Azerbaijan's Owls Soar to Champions League Elite

Sabah FK, a club established in 2017, has made an astonishing debut in the UEFA Champions League league phase. The Azerbaijani champions achieved this by winning their domestic league and cup last season, ending Qarabağ's sustained period of success. The team, nicknamed The Owls, hails from Masazir and has experienced a meteoric rise in less than a decade.

Their coach, Valdas Dambrauskas, possesses an unconventional path to European football's pinnacle. Dambrauskas, the first Lithuanian to lead a club into the Champions League league phase, initially funded his coaching education in London with winnings from a quiz show. His coaching journey began in England's ninth tier before leading clubs to numerous domestic titles and cup victories across Europe.

Sabah FK also marks a unique milestone as the first team to reach the Champions League group stage with pink incorporated as a primary color in their home kit. The club's distinctive pink and black colors are inspired by the pink hue of their hometown's Lake Masazir.

The team navigated a challenging route to the league phase, being unseeded in all four qualifying rounds. Their crucial playoff victory against Hapoel Be'er Sheva was secured with a dramatic late goal in the second leg, forcing extra time where they ultimately triumphed. This arduous path through four rounds places them among a select group of clubs to have achieved such a feat.