Shafa Baku FK
| Full name | Shafa Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Ground | Shafa Stadium |
| Capacity | 8,300 |
| Owner | MyGroup Holding |
| Manager | Zaur Hashimov |
| League | Azerbaijan Premier League |
| 2025–26 | First League, 1st of 10 (promoted) |
| Website | shafa-fc.com |
Shafa Football Club (Azerbaijani: Şəfa Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku. Founded in 1998, the club won the Azerbaijan Cup in 2000–01 before withdrawing from senior football in the mid-2000s amid financial difficulties. It was later revived and, competing in the second-tier Azerbaijan First League, won the 2025–26 title to earn promotion to the Azerbaijan Premier League for the 2026–27 season.[1]
History
[edit]Early years
[edit]Shafa was founded in 1998.[2] The club won the 2000–01 Azerbaijan Cup, its first major honour.[2] It later became inactive and spent a number of years out of competition.[3]
Re-establishment and return to top flight
[edit]On 16 June 2023, by a decision of the AFFA Executive Committee, Shafa was admitted to the Azerbaijan Second League.[4] The newly appointed head coach, Elshad Mammadov, rebuilt the team around young players.[4] In the same year the club was acquired by MyGroup Holding, which restructured its organisation.[3][2]
In the 2024–25 season, Shafa finished second in the Second League and won promotion to the Azerbaijan First League.[5][2] The following season the club won the 2025–26 First League title under head coach Elgiz Karamli, sealing the championship with a home win over Jabrayil and earning promotion to the Azerbaijan Premier League for the first time in its history.[6][7] After promotion, Karamli left the club, having declined an offer to remain on the coaching staff, and Zaur Hashimov—previously a coach at Gabala and Zira—was appointed head coach for the club's Premier League campaign, assisted by a staff including Haji Ahmadov and Rauf Aliyev.[8][9]
National
[edit]- Winners (1): 2000–2001
Domestic league and cup history
[edit]| Season | League | Azerbaijan Cup | Top League goalscorer | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Name | Total | ||
| 1998–99 | 1st | 12 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 24 | 54 | 14 | Quarter-finals |  Səbuhi Sadiqov Zaur Hashimov |
6[10] |
| 1999–2000 | 1st | 7 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 32 | 31 | Quarter-finals | Ramin Nasibov |
4[11] |
| 2000–01 | 1st | 4 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 26 | 31 | Winners | Elçin Rəhmanov |
4[12] |
| 2001–02 | 1st | 6 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 41 | 32 | 49 | Quarter-finals | Zaur Tagizade |
12[13] |
| 2003–04 | 1st | 6 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 40 | 23 | 39 | Quarter-finals | Sənan Qurbanov |
12[14] |
| 2004–05 | 1st | 18 | 34[15] | 2 | 1 | 31 | 16 | 95 | 7 | 1/16 |  Amadi Luki |
4[16] |
European cup history
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/02 | UEFA Cup | 1 |  |
Olimpija Ljubljana | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–7 |
Squad
[edit]- As of 11 July 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
League records
[edit]
Appearances[edit]
|
Goals[edit]
|
Notable players
[edit]Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Shafa.
- Azerbaijan
References
[edit]- ↑ ""Şəfa" rəsmən Premyer Liqada!" [Shafa officially in the Premier League!]. Apasport (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Şəfa FK". Instagram. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Azərbaycanın II Liqasında çıxış edən hansı klubun dəyəri 200 min avrodan çoxdur" [Which club in Azerbaijan's Second League is worth more than 200,000 euros]. Oxu.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- 1 2 "İ Liqaya vəsiqə qazanan "Şəfa"nın baş məşqçisi Qurban Qurbanovun yanında təcrübə keçib" [Shafa's head coach, who won promotion to the First League, trained under Gurban Gurbanov]. Oxu.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "Səbailin qapıçısı I Liqa klubunda" [Sabail's goalkeeper at a First League club]. Oxu.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ ""Şəfa" rəsmən Premyer Liqada!" [Shafa officially in the Premier League!]. Apasport (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ ""Şəfa"nın ilk mövsümdə məqsədi Premyer Liqada qalmaq olacaq" [Shafa's aim in their first season will be to stay in the Premier League]. QOL.az (in Azerbaijani). 19 May 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ ""Şəfa" Zaur Həşimovun məşqçi heyətini açıqladı" [Shafa announces Zaur Hashimov's coaching staff]. Arena.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ ""Şəfa"da baş məşqçinin köməkçiləri müəyyənləşdi" [Shafa's head coach's assistants confirmed]. QOL.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ Shafa Baku withdrew from the league during the winter break due to financial issues. Their remaining matches were awarded 3–0 to the opposition.
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)