Azerbaijan Premier League

Azerbaijan Premier League
Country	Azerbaijan
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1992
Number of teams	8
Relegation to	Azerbaijan First Division
Level on pyramid	1
Domestic cup(s)	Azerbaijan Cup Azerbaijan Supercup
UEFA cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Most successful club	Neftchi Baku (8 titles)
TV	CBC Azerbaijan CBC Sport
Website	Official website
2022–23

The Azerbaijan Premier League currently named Topaz Premyer Liqası after its main sponsor, is the top tier in Azerbaijani club football. The league is contested by 8 teams, in which the season runs from August to May. The winner gets a second round play off spot in the UEFA Champions League.

The Azerbaijan Premier League was first organized in 2007 and succeeded the Top Division, which existed from 1992 to 2007.

Since 1992, a total of 8 clubs have been crowned champions of the Azerbaijani football system. The current champions are Qarabağ, who won the title in the 2016–17 season for the fifth time.

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club four times, two times at home and two times away, for a total of 36 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.

A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Azerbaijan Premier League and the Azerbaijan First Division. The two lowest placed teams in Premier League are relegated to the First Division, and the top two teams from the First Division promoted to Premier League. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

26 clubs = 1992 20 clubs = 1993 16 clubs = 1993–94 13 clubs = 1994–95 11 clubs = 1995–96 16 clubs = 1996–97 15 clubs = 1997–98 14 clubs = 1998–99

12 clubs = 1999–00 11 clubs = 2000–01 12 clubs = 2001–02 10 clubs = 2002–03 14 clubs = 2003–04 18 clubs = 2004–05 14 clubs = 2005–06 13 clubs = 2006–07

14 clubs = 2007–09 12 clubs = 2009–13 10 clubs = 2013–14 9 clubs = 2014–15 10 clubs = 2015–16 8 clubs = 2016–present

Members of the Azerbaijan Premier League (2016–17 season)

Main article:2016–17 Azerbaijan Premier League

Stadia and locations (2016–17 season)

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Team	Location	Venue	Capacity
AZAL	Baku	AZAL Arena	3,500
Gabala	Qabala	Gabala City Stadium	2,000
Inter Baku	Baku	Inter Arena	8,125
Neftçi Baku	Baku	Bakcell Arena	11,000
Qarabağ	Baku	Azersun Arena	5,800
Sumgayit	Sumqayit	Kapital Bank Arena	1,500
Zira	Baku	Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium	1,500
Kapaz	Ganja	Ganja City Stadium	27,000

External links

• Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan Official website
• Azerbaijani Professional Football League Official website
• League at UEFA
• AzeriSport
• Azerbaijan - List of Champions, RSSSF.com

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