Azernews.Az

"Sabah" has gone down in history as the fifth team to win both the Azerbaijan Premier League and the Azerbaijan Football Cup in the same season, AzerNEWS reports.

The team, which secured the Premier League title before the end of the season, defeated "Zira" 2–1 in the cup final.

This marks the first "double" in the club’s history. In previous seasons, four clubs achieved a total of 11 domestic doubles. "Qarabag" has achieved this feat the most times — six (1993, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2021/2022, 2023/2024).

"Neftchi" has three doubles (1995/1996, 2003/2004, 2012/2013). Alongside "Sabah," "Kapaz" (1997/1998) and "Khazar Lankaran" (2006/2007) have each achieved the double once.

"Sabah's" Lithuanian head coach Valdas Dambrauskas is the first foreign manager in Azerbaijan to achieve a domestic double. Previously, all 11 such successes were achieved by local coaches.

Gurban Gurbanov has done so five times (2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2021/2022, 2023/2024), Kazbek Tuaev (1995/1996, 2003/2004) and Aghaselim Mirjavadov (1993, 2006/2007) twice each, while Mehman Allahverdiyev (1997/1998) and Boyukaga Hajiyev (2012/2013) each achieved it once with their teams.

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.

The 2025/2026 Azerbaijan Premier League features 12 teams playing a 3-round format (33 matches) running from August 2025 to May 2026.

Matches began on August 15, 2025. The league has expanded to 12 teams to increase competition.

Champions enter the UEFA Champions League, with 2nd/3rd place entering the UEFA Conference League.

The Azerbaijan Football Cup is the country's main annual knockout football competition. It was first introduced in 1936, with its modern format running since 1992.

Organized by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), the tournament includes clubs from both the Premier League and lower divisions. The winner earns a place in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

The 2025–26 edition features 34 teams. It begins with preliminary rounds involving clubs from League I and League II, after which the top-tier Premier League teams enter the competition.

Considered the second most prestigious football competition in Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijan Premier League, the cup often determines the country's third European qualification spot.