There has been significant interest from teams wanting to participate in the Azerbaijan Second Division.
According to Idman.biz, the Professional Football League's (PFL) Director of Media and Marketing, Sanan Abdullayev, shared this with Report news agency.
The PFL representative spoke about the reasons behind the format change in the championship: “As is known, based on the results of last season, three teams were promoted from the Second Division to the First Division. The winner of the Regional League replaced the last-placed team in the Second Division. According to the playoff results, Shirvan, which played in the final of the Regional League, earned the right to compete in the higher division. In addition, despite official requests and multiple reminders, the Gusar team did not confirm its participation in the 2025/2026 season. Taking into account the systematic negative incidents during their matches last season, it was decided to replace them with another team. As always, we tried to adhere to the principles of sporting merit during this change, and it was decided to admit Agstafa Ganjlari, who finished third in the Regional League last year, into the Second Division.”
According to Abdullayev, the main goal of AFFA and PFL has always been to follow the principles of sporting merit as much as possible: “This time was no exception. Sporting fairness was maintained, and at the same time, opportunities were created for teams with relatively better resources that wish to participate in the Second Division. Thus, three teams from the Regional League will have a chance to move up to the Second Division. The team that finishes first in the Regional League will directly qualify for the Second Division, while the second and third-place teams will play a single playoff match against the teams that finish 11th and 10th in the Second Division, respectively. The Second Division will consist of 27 rounds. Initially, teams will play 22 rounds in a two-stage format, followed by a six-team group stage of 5 rounds. Twenty-two rounds would have been too few for this competition. We decided to apply the ‘top 6’ system used in 12-team leagues. We believe this will prevent teams, whether at the top or bottom of the standings, from losing motivation early in the season. Furthermore, we must mention again that the teams we met with truly have football-related plans, which encouraged us to create a foundation for providing opportunities and motivation for new teams. This will also intensify the battle to remain in the Second Division.”
The 2025/2026 season of the Second Division will begin on September 6.
Idman.biz
