Sabah have become the fourth Azerbaijani club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the Baku-based side defeated Finland's KuPS in both legs of the second qualifying round, winning 1-0 in Masazir before securing a 2-0 victory in Kuopio.
In the third qualifying round, Sabah will face the winner of the tie between Poland's Lech Poznań and Denmark's AGF Aarhus. Lech won the first leg 4-1, with the return match scheduled for today, July 29. The third qualifying round will be played on August 4/5 and August 11.
The first Azerbaijani club to reach this stage of the Champions League was Baku in the 2009/10 season. After a goalless draw at home against Bulgaria's Levski Sofia, the Baku side lost 2-0 in the return leg in Sofia and were eliminated.
Neftchi followed in the 2012/13 campaign, suffering a 4-0 away defeat to Israel's Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona before drawing 2-2 in Baku to exit the competition.
Qarabag remain Azerbaijan's record holders, having reached the third qualifying round on 10 occasions. The Aghdam club progressed beyond this stage four times—in the 2017/18, 2022/23, 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons. On the other six occasions, Qarabag's Champions League campaign ended in the third qualifying round.
Sabah's achievement marks the 13th time an Azerbaijani club has competed in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
