AFFA Official appointed as UEFA Delegate for Europa League Qualifying Match

Emin Jafarov, head of the Competitions Organization Department of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), has received an appointment from UEFA, AzerNEWS reports.

He will serve as the UEFA delegate for the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match between Iberia (Georgia) and Larne (Northern Ireland), scheduled for August 11.The match will take place at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi.

The UEFA Europa League (UEL) is Europe's second-tier annual club football competition, organized by UEFA. The 2026/27 UEFA Europa League qualification phase is currently underway, running from 10 July to 27 August 2026, with clubs competing through three qualifying rounds and the play-off round for places in the 36-team league phase.

The league phase is scheduled to begin in September 2026, with each team playing eight matches (four home and four away) against different opponents under UEFA's Swiss-system league format. The top eight clubs will advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing 9th–24th will compete in knockout play-offs. The season will conclude with the 2027 UEFA Europa League Final, to be played at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on 26 May 2027.

Formed in 1992, the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) is the governing body of football in Azerbaijan.

The Association is responsible for overseeing all aspects of amateur and professional games in its territory.

It runs numerous competitions, the most famous of which is the Azerbaijan Cup. AFFA is a member of both UEFA and FIFA.