Sabah FK reach Champions League league phase to face Arsenal and Man United
Sabah FK have reached the UEFA Champions League league phase for the first time and will face Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester United in a landmark debut campaign for the Azerbaijani champions.
Sabah break through after playoff drama
The Masazir club sealed their place among Europe’s elite by beating Hapoel Be’er Sheva 6-4 on aggregate in the final qualifying round. Their 5-2 first-leg win, played in Bucharest at a neutral venue because of security concerns, proved decisive.
Sabah still needed late heroics in the return match. A goal in the 94th minute forced extra time, before two further strikes sent the Pink-Blacks into the league phase.
- Sabah were unseeded in all four qualifying ties.
- They eliminated Welsh champions The New Saints, Finland’s KuPS, Denmark’s AGF Aarhus and Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
- The club are only the latest side to survive four rounds of qualifying and reach the Champions League’s main league or group stage.
- Kairat, Slovan Bratislava, Sheriff, Malmö, Ferencvaros and Red Star Belgrade have previously completed that route.
Sabah now join a field containing holders Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s runners-up Arsenal, 15-time European champions Real Madrid and Barcelona. Arsenal, Barca and Manchester United are waiting for the Azerbaijani newcomers.
A title double ends Qarabağ’s dominance
Sabah were formed on September 8, 2017, and their first Champions League match could arrive on the ninth anniversary of the club’s foundation. They are based in Masazir, roughly 20 miles north-west of Baku, on Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea coastline.
Last season brought the greatest achievement in the club’s short history. Sabah won the Azerbaijan Premier League for the first time and added the Azerbaijan Cup to complete a domestic double.
The success also halted Qarabağ’s long control of the title race. The Baku side had collected 11 of the preceding 12 league crowns and became Azerbaijan’s first Champions League group or league-phase participant last season, before Newcastle United eliminated them in the knockout play-offs.
Sabah’s rise began with an unusual promotion. They finished fifth in the Azerbaijan First League in 2017-18 but were elevated after the four teams above them — Khazar Baku, Qaradağ Lökbatan, Shuvalan and MOIK Baku — did not secure top-flight licences.
Pink identity and a lone supporter in Bucharest
Sabah’s badge and identity are built around pink and black, earning them the Azerbaijani nickname Qara-çəhrayılar, or Pink-Blacks. Their home shirts have largely been black with pink detailing for the past four seasons, after the club moved away from its earlier blue-and-white colours in 2023-24.
The colour choice reflects Lake Masazir, known locally for its striking pink water. Sabah are the first Champions League group or league-phase club to feature pink among their principal home colours.
Travel from Azerbaijan can be complicated and costly, and Sabah’s European away support has at times been limited. In Bucharest, one fan made the journey from Baku to welcome the squad at its hotel, setting off pink flares in a solo show before watching his side claim the crucial first-leg victory.
Dambrauskas takes an unlikely road to Europe
Head coach Valdas Dambrauskas has become the first Lithuanian manager to guide a club into the Champions League league phase. The 49-year-old joined Sabah in 2025 after a coaching career that began far from the top level.
Dambrauskas stopped playing at 23, having not gone beyond Lithuania’s third tier. His turning point came in 2002, when he won 4,000 litas — about $1,300 — on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, titled Šeši nuliai – milijonas.
He used the money to move to London, gained coaching qualifications and worked jobs including newspaper delivery and childminding. His first managerial post was with Kingsbury London Tigers in the ninth-tier Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division, where he led the team to its best-ever league finish.
His later honours include a domestic quadruple with FK Žalgiris, Bulgaria’s league title with Ludogorets, Latvian cups at RFS and a Croatian cup with Hajduk Split.
Next up: Sabah will take their remarkable climb from Azerbaijan’s second tier to the Champions League stage, with European heavyweights now on the fixture list.
