Full name | Qəbələ İdman Klubu |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Dağ canavarı (The Mountain Wolf) |
Founded | 1 September 2005 |
Ground | Gabala City Stadium |
Capacity | 2,000 |
Owner | Gilan Holding |
Chairman | Tale Heydarov |
Manager | Roman Hryhorchuk |
League | Azerbaijan Premier League |
2015–16 | Azerbaijan Premier League, 3rd |
Website | Club home page |
Gabala FK (Azerbaijani: Qəbələ Futbol Klubu, also spelled Qabala; pronounced [ɡæbælæ]) is an Azerbaijani association football club based in Qabala. They play in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top division in Azerbaijani football. Gabala plays its matches at the Gabala City Stadium.
The club was founded under the name of Goy Gol on 3 July 1995, based in Goy Gol. On 1 September 2005, Goy Gol was registered in Gabala by the Ministry of Justice, before the AFFA registered the team as professional on 5 September of the same year. In the summer of 2006, the team moved from Goygol to Qabala, before the club changed its name to Gabala on August 31, 2007.
On 10 May 2010, former Arsenal defender Tony Adams was appointed as new manager after signing £1 million per year deal with the club. In his first season in charge Gabala finished at 7th place in Azerbaijan Premier League. In November 2011, Adams resigned from being Gabala's coach due to family problems.
Despite the appointment of managers like Fatih Kavlak and Ramiz Mammadov, the club couldn't reach a satisfactory position in the league and was struggling in the middle of the table for many years. On 29 May 2013, Yuri Semin was appointed as new manager after signing £1 million per year deal with the club. In same year, the club qualified for European cups for first time in their history but lost to Neftchi Baku on penalties in final of Azerbaijan Cup.