Azerbaijan's most established football club, Neftchi, has once again failed to qualify for European club competitions.
Under the management of head coach Samir Abasov, the team has lost its chance to participate in continental tournaments for the 2024/25 season, even before its conclusion, Idman.biz reports.
The Baku-based club will also be absent from European competitions during the 2025/26 season. This marks the second consecutive year that Neftchi will not compete on the European stage. The current season has also seen the club watching European tournaments from the sidelines.
Looking at Neftchi's history, missing out on European competitions for two consecutive years is unprecedented. It is the club's worst-ever record. The only previous instance of back-to-back seasons without European participation occurred in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons, marking the club's first such negative streak.
This anti-record is now being repeated after 15 years. For Neftchi, the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons will start with a setback.
Examining their European outings, it's clear that there was another two-year period without participation (2002/03 and 2003/04), but this was during a time when no Azerbaijani clubs were allowed to enter European tournaments due to the lack of domestic football. Therefore, those years should not be regarded as a failure by Neftchi alone.
Since Azerbaijani clubs began participating in European competitions in 1994, this will be the 10th time Neftchi will not compete in European tournaments. Out of these instances, there were two years when Azerbaijani clubs were excluded entirely. This marks the 8th time that Neftchi has failed to qualify. While there were two two-year streaks (2009/10-2010/11 and 2024/25-2025/26), the other four occasions (1994/95, 1998/99, 2006/07, 2017/18) were relatively short-lived.
Neftchi has participated in European tournaments 22 times, including 7 appearances in the Champions League, 11 in the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup), and 2 in the Conference League. It has also competed in the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup and Intertoto Cup.
Neftchi in European Competitions:
1994/95: Failed to qualify
1995/96: Cup Winners' Cup
1996/97: UEFA Cup
1997/98: Champions League
1998/99: Failed to qualify
1999/2000: UEFA Cup
2000/01: UEFA Cup
2001/02: UEFA Cup
2002/03: No Azerbaijani representation
2003/04: No Azerbaijani representation
2004/05: Champions League
2005/06: Champions League
2006/07: Failed to qualify
2007/08: UEFA Cup
2008/09: Intertoto Cup
2009/10: Failed to qualify
2010/11: Failed to qualify
2011/12: Champions League
2012/13: Champions League
2013/14: Champions League
2014/15: Europa League
2015/16: Europa League
2016/17: Europa League
2017/18: Failed to qualify
2018/19: Europa League
2019/20: Europa League
2020/21: Europa League
2021/22: Champions League
2022/23: Conference League
2023/24: Conference League
2024/25: Failed to qualify
2025/26: Failed to qualify
Neftchi's hopes of qualifying for European competitions this season ended after their 2-2 draw against Sumgayit in the XXXII round of the Misli Premier League.
Idman.biz
