The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA; az, Azərbaycan Futbol Federasiyaları Assosiasiyası, AFFA) is the governing body of
football in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
. Formed in 1992, it is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory.
AFFA sanctions all competitive football matches within its remit at national level, and indirectly at local level through the
AFFA Amateur League. It runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the
Azerbaijan Cup
The Azerbaijan Cup is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid.
...
. It is also responsible for appointing the management of the
men's,
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
and
youth national football teams and leagues.
AFFA is a member of both
UEFA and
FIFA.
History
The AFFA was formed on 26 March 1992, after Azerbaijan gained its independence from the
USSR. On 23 February 2009, the AFFA, along with
UEFA vice president
Şenes Erzik, unveiled the
Azerbaijan Football Academy.
In 2010, the association adopted a new logo. In 2012, the federation held an election with
Rovnag Abdullayev
Rovnag Ibrahim oghlu Abdullayev ( az, Rövnəq İbrahim oğlu Abdullayev; born 3 April 1965 in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan) is the CEO of the SOCAR oil company and has been president of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan since 2008 ...
being the only candidate, the assembly was marred with controversies.
Relationship with FIFA
The country's football association received a major blow in April 2002, when
UEFA imposed a two-year ban in response to a long-standing conflict between the AFFA and majority of the
Azerbaijan Premier League
The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...
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
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
, with tax officials also probing allegations of fraud at the Azerbaijan federation.
Principals
Competitions
It organizes the following competitions:
;Men's football:
*
Azerbaijan Premier League
The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...
(or ''Topaz Premyer Liqası''); First league
*
Azerbaijan First Division
The Azerbaijan First Division ( az, Azərbaycan Birinci Divizionu) is the second highest professional division in Azerbaijani professional football. The division is run by AFFA. No teams are promoted to Premier Division.
History
Due to the diss ...
(or ''Birinci Divizion''); Second league
*
Azerbaijan Cup
The Azerbaijan Cup is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid.
...
*
Azerbaijan Supercup
The Azerbaijan Supercup ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Futbol Superkuboku) was a football competition, held at the beginning of each domestic season and disputed between the winners of the Azerbaijan Premier League and the winners of the Azerbaijan Cup ...
*
Azerbaijan Futsal Premier League
Azerbaijan Futsal Premier League is the premier futsal league in Azerbaijan. It was founded in 1994. Organized by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan and is played under UEFA rules, currently consists of 8 teams.
History
Araz Nax ...
*
AFFA Amateur League
;Women's football:
*
Azerbaijan Women's Football League
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
National teams
The AFFA also organises national football teams representing Azerbaijan at all age levels:
Sponsorship
Companies that AFFA currently has sponsorship deals with include:
*
Topaz - Official sponsor
*
Bakcell - Official sponsor
*Atena - Official sponsor
*
Unicef - Official sponsor
*
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
- Official sponsor
*
AccessBank Azerbaijan - Official sponsor
*
Clear - Official sponsor
See also
*
Professional Football League of Azerbaijan
References
External links
Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
*
at FIFA site
at UEFA site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Association Of Football Federations Of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
Football in Azerbaijan
Futsal in Azerbaijan
Football
1992 establishments in Azerbaijan
Sports organizations established in 1992