Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

A registration for ABL Cup 2017/18 is open till March 16.

The autumn tournament cup aroused great interest, not only among the teams and their fans. It also attracted the attention of corporate teams. ASEP organizers reviews applications for

ABL Cup 2017/18. According to the rules of the tournament, the composition of the team will be checked for professional activity. The team member should provide a document that indicates the status of the employee in the company.

Notably, 32 corporate teams took part in the autumn tournament cup, most of which have already confirmed participation in the next stage. Unfortunately, several teams had to leave the championship for certain reasons. Despite these nuances, the organizers confidently stated that with the participation of new teams, the spring cup of the tournament will be even more spectacular.

For more information, please visit: www.abl.az

The mini-football championship "Azfar Business League" (ABL) is held among corporate teams with the goal of further popularization and development of mini-football, familiarizing the general public with systematic physical training and sports.

Overall management of the organization and conduct of competitions is carried out by ASEP companies with the support of Azfargroup. The organization of the competition is the responsibility of the organizing committee. The Organizing Committee provides a thorough selection of the tournament participants. The country's most advanced and active companies take part in the championship. All stages of the tournament are widely covered in the press, radio and television.

The mini-football championship "ABL" consists of 3 stages.

1st stage:

Drawing of the Autumn Cup ABL (October-December 2017)

2nd stage:

Drawing of the Spring Cup ABL (April-June 2018)

3rd stage:

Match for the Super Bowl ABL (June 2018)

The drawing of the Autumn Cup and the Draw of the Spring Cup include 2 stages:

The first stage is a group stage.

Teams are divided into groups. Distribution by groups occurs by lot. In the group, each team plays 3 matches. Three points are given for the victory, one point-for a draw.

Two teams in each group that scored the most points go to the playoff grid to identify the identify the winners of the places from 1-16, while two other teams get into the playoff grid to identify the winners of places from 17th to 32nd .

The second stage is the playoffs for the extended Olympic system.

The composition of the pairs is determined by a draw.

At the 1/8-finals stage, at the top of the grid, the winners of the teams play with the teams taking the second places, and in the lower part of the grid, the teams that took third places play with the teams taking the fourth places. Teams from the same group should not play with each other. The draw is made immediately for the following stages: quarter-finals and semi-finals.

The winning team meets with one of the winning teams, and the losing team meets with other defeated team. Likewise, a draw is also conducted immediately to determine the pairs at the bottom of the net. If the result is tied down in the main time, the winner is determined in extra time. In the case of a tie in extra time, the winner is determined in a series of 6-meter strikes (a series of three strokes, then to the first miss).

The quarterfinals are followed by the semi-finals, and then the final.

As a result, all teams will play in the third stage for 4 matches, as a result of which all the places from the 1st to the 32nd will be determined.

The match for the ABL Super Cup is held between the holders of the Autumn-Winter Cup and the Spring-Summer Cup. If the same team wins in the drawings of the Autumn Cup and the Spring Cup, it automatically becomes the owner of the Super Bowl.

Competitions are held on the indoor sports ground (covered with artificial grass) in size 24x42 meters according to the rules of the game of mini-football;

The ball used for the game is №5.

The game involves two teams, each consisting of no more than six people, including the goalkeeper.The number of replacements is unlimited.

Official hours of the competition - electronic scoreboard.

Game time:

- qualifying and group stages - 2 halves of 25 minutes each (dirty time);

- playoff games - 2 halves of 25 minutes each (dirty time); in case of a tie for playoff matches, extra time is 2 half-time for 5 minutes (dirty time).

The refereeing of the tournament games is carried out by professional, FIFA-certified mini-football referees when they agree on their candidatures with the organizing committee.

Two extras are also assigned to the games.

The ABL Championship is held for the most active and advanced companies in Azerbaijan.

Participation in the Business League has the following objectives:

- Development of corporate culture

- Strengthening internal corporate relations

- The mention of the company in the media and its promotion among customers, employees and partners

- Promotion and further development of corporate amateur football

- Increase the level of athletic skill of employees

- Formation of a positive attitude towards sport and physical culture among employees

- The business league on football is sure to become a real holiday for all employees of the company.

All the games of the tournament ABL Cup-2017/18 will be held in Baku, at the stadiums of Azfargroup. The infrastructure of the stadiums meets the highest modern standards. Personal locker rooms, shower rooms, recreation areas will be provided for participants of the championship. There is also a cafe on the territory of the stadium.

Each team is given the right to free-of-charge before the match training in the fields of Azfar Group. The calendar for pre-match training is coordinated with ABL Organizing Committee.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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