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ABN promoted by default in Azerbaijan

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FC ABN Barda will become the 14th club in the Azerbaijani top flight following a special ruling by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan.

FC ABN Barda will become the 14th club in the Azerbaijani top flight following a special ruling by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA).

First refusal
ABN will replace MKT Araz who went bankrupt last week on the eve of the new Yuksek Liqa season. FK Geyazan Gazakh were offered the chance to take Araz's place but according to AFFA official Melik Gasanov, they declined. "Our regulations state that a team from the first division can replace a top-flight club in such circumstances," said Gasanov. "On sporting merit we offered the place to Geyazan first but they turned it down. ABN, on the other hand, wanted to go up and could also meet the criteria of the AFFA".

Survival goal
The league calendar will remain unchanged with ABN replacing Araz and taking on Simurq PFC this weekend. The opening-day fixture against FK Olimpik Baku, which was postponed due to Araz's bankruptcy, will be played in October. The newcomers' head coach Faig Jabbarov said: "Our goal is to stay in the top flight. We're not going to use foreign players because we don't have the finances. We will be relying on young homegrown talent."