Home ground
Dalga Arena
Mardakan, Baku
6,502Capacity
Nakhchivan City · Azerbaijan
Araz-NaxçıvanPeşəkar Futbol Klubu|
Qırmızı qurdlar · “The Red Wolves”
- Exclave club
- European debut 2025
Araz-Naxçıvan play at Dalga Arena, capacity 6,502, are coached by Yuriy Maksymov and stand 12th in the 2026/27 Misli Premyer Liqası on 3 points from 10 matches. Founded in 1967 in Nakhchivan City. 24 registered players.
Updated
2026/27 season
MİSLİ PREMYER LİQASILeague position
12th
Played 10
Points
3
- 0 won
- 3 drawn
- 7 lost
Registered players
24
for 2026/27
Ground capacity
6,502
Seats
Recent form
- Lost
- Lost
- Lost
- Lost
- Drew
Most recent last
Head coach
Yuriy Maksymov
Management
Chairman Ceyhun Sultanov
Squad
24
Registered players, 2026/27
Club colours
Red & white
Last season2025/26
6th of 12
46 points
Honours
2First Division titles
1Azerbaijan SSR title
3rdBest league finish (2024-25)
League: None in the Premier League — 3rd in 2024-25
Cup: None — best run 2024-25
Squad 2026/27 — 24 players
Goalkeepers 2
Defenders 7
Midfielders 9
Forwards 6
Squad taken from the Professional Football League's registration list for this club. Shirt numbers can change during a transfer window.
History
Football in Nakhchivan has died and been reborn at least three times. Araz was founded in 1967 in the Nakhchivan ASSR and won the Azerbaijan SSR title in 1987, then stopped after the Soviet collapse. It reformed in 2001, entered the Premier League, and folded again around 2002. Re-established on 23 May 2013, it won the First Division immediately — then withdrew from the league mid-season in November 2014 during a match-fixing scandal, publicly blaming biased refereeing.
The current incarnation restarted in the third-tier Regional League around 2021, took bronze in 2021-22, won the First Division in 2022-23, and has been in the top flight since 2023-24. The "founded 1967" date is the club's own heritage claim rather than certified corporate continuity.
In Europe
Third place in 2024-25 earned a first European campaign. In the 2025-26 Conference League second qualifying round Araz beat Greek Super League side Aris Thessaloniki 4-3 on aggregate — a genuinely substantial result in a club's first ever European tie — before losing 9-0 across two legs to Omonia Nicosia.
Stories & legends
Exclave football
Nakhchivan has no land route to the rest of Azerbaijan — it is enclosed by Armenia, with borders to Iran and Turkey. Every domestic away trip is a flight, which is why the club now trains and largely plays in Baku.
Died three times, reborn three times
Soviet collapse, then financial collapse in 2002, then a mid-season walkout in 2014 — and a rebuild from the regional third tier in 2021. Few clubs anywhere reach a UEFA competition within four years of restarting at that level.
Beware the futsal namesake
A completely separate and far more decorated futsal club is also called Araz Naxçıvan — 17 domestic titles and European semi-finals. Aggregator sites routinely credit its honours to the football club.
Fixtures & results
Next
Neftçİ
Qarabağ
ŞamaxıRecent
Zİrə
Qəbələ
KəpəzTransfers
Rahil MəmmədovCentre-back · Azerbaijan
Contract end
To Out of contract · Jul 2026
Leading scorers
3
Agadadash Salyanski
Azerbaijan
3Goals
Araz-Naxçıvan news
Misli Premyer Liqasi action continues with two matches
İmişli faces Turan Tovuz in Yevlax, while Kəpəz takes on Zirə in Ganja during the latest round of the Misli Premyer Liqasi.
Away wins for Zirə and Araz-Naxçıvan reserves
Zirə-2 and Araz-Naxçıvan-2 secured away victories against Turan Tovuz-2 and Şamaxı-2 respectively on the opening day of the Reserves League's sixth…
Sumqayıt come from behind to beat Araz-Naxçıvan
Sumqayıt secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Araz-Naxçıvan in the Misli Premyer Liqasi, with Ronaldo Vasquez and Nihad Ahmadzadeh scoring after…
AFFA fines Second League clubs for missing team doctors
The AFFA Disciplinary Committee has handed out fines to several Second League clubs following the latest round of matches, including penalties for…
Match officials announced for Misli Premyer Liqasi matchday eight
The Professional Football League has named the referees for matchday eight of the Misli Premyer Liqasi, with Kamal Umudlu taking charge of the…
AFFA fines Neftçi and Araz-Naxçıvan
The AFFA Disciplinary Committee has issued fines to Neftçi and Araz-Naxçıvan following the latest round of domestic league fixtures.
Official channels
Nominal home is Nakhchivan City Stadium (12,800); matches have been relocated to Baku
Frequently asked
Where does Araz-Naxçıvan play?
Araz-Naxçıvan play at Dalga Arena in Mardakan, Baku, capacity 6,502. Nominal home is Nakhchivan City Stadium (12,800); matches have been relocated to Baku
Who is the Araz-Naxçıvan head coach?
Yuriy Maksymov.
When were Araz-Naxçıvan founded?
Araz-Naxçıvan were founded in 1967 in Nakhchivan City.
What has Araz-Naxçıvan won?
League titles: None in the Premier League — 3rd in 2024-25. Azerbaijan Cup: None — best run 2024-25.