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. It is also responsible for appointing the management of the men's, women's and

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

national football teams and leagues. AFFA is a member of both

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

and FIFA.

History

The AFFA was formed on 26 March 1992, after Azerbaijan gained its independence from the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. On 23 February 2009, the AFFA, along with

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 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

imposed a two-year ban in response to a long-standing conflict between the AFFA and majority of the Azerbaijan Premier League 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 (or ''Topaz Premyer Liqası''); First league * Azerbaijan First Division (or ''Birinci Divizion''); Second league * Azerbaijan Cup *

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 * AFFA Amateur League ;Women's football: * Azerbaijan Women's Football League

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 UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

- 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 Atlant ...

- Official sponsor * AccessBank Azerbaijan - Official sponsor * Clear - Official sponsor

References

External links

Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
*

at FIFA site

at UEFA site {{DEFAULTSORT:Association Of Football Federations Of Azerbaijan

Football in Azerbaijan Futsal in Azerbaijan Football 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan Sports organizations established in 1992