Premier League champion secures the right to play in UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runner up and the 3rd place winner secure right to play in UEFA Europa Conference League starting in second qualifying round.

Since 1992, a total of 8 clubs have been crowned champions of the Azerbaijani football system. The Azerbaijan Premier League was first organized in 2007 and succeeded the Top Division (Azerbaijani: Yüksək Liqa), which existed from 1992 to 2007. The current champions are Qarabağ, who won the title in the 2022–23 season for the tenth time.

Azerbaijan SSR Champions

History

The 1990s

The league was dominated by teams like Neftçi, Kapaz, Turan Tovuz and Shamkir. However, financial struggles had bad impact on local clubs and most teams such as Khazri Buzovna, Shamkir, Vilash Masalli and Shafa Baku went bust due increasing debts. In 1997, Kapaz were known for their unbeaten run as club's final record for the 1997–98 league campaign stood at 22 wins, 4 draws and 0 losses, out of 26 games total, an unbeaten run not matched in any single season by any team in an Azerbaijani league division.

The 2000s

As league entered a new century, the Neftçi found themselves facing new challengers. They were challenged by emerging Khazar Lankaran, Inter Baku and Baku in both competitions. The country's football received major blow in 2002, when UEFA imposed a two-year ban in response to a long-standing conflict between the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan and majority of the country's top flight clubs. The domestic championship was abandoned as a result of the conflict and the top clubs prevented their players from playing for the national team, with tax officials also probing allegations of fraud at the Azerbaijan federation. Under the management of Agaselim Mirjavadov, Khazar Lankaran finished as Azerbaijan Cup winners in 2006 and 2007, while becoming league champions in 2006–07 despite losing the title to Neftçi in 2004–05 during Championship play-off. Qarabağ was the first ever team from Azerbaijan to reach UEFA Europa League play off-round during the seasons 2009–10 and 2010–11. Few gave chances for qualification to the next round, although the Aghdam side caused quite a stir against favorites Rosenborg, Honka, Twente and Wisła Kraków.

The 2010s

The 2010s brought a bright start, with Neftçi emerged as a champion after six years of unsuccessful run. In the next season, Neftçi repeated its domestic success after sealing their seventh title in club's history. In that year, Neftçi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team which advanced to group stage of a European competition. In 2012–13 season, Neftçi managed to win three titles in a row. In 2013–14 season, Qarabağ managed to win its 2nd title after 21 years, and continue to win domestic title consecutively. In 2014, Qarabağ became the second and most successful Azerbaijani team which advanced to group stage of a European competition. After consecutive participation in Europa League, in 2017, Qarabağ became the first Azerbaijani team which advanced to group stage of a Champions League.

On 19 June 2020, the AFFA announced that the 2019–20 was officially ended without the resumption of the remains matches due to the escalating situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. As a result, Qarabağ were crowned champions for the seventh season in a row, whilst also qualifying for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, with Neftçi, Keşla and Sumgayit qualifying for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club four times, two times at home and two times away, for a total of 28 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.

Beginning from 2022-23 season Azerbaijan Premier League is planned to be extended to 10 teams.

Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

Qualification for European competitions

The champions qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the second and third placed teams qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League. As of the start of the 2020–21 Azerbaijan Premier League season qualification for European competitions is as follows: champions qualify for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, runners-up and third placed team qualifies for the first qualifying round of the Conference League. A fourth spot is given to the winner of the Azerbaijan Cup, who qualify for the first qualifying round of the Conference League. If the Azerbaijan Cup winner has already qualified for European competition through their league finish, the next highest placed club in the league takes their place.

Members of the APL (2022–23 season)

Stadia and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Team	Location	Venue	Capacity
Gabala	Qabala	Gabala City Stadium	4,500
Kapaz	Ganja	Ganja City Stadium	27,000
Neftçi	Baku	Bakcell Arena	11,000
Qarabağ	Aghdam	Azersun Arena	5,200
Sabah	Absheron	Bank Respublika Arena	13,000
Sabail	Sabail, Baku	Bayil Arena	3,200
Shamakhi	Shamakhi	Shamakhi City Stadium	2,200
Sumgayit	Sumqayit	Kapital Bank Arena	1,400
Turan-Tovuz	Tovuz	Tovuz City Stadium	6,800
Zira	Zira, Baku	Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium	1,300

Azerbaijani League Champions and Top Scorers

Season	Champion	Runner-up	Third place	Top scorers
1992	Neftçi	Khazar Sumgayit	Turan	Nazim Aliyev (Khazar Sumgayit, 39 goals)
1993	Qarabağ	Khazar Sumgayit	Turan	Samir Alakbarov (Neftçi, 16 goals)
1993–94	Turan	Qarabağ	Kapaz	Musa Gurbanov (Turan, 35 goals)
1994–95	Kapaz	Turan	Neftçi	Nazim Aliyev (Neftçi, 26 goals)
1995–96	Neftçi	Khazri Buzovna	Kapaz	Fazil Parvarov (Kapaz, 23 goals) / Rovshan Ahmadov (Kapaz, 23 goals)
1996–97	Neftçi	Qarabağ	Khazri Buzovna	Gurban Gurbanov (Neftçi, 34 goals)
1997–98	Kapaz	Baku	Shamkir	Nazim Aliyev (Baku, 23 goals)
1998–99	Kapaz	Shamkir	Neftçi	Alay Bahramov (Viləş Masallı, 24 goals)
1999–00	Shamkir	Kapaz	Neftçi	Badri Kvaratskhelia (Shamkir, 16 goals)
2000–01	Shamkir	Neftçi	Vilash Masalli	Pasha Aliyev (Bakili Baku, 12 goals)
2001–02	The AFFA and the clubs were discontinued due to the conflict between the clubs and the results were not taken into account.
2002–03	Due to conflict between almost all clubs and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, no league championship was held.
2003–04	Neftçi	Shamkir	Qarabağ	Samir Musayev (Qarabağ, 20 goals)
2004–05	Neftçi *	Khazar Lankaran	Karvan	Zaur Ramazanov (Karvan, 21 goals)
2005–06	Baku	Karvan	Neftçi	Yacouba Bamba (Karvan, 16 goals)
2006–07	Khazar Lankaran	Neftçi	Baku	Zaur Ramazanov (Khazar Lankaran, 20 goals)
2007–08	Inter Baku	AZAL	Neftçi	Khagani Mammadov (Inter Baku, 19 goals)
2008–09	Baku	Inter Baku	Simurq	Walter Guglielmone (Inter Baku, 17 goals)
2009–10	Inter Baku	Baku	Qarabağ	Farid Guliyev (Standard Baku, 16 goals)
2010–11	Neftçi	Khazar Lankaran	Qarabağ	Georgi Adamia (Qarabağ, 18 goals)
2011–12	Neftçi	Khazar Lankaran	Inter Baku	Bahodir Nasimov (Neftçi, 16 goals)
2012–13	Neftçi	Qarabağ	Inter Baku	Nicolás Canales (Neftçi, 26 goals)
2013–14	Qarabağ	Inter Baku	Gabala	Reynaldo (Qarabağ, 22 goals)
2014–15	Qarabağ	Inter Baku	Gabala	Nurlan Novruzov (Baku, 15 goals)
2015–16	Qarabağ	Zira	Gabala	Dani Quintana (Qarabağ, 15 goals)
2016–17	Qarabağ *	Gabala	Inter Baku	Filip Ozobić (Gabala, 11 goals) & Rauf Aliyev (Inter Baku, 11 goals)
2017–18	Qarabağ	Gabala	Neftçi	Bagaliy Dabo, (Gabala, 13 goals)
2018–19	Qarabağ	Neftçi	Səbail	Mahir Madatov, (Qarabağ, 16 goals)
2019–20	Qarabağ	Neftçi	Keşla	Peyman Babaei, (Sumgayit, 7 goals) & Steeven Joseph-Monrose (Neftçi, 7 goals) & Bagaliy Dabo (Neftçi, 7 goals) & Mahir Emreli (Qarabağ, 7 goals)
2020–21	Neftçi	Qarabağ	Sumgayit	Namik Alaskarov (Neftçi, 19 goals)
2021–22	Qarabağ	Neftçi	Zira	Kady (Qarabağ, 12 goals)
2022–23	Qarabağ**	Sabah FC	Neftçi	Sheydayev (Qarabağ, 22 goals)

Performances

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Third place	Winning years
Qarabağ	10	4	4	1992-93, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23
Neftçi	9	5	7	1992, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2020-21
Kapaz	3	1	2	1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99
İnter	2	3	4	2007-08, 2009-10
Shamkir	2	2	1	1999-00, 2000-01
Baku	2	2	1	2005-06, 2008-09
Khazar Lankaran	1	3	–	2006-07
Turan Tovuz	1	1	2	1993-94
Gabala	–	2	3	–
Khazar Sumgayit	–	2	1	–
Karvan	–	1	1	–
Khazri Buzovna	–	1	1	–
Zira	–	1	1	–
Sabah	–	1	–	–
Shuvalan	–	1	–	–
Sabail	–	–	1	–
Simurq	–	–	1	–
Sumgayit	–	–	1	–
Viləş Masallı	–	–	1	–

League participation

Note: The tallies below include up to the 2023–24 season. Teams denoted in bold are current participants.

Soviet Top League participation

Players

Azerbaijan Premier League clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish. There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players, and few restrictions on individual foreign players – all players with foreign nationality, including those able to claim a passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain Azerbaijani work permits.

The only restriction on selection is the "Under-21 rule". This rule states that each club must include at least two players under the age of 21 in its matchday squad. Opinions on this rule appear to be divided among APL managers.

Records

Players in the Premier League compete for the Azerbaijan Premier League Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season. Nazim Aliyev is the league's all-time top scorer with 183 goals, including 39 in the 1992 season. During the 1995–96 season he became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals. Since then, 10 other players have reached the 100-goal mark.

Top Ten Highest Goalscorers

Player		Period	Club	Goals
1	Nazim Aliyev	1992–99	Neftchi Baku	183
2	Mushfig Huseynov	1992–07	Qarabağ	125
3	Rovshan Ahmadov	1992–03	Kapaz	116
4	Gurban Gurbanov	1990–06	Neftçi	115
5	Samir Alakbarov	1992–01	Neftçi	115
6	Alay Bahramov	1992–99	Viləş Masallı	108
7	Vadim Vasilyev	1994–07	Baki Fehlesi	102
8	Khagani Mammadov	1994–12	Inter Baku	102
9	Kanan Karimov	1995–12	Shamkir	101
10	Nadir Nabiyev	1995–12	Turan	100

Top ten most capped players

Player		Period	Club	Games
1	Rahid Amirguliyev	2005–23	Khazar Lankaran	451
2	Mahmud Gurbanov	1992–12	Kapaz	421
3	Rashad Sadiqov	1998–21	Neftchi	392
4	Azer Mammadov	1992–12	Kapaz	388
5	Aslan Kerimov	1992–11	Qarabağ	382
6	Rashad Abdullayev	1994–17	Khazar Lankaran	378
7	Elvin Mammadov	2005–2023	Baku	376
8	Asif Mammadov	2004–	Gabala	373
9	Agil Mammadov	1992–12	Khazar Sumgayit	363
10	Vurğun Hüseynov	2005–23	Sumgayit	362

As of match played 22 June 2023

Biggest home win

Kapaz 14–2 Shamkir (1997–98)

Most consecutive games unbeaten

Kapaz, 30 games, 1997–98

Youngest goalscorer

Orkhan Aliyev, for Sumgayit vs Gabala, 15 years old, 236 days

Oldest player

Nadir Shukurov, for Karvan vs Mughan, 42 years, 19 April 2009

All-time top scorer

Nazim Aliyev (Khazar Sumgayit, Neftçi, Qarabag, Shafa Baku, Dinamo Baku), (183 goals)

Most APL appearances

Mahmud Gurbanov, 421

Most goals in a season

Nazim Aliyev (Khazar Sumgayit), (39 goals), 1992

UEFA ranking

UEFA Country Ranking for league participation after 2018–19 European football season.

As of 20 June 2019

Current Ranking	Movement	Last Season Ranking	League	Coefficient
24		(28)	Kazakhstan Premier League	19.250
25		(21)	Ekstraklasa	19.250
26		(23)	Azerbaijan Premier League	19.000
27		(18)	Israeli Premier League	18.625
28		(24)	Bulgarian First League	17.500

Finances

Attendances

Season	Total attendance	Number of matches	Average attendance per match	Ref
2001–02	187,929	171	1,099
2002–03	League was cancelled *
2003–04	195,840	144	1,360
2004–05	470,670	290	1,623
2005–06	183,365	169	1,085
2006–07	225,216	144	1,564
2007–08	277,667	169	1,643
2008–09	309,582	182	1,701
2009–10	340,522	172	1,979
2010–11	418,418	192	2,179
2011–12	433,342	192	2,256
2012–13	364,910	192	1,900
2013–14	281,400	175	1,608

^{* UEFA has suspended the league after longstanding conflict between the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan and the majority of the country's top-flight clubs.}

Sponsorship

The UniBank, who had sponsored the league since 2009, did not renew their sponsorship at the end of the 2011–12 season. Talks began with Topaz betting operator, and a deal was confirmed shortly afterwards.

• 2009–12: Unibank Premyer Liqası
• 2012–19: Topaz Premyer Liqası

In August 2019, cooperation was suspended and PFL announced a new tender for sponsorship.

As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Premier League has a number of official partners and suppliers. The technical for the league is Nike who is providing their match ball for the season.

Insolvency events

Since the APL began, five of its member clubs have entered administration, while nearly twenty clubs liquidated. A reduction in revenue from ticket sales for APL games and club merchandise impacted negatively on club expenditure. Players were asked to consider wage cuts and team squads were reduced.

A major criticism of the Premier League in the mid-2000s was the emergence of gulf between the Premier League and the First Division. Criticism of the gap between clubs has continued, nevertheless, due to some clubs' increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs. For some clubs, including Shamkir, Karvan, Absheron, MKT-Araz who have failed to win immediate promotion back to the top flight, financial problems, including in some cases administration or even liquidation have followed.

Media coverage

Country	Broadcaster
Azerbaijan	CBC Sport
Austria	Laola1
Georgia
Germany
Russia
Switzerland
International	Bet365 LTV Channel

Awards

Trophy

The current Azerbaijan Premier League trophy was developed by the Professional Football League of Azerbaijan and the trophy has been awarded to the champion of Azerbaijan since the end of the 2009–10 season, replacing the previous Premier League trophy that had existed for only few years.

Monthly and annual

In addition to the winner's Trophy and the individual winner's medal players receive, Azerbaijan Premier League also awards the monthly Player of the Month award. Following the season, the awards such as the Player of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Young Player of the Year from Azerbaijan Premier League are handed out.

See also

• Azerbaijan First Division
• Azerbaijan Cup
• Football in Azerbaijan
• Soviet Top League
• List of foreign Azerbaijan Premier League players