National Team, World Cup, Refereeing and Staffing Issues Discussed at AFFA Executive Committee Meeting

The next meeting of the AFFA Executive Committee was held on November 25, 2025, in the administrative building of SOCAR. Sport24.az reports that AFFA President Rovshan Najaf provided information about the agenda of the meeting.     Then the issues on the agenda were discussed.     First, the report of head coach Aykhan Abbasov regarding the last matches of the A national team within the framework of the World Championship qualifying stage was heard. The performance of the national team was discussed in detail, and opinions were exchanged regarding future games.     Then, AFFA Executive Vice President Sarkhan Hajiyev provided information about the preparation for the FIFA U-20 World Championship - 2027, which will be co-hosted by Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. The work and plans to be done regarding the preparation process were also discussed.     Later, AFFA Secretary General Jahangir Farajullayev gave general information about refereeing. His presentation was heard, the current situation in the field of refereeing was reviewed, and a number of structural changes were adopted. According to the change, the chairman of the Referees Committee, Frank De Bleker, will now serve as the chief secretary's advisor on International Refereeing and referee training.     At the meeting, Rahim Hasanov's candidacy for the position of chairman of the Referees Committee was nominated and approved by the unanimous decision of the members of the Executive Committee.     In addition, Zaur Akhundov's request to resign from membership of the AFFA Executive Committee at his own request was accepted.     New candidates Zumrud Aghayeva and Murad Mammadov for vacant positions in the AFFA Disciplinary Committee were approved.     At the same time, the licensing rules for the 2026/2027 season were approved.