"Sabah" has achieved a remarkable feat in the new format of the UEFA Champions League. The Baku representative is the youngest team to advance to the league stage by passing the qualification play-off round in the new format, based on the club's founding date.
Modern.az has investigated the founding dates of clubs that have overcome the play-off barrier since the implementation of the new 36-team league format in the Champions League.
It should be noted that the new format in the UEFA Champions League was first introduced in the 2024/2025 season. The previous group stage was abolished, and a single league stage with 36 teams was created.
A comparison of the results of the qualification play-offs for the 2024/25, 2025/26, and 2026/27 seasons shows that among the 21 clubs that passed this stage during this period, the youngest is Azerbaijan's "Sabah" club.
"Sabah" – 2017
"Sabah" Football Club was founded on September 8, 2017. The club played in the First Division in the 2017/18 season and was promoted to the Premier League from the next season.
The Baku representative faced Israel's "Hapoel Beer-Sheva" club in the play-off round of the 2026/27 Champions League.
After losing the first leg 1:2, "Sabah" defeated their opponent 5:2 after extra time in the return match on August 25. The Azerbaijani champion advanced to the Champions League league stage with a 6:4 aggregate score over two matches.
Interestingly, at that time, "Sabah" was not even 9 years old. The club passed the play-off barrier approximately 8 years and 11 months after its establishment.
This indicator is a record for the new format era of the Champions League.
Second youngest – "Pafos"
Cyprus's "Pafos" club is in second place on the list.
"Pafos" was founded in 2014. The club's official information states that it was formed as a result of the merger of historical football teams from the city of Pafos.
The Cypriot club eliminated Serbia's "Crvena Zvezda" team in the 2025/26 season's play-off. "Pafos" won 2:1 away and drew 1:1 in the return leg, making the aggregate score 3:2 in their favor.
Thus, "Pafos" advanced to the main stage of the Champions League at approximately 11 years old.
"Copenhagen" in third place
The third youngest club to pass the play-off in the new format era is Denmark's "Copenhagen" team.
"Copenhagen"'s official founding date is July 1, 1992. The club was formed based on the cooperation of the KB and B1903 teams.
The Danish champion drew 1:1 in the first leg against "Basel" in the 2025/26 season's play-off and won 2:0 in the return match. With this, "Copenhagen" secured a spot in the league stage with a 3:1 aggregate score.
At that time, the club was 33 years old.
Nicat Rüstəm
