QarabaÃÂ Futbol Klubu () is an Azerbaijani professional football club that competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top flight of Azerbaijani football. The club originates from Aghdam in the Karabakh region, but has not played in its hometown since 1993 due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The club now plays in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, at the Azersun Arena and Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, which also serves as the venue for Azerbaijan national team matches.
Formed in 1987, Qarabaàwere founding members of the Azerbaijan Premier League in 1992. One season later, they won their first league championship, becoming the first non-Baku-based club to win the Premier League title. Qarabaàis one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Neftçi PFK which has participated in all Premier League championships so far.
In 2014, the club won the Premier League, their first league title in 21 years. Qarabaàhave won the Premier League twelve times and Azerbaijan Cup eight times. Qarabaàbecame the second Azerbaijani team after Neftçi PFK to advance to the group stage of a European competition, making its in the UEFA Europa League group stage in 2014âÂÂ15 season. Qarabaàis the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of the higher UEFA Champions League, competing in the 2017âÂÂ18 season. The club has played more UEFA matches than any other Azerbaijani team.
The club was founded in 1951 as MÃÂhsul after the Aghdam city stadium was built; there then began a serious effort towards the creation of a professional football team. Consequently, QarabaÃÂ FK, playing under the name of MÃÂhsul, took part in the 1966 Azerbaijani SSR championship. That year, the club reached fourth place in the local championship.
Qarabaàparticipated in the local championship for four consecutive years during which second place was their best result (achieved in 1969). After 1969, however, owing to carelessness and a lack of financial support, the team withdrew from the championships for almost ten years. In 1977, the team was reborn under name à ÂÃÂfÃÂq. In 1982 à ÂÃÂfÃÂq was the only representative of Aghdam in football. Between 1982 and 1987, the squad used the name "Kooperator". In 1988, Qarabaàwon the champions title in the Azerbaijan SSR local championship under its current name. In addition to championship medals, the club won the right to play in the Soviet Second League.
On 23 July 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city of Agdam was seized by Armenian armed forces, and the team was forced to move from Imarat Stadium to Baku, while the former head coach and player of the team, Allahverdi Baghirov, died in the war. Despite all these difficulties, in 1993, QarabaÃÂ won the Top League as well as the Azerbaijan Cup. Financial problems plagued the club during the period from 1998 to 2001, and the club went through hard times although it became the first Azerbaijani team to win away from home in a European competition by defeating the Israeli side Maccabi Haifa in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup thanks to a double strike from club legend Mushfig Huseynov. QarabaÃÂ has also represented Azerbaijan in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup many times.
These problems were alleviated in 2001, when one of the largest holding companies of Azerbaijan, Azersun Holding, starting sponsoring the team. The squad used the name of Qarabag-Azersun for two seasons, but then returned its original name in 2004.
In 2008, former Azerbaijani football star Gurban Gurbanov was appointed as head coach after the unexpected departure of Rasim Kara to Khazar Lankaran one week before the start of the 2008âÂÂ09 season. Led by Gurbanov, Qarabaàhave ignored a common strategy in Azerbaijani football: eschewing foreign signings in favour of nurturing local talent. Gurbanov brought with him a tiki-taka style of play, characterised by short passes, long periods of build-up and players interchanging positions.
Under Gurbanov, QarabaÃÂ has become one of the most successful Azerbaijani football clubs in Europe (with three consecutive wins) and one which reached the UEFA Europa League play-off-round by beating Rosenborg in the UEFA Europa League, and also eliminated Honka of Finland. The achievements in European competitions have made Gurbanov among the most successful Azerbaijani managers ever.
In 2010, the club set an Azerbaijani record for the most significant win in a European competition by beating Metalurg Skopje 4âÂÂ1 in Baku and eliminating Wisà Âa Kraków to reach the play-offs for the second year in succession. In 2011, the club duplicated the same record by beating Banga Gargà ¾dai 4âÂÂ0 in Gargà ¾dai. The 2011âÂÂ12 season ended in disappointing style for QarabaÃÂ, however, as they finished in fourth place, leaving the club without European competition. In 2013, Qarabaàreached Europa League play-off-round for third time in their history.
In May 2014, Qarabaàearned its second league title after 21 years. A month later, by beating Red Bull Salzburg, the club became first Azerbaijani side to win in the third round of UEFA Champions League. In August 2014, the club reached Europa League play-off round for the fourth time in last five seasons. In 2014, Qarabaàqualified for the 2014âÂÂ15 Europa League group stage, becoming the second Azerbaijani team to advance to this stage in a European competition. On 23 October 2014, after defeating Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1âÂÂ0, the team became the first Azerbaijani club to win a Europa League group stage match.
In 2017, after victory over the Sheriff Tiraspol, Qarabaàqualified for the UEFA Champions League play-off rounds for the first time. In the first leg they recorded a 1âÂÂ0 victory over Danish side F.C. Copenhagen in Baku. Despite losing 2âÂÂ1 in the second leg, Qarabaàwon on away goals and became the first Azerbaijani team to reach the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. They were drawn in Group C alongside Chelsea, Atlético Madrid and Roma, where they managed to obtain two points in six games after two draws and four losses.
In July and August 2021, Qarabaàsecured their first participation in the group stage of UEFA Europa Conference League. Qarabaàknocked-out Ashdod (0âÂÂ0 and 1âÂÂ0), AEL Limassol (1âÂÂ1 and 1âÂÂ0) and Aberdeen (1âÂÂ0 and 3âÂÂ1) in the qualifiers. On 27 August, Qarabaàwas drawn on Group H of the 2021âÂÂ22 UEFA Europa Conference League alongside Basel, Kairat and Omonia. They eventually placed 2nd in the group, making it to the Knockout Play-off Round.
In the 2023âÂÂ24 season Qarabaàmade it to the Europa League group stage where they finished 2nd behind Bayer Leverkusen. Qarabaàwere subsequently drawn against Braga in the knockout round play-off. The first leg ended as a 4âÂÂ2 victory for QarabaÃÂ. The second leg would finish 2âÂÂ0 to Braga after normal time, but ultimately ended 3âÂÂ2 to the Portuguese side after extra time, which meant Qarabaàwon 6âÂÂ5 on aggregate, and thus became the first ever team from Azerbaijan to reach the round of 16 in any UEFA club competition. The round of 16 draw pitted them against Bayer Leverkusen, whom they had already played earlier in the group stages. The club tied with Bayer Leverkusen 2âÂÂ2 in the first leg at home but were knocked out in the second leg following two stoppage times goals from Patrik Schick, ending the game 3âÂÂ2.
In the 2024âÂÂ25 season, on April 27, 2025, Qarabaàsecured the championship with four rounds remaining by drawing 1âÂÂ1 against Sabah in the 32nd round of the Premier League, thus becoming Premier League champions for the 12th time in their history and for the 4th consecutive time. The club qualified for the UEFA Champions League again after beating Hungarian champions Ferencvárosi TC 5âÂÂ4 on aggregate. The first match of the club back at the Champions League was a comeback 2âÂÂ3 victory against Benfica. Following this victory, president Ilham Aliyev congratulated the club for its victory. On October 1, QarabaàAgdam claimed their second win in the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 2-0 victory over Copenhagen at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku. Qarabaàbecame the first Azerbaijani side to record back-to-back Champions League wins as they beat Copenhagen.
On 28 January 2026, QarabaÃÂ lost away to Liverpool in the eighth and final round of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless, with 10 points collected in the league phase and finishing 22nd in the tournament standings, QarabaÃÂ made history as the first Azerbaijani club to advance to the Champions League knockout phase.
The club have previously used Guzanli Olympic Stadium, which is situated in Quzanlñ, the most populous municipality in the Agdam Rayon of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The Imarat Stadium which was club's original home stadium was destroyed as a result of artillery attacks from Armenian military forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
In 2012, the construction of a new football stadium Azersun Arena was announced, which was opened in June 2015. Azersun Arena is a multi-use football stadium in Surakhani settlement of Baku, Azerbaijan. It is currently used as the club's Azerbaijan Premier League home stadium and holds 5,800 people.
The Baku Olympic Stadium and Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium is used for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games, where the record attendance for QarabaÃÂ occurred on 27 September 2017, in a UEFA Champions League group stage match attended by 67,200 fans against Roma.
On 21 December 2023, Qarabaàplayed the 2023âÂÂ24 Azerbaijan Cup match against MOIK Baku at Khankendi Stadium, Khankendi, making it the first match played in Karabakh Economic Region after the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Although a large part of QarabaÃÂ's support is drawn from the local Aghdam population, they remain immensely well supported in the rest of Azerbaijan. This is mainly due to their being the only team to represent the war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh region in the league. The club draws support from the half a million Azerbaijani internally displaced people. In recent years, thanks to achievements on the pitch, the club has been involved in special youth projects enforcing stability and development in the IDP settlements near the border of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The club has a few supporting groups such as Imarat, QarabaÃÂ Ordusu, Boys QarabaÃÂ, and Ladies of QarabaÃÂ. These groups often receive free tickets to QarabaÃÂ's games, which helps Karabakh to have more support from fans.
The crest on the club emblem is the symbol of the Karabakh. It is produced by English designers and based on the Karabakh horse. The horse stems from the club's nickname "The Horsemen"; although it was included on club programmes and scarves earlier, the crest was not displayed on the shirt until 2004. After Gurban Gurbanov's appointment, QarabaÃÂ's attractive style of play led fans to call the team "Qafqazñn Barselonasñ" ("Barcelona of The Caucasus"), which plays upon Barcelona's success in Europe. The club is sometimes called "Qaçqñn Klub" ("The Refugee Club") after its conservative position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and refugee problem in Azerbaijan.
QarabaÃÂ's traditional kit alludes to the club's location in Nagorno-Karabakh with the black and white representing light and darkness respectively. The club's kits are manufactured by Adidas and sponsored by Azersun, a Baku-based food producing company.
The season-by-season performance of the club over the last ten years:
The club have participated in 18 editions of the club competitions governed by UEFA, the chief authority for football across Europe. These include 7 seasons in the Champions League, 13 seasons in the UEFA Cup and Europa League, two seasons in the Cup Winners' Cup and one seasons in the UEFA Europa Conference League and Intertoto Cup. Qarabaàhas played six times in the Europa League after qualifying via the Champions League. Counting all of the 134 games the side have played in UEFA competitions since their first entry into the Cup Winners' Cup in the 1996âÂÂ97 season, the team's record stands at 48 wins, 35 draws and 51 defeats.
The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country.
For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2025.
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Qarabaàhas won twelve Azerbaijan Premier League titles, eight Azerbaijan Cup titles and one Azerbaijan Supercup trophy. The club is the first non-Baku based club to have won the Azerbaijan Premier League title. Qarabaàis one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Neftçi PFK which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.
Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club (players in bold signifies current QarabaÃÂ player).
Information correct as of matches played by 28 October 2022. Only competitive matches are counted.
Notes: P â Total of played matches W â Won matches D â Drawn matches L â Lost matches GS â Goal scored GA â Goals against<br/> %W â Percentage of matches won
Nationality is indicated by the corresponding FIFA country code(s).
The top transfer was agreed in January 2025 when 28 years old Brazilian forward Juninho moved to Flamengo for a fee â¬5.00 million.
QarabaÃÂ is featured on the football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and 2016 and were later featured on FC 26
In October 2020, amid the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the Armenian Football Federation called for sanctions against Qarabaàafter the club's PR and media manager Nurlan Ibrahimov posted a hate message on a social media network calling to "kill all the Armenians, old and young, without distinction". UEFA announced a temporary suspension of the club's official from any football-related activity for "racist and other discriminatory conductâ targeting Armenians. Qarabag issued a statement saying Ibrahimov had been traumatised by watching the news of the Ganja and Barda missile attacks, while also urging its employees to "refrain from such sharing in this sensitive period, adhere to the principles of humanism and fully comply with the laws of our state". Ibrahimov was punished in an administrative manner for the calls he made expressing cruelty against another nation and inciting national, racial or religious hatred while behaving emotionally on social network. On November 26, UEFA officially banned the Qarabaàofficial for life and fined the club â¬100,000. Shortly after the UEFA sanction, Ibrahimov was declared wanted in Armenia.