AFFA Executive Committee discusses 2026 budget, Substitutes League, referees and other issues

The next meeting of the AFFA Executive Committee was held. Sport24.az reports that AFFA President Rovshan Najaf first congratulated Qurban Qurbanov, the head coach of "Qarabağ", on the successes achieved by the team in the UEFA Champions League this season, and emphasized that these results contribute to increasing the international prestige of Azerbaijani football.

The AFFA president then provided information about the agenda of the meeting.

First, AFFA's budget for 2026 was discussed and approved. Then, AFFA Secretary General Jahangir Farajullayev provided detailed information about the status of the Substitutes League for the 2026/2027 season. Proposals were made by members of the Executive Committee regarding the issue, and it was stated that it would be appropriate to obtain the opinion of the Clubs Committee in order to make a final decision. Later, Elchin Mammadov, Deputy Secretary General of AFFA, presented a report on on-site analyzes conducted in the academies of Misli Premier League clubs. The meeting also addressed the issue of forming the composition of the Referees Committee. According to the decision, Asim Khudiyev, Shahin Jafarov and Elchin Samadli were unanimously appointed as new members of the committee. At the same time, a new bonus system for Misli Premier League referees was presented by Secretary General Jahangir Farajullayev. It was stated that this system will serve to stimulate the activities of referees and improve the quality of management in games. The proposed system was approved by a vote of the members of the Executive Committee. The date of the next Reporting Conference of AFFA was also determined at the meeting. It was decided to hold the next Reporting Conference of AFFA on April 3, 2026. The application of Tural Eyvazov, chairman of the Players' Status and Transfer Committee, to resign from his position at his own request was accepted. According to the decision, Sarkhan Ibadov was elected as the new chairman of this committee. Finally, the hosting agreement regarding the FIFA U-20 World Championship, which will be organized in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in 2027, was approved.