Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu (English: Neftchi Professional Football Club), simply known as Neftçi (pronounced [neft͡ʃi]) or Neftchi Baku in English media, is an Azerbaijani football club based in the capital, Baku, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League.

Founded in 1937, the club has won eight Azerbaijan Premier League titles, seven Azerbaijan Cups and two Azerbaijan Supercup titles. The club is one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Qarabağ, which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.^[1]

In 2012, Neftçi became the first Azerbaijani club to advance to the group stage of a European competition after defeating APOEL 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.^[2][3] Neftçi plays its matches at the Bakcell Arena.

Neftchi were founded in 1937.^[4] The name means "petroleum worker" in Azerbaijani.

World-famous referee Tofiq Bahramov originally played for Neftchi but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee.^[5]

They won the first independent Azeri championship in 1992, and then won further titles in 1995–96 and 1996–97.^[6]

In 2006, Neftchi managed to win the CIS Cup after defeating FBK Kaunas of Lithuania in the final.^[7] In European competitions, the club also have advanced to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League twice, having defeated Bosnian champions – Široki Brijeg – and Icelandic champions – FH Hafnarfjarðar – in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

A long period of decline followed the success of the 2005 to the end of the decade. Despite the appointment of famous names such as Gurban Gurbanov, Vlastimil Petržela, Anatoliy Demyanenko and Hans-Jürgen Gede, the club did not achieve any success and squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings.^[8]

Prospects changed positively in December 2009 when the club's control was given to Sadıq Sadıqov. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile international players such as Bahodir Nasimov, Nicolás Canales, Flavinho, Bruno Bertucci, Eric Ramos, Igor Mitreski and Julius Wobay.^[9]

In May 2011, coached by Arif Asadov, the club won its sixth championship title.^[10][11] Asadov also become first person in Azerbaijan to win the league title as a coach and football player.^[12]

In the 2011–12 season, Boyukagha Hajiyev guided Neftchi to another domestic success as club become champions for seventh time in their history.^[13][14] In November 2011, Neftchi celebrated its 1,000th victory in official matches and its 1,000th goal, scored by Araz Abdullayev.^[15]

In 2012, Neftchi qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage, being the first Azerbaijani team to advance to this stage in a European competition. Neftchi managed to get three points in six matches, drawing with Partizan both times and holding Internazionale away at the San Siro.^[16][17]

A third consecutive Premier League title followed in 2012–13.^[18] Neftchi then won the Azerbaijan Cup on 28 May 2013 to secure the domestic double.^[19][20] Following Neftchi's early exit from European cups, Boyukagha Hajiyev resigned from his post.^[21][22] Following defeat at 2013 Azerbaijan Supercup, Nazim Suleymanov was appointed as Neftchi's new manager after Tarlan Ahmadov was sacked just three months in charge.^[23] On 8 January 2014, Suleymanov resigned as manager after a transfer fund dispute.^[24][25] In May 2014, despite finishing fourth, Neftchi managed to win Azerbaijan Cup.^[26] In August 2014, the club reached Europa League play off round after defeating Chikhura Sachkhere on aggregate.^[27]

On 2 November 2014, Neftchi club president Sadygov stated that the club was experiencing financial difficulties.^[28] In 2015, it was announced that the club would become a public limited company – Neftchi PLC, while the club's new president would be Chingiz Abdullayev.^[29]

On 8 June 2018, Roberto Bordin was announced as Neftçi's new manager on a two-year contract.^[30]

Neftchi's traditional kit was composed of black shirts, white shorts and socks of the same colour. Although through the years these two have gone from alternating between white and black stripes. ^[31]

Neftchi's home matches are usually played at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku. Built by German prisoners of war in 1951 and constructed in the shape of a "C" to honour Joseph Stalin, it was renamed after famous football referee Tofiq Bahramov in 1993 after his death.^[32] The stadium also serves as the home ground of the Azerbaijan national football team and holds 31,200 spectators, making it the second largest stadium in the country.^[33]

Neftchi's current home venue is the 11,000 capacity Bakcell Arena. It has been the club's home since the 2012–13 season.

Neftchi is one of the most supported club in Azerbaijan, with supporters organized in many fan clubs around the world, including the United States, Turkey, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and any other country with a sizeable Azerbaijani community. In the 2010s, although Neftchi improved its position, the average attendance fell to record low levels.^[34]

The club's most popular celebrity supporters are the likes of actors Bahram Bagirzade, Bashir Safaroglu and Lutfali Abdullayev, composers Gara Garayev, Fikrat Amirov and Niyazi, judoka Ilham Zakiyev and scientist Mirali Qashqai.^[35][36][37]

Matches between Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran are some of the biggest clashes in Azerbaijan. The relationship between the two clubs has always been known for its great animosity, as the classic opposes two geographic regions – with Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran representing the north and south of Azerbaijan, respectively.^[38]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2019.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Neftçi-2 plays in the Azerbaijan First Division from 2018.

Neftchi has had numerous presidents over the course of its history, some of whom have been owners of the club while others have been honorary presidents. In 1988, Neftchi had registered as a professional football club and club since then had eight presidents.

Source:^[41]

A number of television programmes have included references to Neftchi over the past few decades. In the sitcom Aramizda Galsin, the character Aslan is a Neftchi supporter.^[42] Neftchi have also featured on several occasions in meykhana.^[43][44]