Qarabag

.

The club was formed in the year 1951. It was named Mehsul following that the Aghdam City Stadium was constructed and then began an effort to establishment of a professional football team. Therefore, Qarabag FK, playing under the name Mehsul was a participant at the 1996 Azerbaijani SSR championship. In the same year, the team finished fourth in the championship local to them.

Qarabag took part in the local championships for four consecutive seasons during which they placed second in the competition, which was their highest score (achieved in the year 1969). In the years following 1969, however due to inattention and lack of financial backing the team was unable to participate in the championships for a period of 10 years. In 1977 the team was revived under the name Shafaq. In 1982, Shafaq was the sole player from Aghdam for football. From 1982 to 1987 the team adopted the name "Cooperative Society". It was in 1988 that Qarabag took home the championship title at the Azerbaijan SSR local championship under the current name. Alongside the championship medals Qarabag also won the right to participate as a member of the Soviet Second League.

On July 23, 1993 in the first Nagorno-Karabakh War The Agdam city Agdam was taken by Armenian Armed Forces as well as the Qarabag team then forced to relocate away from Imarat Stadium to Baku, as the former trainer and player, Ahmedverdi Bagirov, was killed in the conflict. Despite these challenges In 1993, Qarabag took home the Top League as well as the Azerbaijan Cup. The club was plagued by financial problems throughout the time from 1998 until 2001, and Qarabag went through difficult times but they were one of the very first Azerbaijani team to be able to win away from home in the course of a European tournament by defeating Israeli team Maccabi Haifa in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup thanks to an unbeaten strike by the club's legend Mushfig Huseynov. Qarabag has been a part of Azerbaijan at competitions like the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup many times.

The problems were resolved in 2001 in 2001, when the biggest holding companies in Azerbaijan, Azersun Holding, began as the sponsor of the team. The team used the name of Qarabag-Azersun for two years before returning to the name it had used in 2004.

In 2008 the former Azerbaijani footballer Gurban Gurbanov was appointed head coach following the sudden decision to transfer Rasim Kara. The club was renamed Khazar Lankaran one week before the beginning for the 2009-09 campaign. Under the guidance of Gurban Gurbanov Qarabag have strayed from a standard approach in Azerbaijani football, which is to avoid foreign players in favor of developing local talents. Gurbanov introduced the tiki-taka style of football that is characterized by quick passes, lengthy time periods of building-up and players who swap roles.

Under the leadership of Gurbanov, Qarabag has become one of the most successful Azerbaijani football clubs in Europe (with three consecutive victories) and also one that reached the UEFA Europa League play-off-round by beating Rosenborg in the UEFA Europa League, and also eliminated Honka from Finland. The success in European competitions have marked Gurban Gurbanov as among the most successful Azerbaijani managers of all time.

In 2010 the club established the Azerbaijani record of the biggest victory in the course of a European contest by defeating Metalurg Skopje 4-1 in Baku and defeating Wisla Krakow in the play-offs again for the second time in consecutive years. In 2011, Qarabag set the record, beating Banga Gargzdai with a score of 4-0 in Gargzdai. This season finished in a disappointing way for Qarabag but they finished fourth which left the club out of European competition. 2013 was the year that Qarabag was able to make it into the Europa League play-offs for the third time in their history.

On May 14, 2014, Qarabag was awarded its 2nd league crown in 21 years. The following month, when defeating Red Bull Salzburg, the club became the first Azerbaijani team to be crowned champions in the third round of the UEFA Champions League. As of August 14, 2014 Qarabag was in the Europa League play-off round for the fourth time in the last five seasons. This year, Qarabag was selected for 2014-2015's Europa League group stage, becoming the second Azerbaijani team to reach this stage of the European tournament. On the 23rd of October, 2014, following a 1-0 win over Ukrainian team Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0, the team became the first Azerbaijani club to win an Europa League group stage match.

In 2017, following a win against Sheriff Tiraspol, Qarabag qualified for the UEFA Champions League play-off rounds for the first time. In the first game, they scored a 1-0 win against Danish club F.C. Copenhagen in Baku. Although they lost 2-1 in the second game, Qarabag won on away goals and became the first Azerbaijani team to make it through the group stage in the UEFA Champions League. They were in the group C with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Roma which allowed them to score two points over six games following two draw and four loss.

In August and July in 2021 Qarabag obtained their very first entry into the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. Qarabag eliminated Ashdod (0-0 as well as 1-0), AEL Limassol (1-1 and 1-0) and Aberdeen (1-0 and 3-1) in qualifying. On August 27, Qarabag was drawn on Group H of the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League alongside Basel, Kairat and Omonia. In the end, they finished 2nd in the group getting to the round of 32.

The club has previously played at Guzanli Olympic Stadium that is located in Quzanli the largest municipality of the Agdam Rayon of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. Its Imarat Stadium which was club's first base was destroyed the result of artillery strikes by Armenian military during the first Nagorno-Karabakh War.

In 2012, the building of a new stadium for football Azersun Arena was announced, that was officially completed in June of this year. Azersun Arena is a multi-use soccer stadium in Surakhani settlement in Baku, Azerbaijan. It's currently the team's Azerbaijan Premier League home stadium and is home to 5,800 fans.

The Baku Olympic Stadium and Tofiq Bahramov's Republican Stadium are utilized as a venue for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europe League games. the largest attendance for Qarabag was set on September 27, 2017, during the UEFA Champions League group stage game that was attended by 67,200 people against Roma.

While a significant portion of Qarabag's fan base comes by the Aghdam community, they are highly well-supported throughout the remainder of Azerbaijan. This is due in large part to the fact that they are the only team that represents the war-ravaged Nagorno-Karabakh area in the league. The club is the sole reminder of the past and a symbol of hope and joy for more than half one million Azerbaijani internally displaced persons. In recent times, due to its achievements on the field the club has managed to invigorate and launch special youth-focused projects that have helped to ensure stability and growth in the IDP-settlements close to the border of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The club has a few support groups, such as Imarat, Qarabag Ordusu, Boys Qarabag, and Ladies of Qarabag. These groups usually get tickets for Qarabag's matches, which allows Karabakh to get greater support from the fans.

The crest of the club emblem represents the Karabakh. It is designed from English designers and is based off the Karabakh horse. The horse is a result of the nickname of the club "The Horsemen" Although it was featured on club programs and scarves in the past however, the crest was not visible in the jersey until 2004. Following the appointment of Gurban Gurbanov, Qarabag's beautiful style of play prompted supporters to name the team "Qafqazin Barselonasi" ("Barcelona of The Caucasus") which is a reference on the success of Barcelona in Europe. The team is often referred to as "Qacqin Klub" ("The Refugee Club") because of its skepticism regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and the refugees in Azerbaijan.

Qarabag's traditional uniform is a reference to the location of the club in Nagorno-Karabakh , with the black and white colors representing dark and light. The kits of the club are made by Il"Azero and are sponsored by Azersun Baku, a Baku-based food producer.

The season-by-season performance of the club over the last ten years:

The club has played in 18 different editions of club competitions run by UEFA the main authority on football in Europe. This includes seven years in the Champions League, 13 seasons in the UEFA Cup and Europa League and two seasons of the Cup Winners' Trophy and one season participating in both the UEFA Europa Conference League and Intertoto Cup. Qarabag has participated in six games as part of the Europa League after qualifying via the Champions League. If you take all the 134 matches the team has taken part at UEFA tournaments from their initial participation in Cup Winners' Cup during the 1996-97 season, their record is 48 wins as well as 35 draws and 51 losses.

As of match played 16 September 2022

Tournament	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%
UEFA Champions League	47	19	17	11	58	40	18	40.43
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	83	28	18	37	89	113	−24	33.73
UEFA Europa Conference League	14	7	4	3	18	16	2	50.00
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	4	0	1	3	1	12	−11	0.00
UEFA Intertoto Cup	4	1	0	3	2	11	−9	25.00
Total	152	55	40	57	168	192	−24	36.18

Updated 27 August 2022

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.

.

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club in the Azerbijani league (players in bold signifies current QarabaÄŸ player). Mushfig Huseynov is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 125 goals in 320 games.

Information correct as of match played 17 December 2018. Only competitive matches are counted.

Qarabag has been awarded 9 Azerbaijan Premier League titles, six Azerbaijan Cup titles and one Azerbaijan Supercup trophy. Qarabag is the only non-Baku-based team to win the Azerbaijan Premier League title. Qarabag is among two teams from Azerbaijan together with Neftchi Baku which has participated in every Azerbaijan Premier League tournaments thus to date.

• Azerbaijan League
  • Winners: (9) 1993, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22
• Azerbaijan Cup
  • Winners: (7) 1993, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2021–22
• Azerbaijan Supercup
  • Winners: (1) 1994

• Azerbaijan SSR League
  • Winners: (2) 1988, 1990
• Azerbaijan SSR Cup
  • Winners: (1) 1990

QarabaÄŸ is featured on the football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and 2016.

In the month of October, 2020, in the midst of the war between Nagorno-Karabakh, Qarabag was called on to be sanctioned by the Armenian Football Federation after the Qarabag's PR and media director Nurlan Ibrahimov made a hate speech on a social network, urging to "kill everyone Armenians old and young and without distinction". UEFA announced a temporary ban on the official of the club from participating in any sports-related activities for "racist as well as other discriminatory acts" that targets Armenians. Qarabag issued a statement that Ibrahimov was "suffered emotional trauma" when he saw the news of Ganja as well as Barda missile attacks. It was asking its staff to "refrain from sharing such information in this tense time, respect the human rights principles and completely comply with the laws of the state". Ibrahimov was penalized with administrative sanctions for making calls to show his hatred for another nation and inciting racial, national or religious hatred, while expressing his views in a way that was emotionally provoking on social media. On the 26th of November, UEFA has officially banned Ibrahimov as a Qarabag Official for the rest of his life, and penalized the club with a fine of EUR100,000. After this UEFA sanctions, Ibrahimov was declared wanted in Armenia.