Gabala SC

The club was founded under the name of Goy Gol on 3 July 1995, based in Goy Gol. On 1 September 2005, Goy Gol was registered in Gabala by the Ministry of Justice, before the AFFA registered the team as professional on 5 September of the same year. In the summer of 2006, the team moved from Goygol to Qabala, before the club changed its name to Gilan PFK. Later, the club changed its name to Qəbələ PFK on 31 August 2007.^[5][6]

On 10 May 2010, former Arsenal defender Tony Adams was appointed as new manager after signing a £1 million per year deal with the club.^[7][8] In his first season in charge Gabala finished at 7th place in Azerbaijan Premier League.^[9][10] In November 2011, Adams resigned from being Gabala's coach due to family problems.^[11][12]

Despite the appointment of managers like Fatih Kavlak and Ramiz Mammadov, the club could not reach a satisfactory position in the league and was struggling in the middle of the table for many years.^[13][14] On 29 May 2013, Yuri Semin was appointed as new manager after signing a £1 million per year deal with the club.^[15][16] In the same year, the club qualified for European cups for the first time in their history but lost to Neftchi Baku on penalties in the final of the Azerbaijan Cup.^[17][18]

In the 2015–16 season of the Europa League, they became the 3rd club from Azerbaijan to qualify for the group stage after Qarabag and Neftçi Baku. They eliminated Dinamo Tbilisi, Čukarički, Apollon Limassol and surprisingly Panathinaikos. They came 4th in their tough group of Borussia Dortmund, PAOK and FC Krasnodar. They got two points both from 0–0 draws against PAOK.

Following their defeat to Keşla in the 2017–18 Azerbaijan Cup Final, Roman Hryhorchuk left Gabala after his contract was not extended.^[19] On 30 May 2018, Gabala announced that Sanan Gurbanov had been appointed as the club's new manager on a two-year contract.^[20] On 31 August 2019, Gurbanov resigned as manager following Gabala's 4–0 defeat at home to Keşla.^[21] On 2 September 2019, Elmar Bakhshiyev was appointed as Gabala's manager.^[22]

On 24 February 2024, Elmar Bakhshiyev resigned as Head Coach, with Kakhaber Tskhadadze being appointed the following day.^[23][24]

League and cup history

Season	League									Azerbaijan Cup	Top goalscorer		Managers
	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P		Name	League
2005–06	2nd	1st	30	22	6	2	72	14	72	Last 16	R.Ahmadov	18	Faig Jabbarov
2006–07	1st	11th	24	4	4	16	17	47	16	Last 16	Vusal Garaev	4	Ramiz Mammadov
2007–08	1st	6th	26	11	3	12	33	36	36	Semi-finals	Vitali Balamestny	8
2008–09	1st	10th	26	9	6	11	28	21	33	Semi-finals	Kanan Karimov	6
2009–10	1st	6th	42	15	14	14	42	48	56	1st round	Tomasz Stolpa	7
2010–11	1st	7th	32	13	12	7	31	18	51	Quarter-finals	Deon Burton	9	Tony Adams
2011–12	1st	5th	32	15	7	10	43	32	52	Quarter-finals	Dodô Yannick Kamanan	9	Tony Adams Fatih Kavlak
2012–13	1st	6th	32	10	8	14	32	40	38	Quarter-finals	Victor Mendy Assis	6	Fatih Kavlak Ramiz Mammadov Luis Aragón
2013–14	1st	3rd	36	18	7	11	48	36	61	Runners-up	Danijel Subotić	12	Yuri Semin
2014–15	1st	3rd	32	15	9	8	46	35	54	Quarter-finals	Javid Huseynov	11	Dorinel Munteanu Roman Hryhorchuk
2015–16	1st	3rd	36	16	11	9	44	28	59	Semi-finals	Oleksiy Gai	10	Roman Hryhorchuk
2016–17	1st	2nd	28	14	10	4	48	21	52	Runners-up	Filip Ozobić	11
2017–18	1st	2nd	28	14	7	7	43	26	49	Runners-up	Bagaliy Dabo	13
2018–19	1st	4th	28	9	9	10	31	33	36	Champions	James Adeniyi	10	Sanan Gurbanov
2019–20	1st	8th	20	5	4	11	25	35	19	Semi-finals	Davit Volkovi	5	Sanan Gurbanov Elmar Bakhshiyev
2020–21	1st	7th	28	5	11	12	23	44	26	Quarter-finals	Raphael Utzig	5	Elmar Bakhshiyev
2021–22	1st	4th	28	12	9	7	38	34	45	Semi-finals	Isnik Alimi	8	Elmar Bakhshiyev
2022–23	1st	4th	36	13	11	12	47	47	50	Champions	Isnik Alimi	9	Elmar Bakhshiyev

European record

As of match played 3 August 2023

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Široki Brijeg	0–2	0–3	0–5
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Dinamo Tbilisi	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q	Čukarički	2–0	0–1	2–1
		3Q	Apollon Limassol	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	Panathinaikos	0–0	2–2	2–2 (a)
		Group C	Borussia Dortmund	1–3	0–4	4th
			PAOK	0–0	0–0
			Krasnodar	0–3	1–2
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Samtredia	5–1	1–2	6–3
		2Q	MTK Budapest	2–0	2–1	4–1
		3Q	Lille	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	Maribor	3–1	0–1	3–2
		Group C	Anderlecht	1–3	1–3	4th
			Saint-Étienne	1–2	0–1
			Mainz 05	2–3	0–2
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Jagiellonia Białystok	1–1	2–0	3–1
		3Q	Panathinaikos	1–2	0–1	1–3
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Progrès Niederkorn	0–2	1–0	1–2
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Dinamo Tbilisi	0–2	0–3	0–5
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Fehérvár	2–1	1–4	3–5
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Omonia	2–3	1–4	3–7

Notes

• 1Q: First qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round
• Group: Group stage

The club's crest includes Caucasus Mountains with a black crescent and red eight-pointed star, similar to Azerbaijani flag. It also includes 2005 which signifies the club's formation year.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Gabala's traditional kit is composed of red shirts, black shorts and red socks. The club's first kit manufacturer was Erreà, until a two-year deal was agreed with Joma in 2013.^[25][26]

In August 2012, Gabala signed a one-year deal with the American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer Pepsi, which will replace Hyundai as the shirt sponsor from the 2013–14 season.^[27]

In September 2015, Gabala signed a one-year deal with QafqaZ Hotels and Resorts.^[28]

On 31 January 2020, Gabala announced that dairy brand Milla would be the club's new title sponsor until the end of 2021.^[29]

On 4 July 2023, Gabala announced Capelli Sport as their new kit supplier on a three-year contract.^[30]

Years	Manufacturer	Sponsor
2009–2010	Adidas	Hyundai
2010–2011	Lotto
2011–2012	Erreà
2012–2013		Pepsi
2013–2015	Joma
2015–2020		QafqaZ Hotels
2020–2021		Milla
2021–2022		Jale
2022–2023		Gilan Knauf
2023–present	Capelli Sport

The club play their home matches at the Gabala City Stadium, an all-seater football stadium situated in Qabala.

As of 2007, predominantly due to UEFA requirements, the club proposed an extensive renovation of the stadium, which has since been in constant process of redevelopment.^[31] AFL Architects were appointed to design a new 15,000 capacity stadium and training facility in December 2008 after winning a limited design competition. Accommodation within the stadium will include hotel and conferencing facilities, as well as retail and corporate hospitality space, and a dramatic viewing deck at the top of the entrance tower.^[32] It is expected that the stadium was scheduled to open in 2014.^[33]

Gabala has a large fanbase in relation to its comparative lack of success on the pitch. Gabala's fan base has fluctuated over the years with high crowds coinciding with the club's success in the Premier League so that the club now averages in the top four best home attendances in the country. One of the main supporters group name is Red Black Army.^[34]

• Azerbaijan League
  • Runners-up (2): 2016–17, 2017–18
• Azerbaijan Cup
  • Winners (2): 2018–19, 2022–23
  • Runners-up (3): 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Azerbaijan First Division
  • Winners (1): 2005–06

Azerbaijani teams are limited to nine players without Azerbaijani citizenship. 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.

Current squad

As of 19 April 2024^[35]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	MF	FRA	Bilel Aouacheria
24	DF	AZE	Khayal Khudaverdiyev
27	MF	AZE	Eşqin Ahmadov
28	DF	AZE	Murad Musayev
30	MF	AZE	Shahin Shahniyarov
33	DF	AZE	Huseyn Mursalov
34	DF	AZE	Urfan Abbasov
36	GK	AZE	Elmaddin Sultanov
71	FW	AZE	Senan Ağalarov
72	FW	ISR	Osama Khalaila
77	MF	AZE	Okan Tahmazli
94	GK	AZE	Habib Hushanov
97	MF	AZE	Emil Süleymanov
99	MF	NGA	Ahmed Isaiah

• "For recent transfers, see List of Azerbaijan football transfers summer 2023".

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

The Board of Directors

Position	Name
President	Fariz Najafov
General manager	Sabuhi Safiyarli[36]
Team manager	Mahammad Azizli
Press secretary	Asef Zeynalov

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Kakhaber Tskhadadze[37]
Assistant coach	Giorgi Chikhradze
Fitness coach	Chaglar Volga[38]
Video analysis coach	Rakif Aliyev
Goalkeeper coach	Vugar Mammadov
Under-19 head coach	Famil Khalilov

Medical staff

Position	Name
Doctor	Fikrat Nabiyev
Assistant doctor	Movsum Huseynov
Assistant doctor	Farman Mammadov

Information correct as of match played 12 May 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name	Nat.	From	To	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	%W	Honours	Notes
Faig Jabbarov	Azerbaijan	2005	2006	30	22	6	2	0	0	073.33		[39]
Ramiz Mammadov	Azerbaijan	2006	May 2010	118	38	27	53	0	0	032.20		[40]
Tony Adams	England	12 May 2010	16 Nov 2011	44	17	15	12	45	35	038.64		[41]
Fatih Kavlak	Turkey	18 Nov 2011	Sept 27, 2012	29	14	7	8	43	27	048.28		[40]
Ramiz Mammadov	Azerbaijan	Sept 24, 2012	2 April 2013	21	8	6	7	23	22	038.10		[40]
Luis Aragon (Interim)	Spain	April 2013	May 2013	8	1	3	4	5	10	012.50		[42]
Yuri Semin	Russia	28 May 2013	23 May 2014	41	21	9	11	56	38	051.22		[43]
Dorinel Munteanu	Romania	16 Jun 2014	8 Dec 2014	18	6	5	7	20	26	033.33		[44]
Sanan Gurbanov (Interim)	Azerbaijan	8 December 2014	21 December 2014	3	1	2	0	4	3	033.33		[45]
Roman Hryhorchuk	Ukraine	21 December 2014	29 May 2018[19]	159	75	41	43	238	150	047.17		[46]
Sanan Gurbanov	Azerbaijan	30 May 2018[20]	31 August 2019[21]	40	14	9	17	37	52	035.00
Elmar Bakhshiyev	Azerbaijan	2 September 2019[22]	24 February 2024[23]	155	52	41	62	187	228	033.55
Kakhaber Tskhadadze	Georgia	25 February 2024[24]		13	2	2	9	13	26	015.38

• Notes:

P – Total of played matchesW – Won matchesD – Drawn matchesL – Lost matchesGS – Goal scoredGA – Goals against
%W – Percentage of matches won

Nationality is indicated by the corresponding FIFA country code(s).

Urfan Abbasov is Gabala's most capped player, with 303 appearances for the club. Players in bold signifies current Gabala player.

Top goalscorers

As of match played 12 May 2024

	Name	Years	League	Azerbaijan Cup	Europe	Total
1	Victor Mendy	2011–2015	29 (112)	4 (13)	0 (2)	33 (127)
2	Dodô	2011–2016	23 (131)	3 (15)	4 (15)	30 (161)
3	Bagaliy Dabo	2016–2018	20 (43)	4 (6)	3 (13)	27 (62)
4	Filip Ozobić	2016–2018	16 (47)	6 (9)	3 (18)	25 (74)
5	Isnik Alimi	2021–2023	17 (62)	5 (10)	0 (2)	22 (74)
6	Javid Huseynov	2014–2015, 2016–2019, 2020–2021	16 (109)	2 (20)	3 (11)	21 (140)
6	Ulvi Isgandarov	2017–2021, 2021–present	17 (118)	4 (16)	0 (6)	21 (140)
8	Steeven Joseph-Monrose	2017– 2019	15 (47)	3 (9)	2 (6)	20 (62)
9	Danijel Subotić	2013–2014, 2017	15 (40)	4 (8)	0 (0)	19 (48)
10	Kanan Karimov	2008–2010	11 (46)	7 (?)	0 (0)	18 (45+)
10	Oleksiy Gai	2015–2016	14 (51)	4 (6)	0 (14)	18 (71)
10	James Adeniyi	2018–2021	14 (48)	4 (7)	0 (2)	18 (57)
10	Raphael Utzig	2020–2023	15 (81)	2 (11)	1 (2)	18 (94)

Most appearances

As of match played 12 May 2024

	Name	Years	League	Azerbaijan Cup	Europe	Total
1	Urfan Abbasov	2011–2019, 2021–Present	246 (5)	40 (1)	17 (0)	303 (6)
2	Asif Mammadov	2006–2007, 2015–Present	195 (13)	31+ (3+)	24 (0)	250+ (16)
3	Dmytro Bezotosnyi	2015–2019	117 (0)	17 (0)	32 (0)	166 (0)
4	Dodô	2011–2016	131 (23)	15 (3)	15 (4)	161 (30)
5	Vojislav Stanković	2015–2019	92 (1)	21 (1)	29 (1)	142 (3)
6	Elvin Jamalov	2013–2019	111 (0)	18 (0)	12 (0)	141 (0)
7	Javid Huseynov	2014–2015, 2016–2019, 2020–2021	109 (16)	20 (2)	11 (3)	140 (21)
7	Ulvi Isgandarov	2017–2021, 2021–present	118 (17)	16 (4)	6 (0)	140 (21)
9	Murad Musayev	2013–2016, 2019–Present	117 (4)	17 (0)	3 (0)	137 (4)
10	Victor Mendy	2011–2015	112 (29)	13 (4)	2 (0)	127 (33)

• Gabala Cup 2012

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gabala FK.

• Official website