Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The AFFA Executive Committee has disclosed details about a one-year grace period to be granted to clubs promoted to the top tier in order to address infrastructure, administrative, and other deficiencies, in connection with the planned expansion of the number of teams in the Azerbaijan Premier League for the 2025/2026 season, Azernews reports.

The national association stated that under this decision, for clubs promoted from the First Division to the elite league based on last season's results, namely "Karvan-Yevlakh" and "Imishli", which have not participated in the Premier League over the past three seasons- the required coaching qualification levels outlined in the Licensing Regulations will be considered acceptable even if they are one category lower (provided they are not below the UEFA C category).

In addition, these clubs will not be required to field U-16, U-17, U-19, and reserve teams in the respective leagues.

It should be noted that these concessions do not apply to the "Gabala" club, which earned promotion to the top tier at the end of the previous season.

This is because the "Red and Blacks" had only missed the Premier League for one season and are returning to the elite division after a one-year absence.

Formed in 1992, the Azerbaijani Association of Football Federations (AFFA) is the governing body of football in Azerbaijan.

The Association is responsible for overseeing all aspects of amateur and professional games in its territory.

It runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the Azerbaijan Cup. AFFA is a member of both UEFA and FIFA.

The Azerbaijan Premier League is known as the top Azerbaijani professional league for men's association football teams, which consists of ten 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 the UEFA Champions League's first qualifying round.

The runner up and the 3rd place winner secured the right to play in the UEFA Europa Conference League starting in the 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, which existed from 1992 to 2007. FC Qarabag won the title in the 2022–2023 season for the tenth time.