Azerbaijan and Armenia care for one issue only – the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Since September 27, the conflict over the disputed region has been escalating, dragging the local football scene into the heat of the battle.
On Saturday, in the last matchday of the Azerbaijan Premier League, Zira hosted Neftçi Baku in their home stadium. A large banner was raised in memory of Ilgar Burcaliyev, a former player in Zira's youth team. Burcaliyev was a soldier in the Azerbaijani army and was killed a few days ago in Nagorno-Karabakh. Next to the banner, two more names were displayed: Shahriyar Gurbanov and Fidan Gurbanova. Shahriyar was 13 years old, his sister Fidan was 14 years old, and both were also killed when their town, Naftalan, was bombed. All the players wore shirts with the writing “Karabakh is Azerbaijan”, and held a banner with the same slogan in English and Azerbaijani.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and quickly escalated in 1992 after the Soviet Union collapsed. The region, called the Republic of Artsakh by the Armenians, is officially recognized as part of Azerbaijan but acts as an autonomous region. Since the beginning of the current crisis, the Azerbaijani government announced that more cities in the area are being captured by their forces.
The Karabakh Team
Over the last few years, one team has dominated the Azerbaijani league and that team is Qarabağ. Bearing the region’s name and originally from the city Aghdam, it has relocated to Baku de-facto due to the violence in the region. The name was adopted in 1987 and is kept as a memory to the abandoned region. This combination helped Qarabağ enjoy significant support from national companies, and the club is owned by Azersun, the largest food retailer in the country. Their advantage is clear with 7 consecutive championships to their record, and they are also the first team from Azerbaijan to reach the Champions League group stage.
Last week, Qarabağ qualified to the Europa League group stage after defeating Legia Warsaw. The social media of the club was all dedicated to the conflict. A graphic of a saluting man followed each goal. After the match, the club published a team photo with all the players and staff saluting. Another photo showed the foreign players holding the national flag with the writing "They are not Syrian mercenaries but Bayraktar, even maybe Harops”, referring to the Syrian soldiers who allegedly fight alongside the army. Bayraktar and Harop are two unmanned aerial vehicles used by the Azerbaijani army. The first one is produced in Turkey and the second one in Israel. Turkey and Israel got special messages after Qarabağ was drawn to the same group with Sivasspor and Maccabi Tel Aviv, stating that "the Azerbaijani team is proud to be as a team with those who are protecting the borders."
Other Azerbaijani Facebook pages also joined the trend, including the clubs, the domestic league and the FA. They are all dedicated to supporting the soldiers and the nation. More than once a day, there are posts that are citing the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and his foreign affairs advisor, Hikmet Hajiyev. Recently, these posts are also being translated to English, as the messages are not dedicated only to the Azerbaijani people but also to the whole world.
The violence and politics of the conflict affect the neighbouring side as well. The Armenian champions, Ararat-Armenia, had to relocate their match against Crvena Zvezda to Cyprus due to the situation. The Armenian fans that arrived in Cyprus decided to walk around the stadium with a banner that compares the relations of Armenia and Artsakh to the Serbian claims over Kosovo.
Armenia also used football to promote its rights over the region. Four years ago, a new club was founded in the local league named Artsakh FC. But to the fans’ disappointment, the team was later bought by a new owner and had to change its name. A new way to put Artsakh back on the map had to be found.
They thought of doing so through CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations and national association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Artsakh Football Association joined the organization in 2012, and in 2014 they took part in the CONIFA World Football Club. In 2019 they were selected to host the CONIFA European Football Cup. It was a chance for the locals to show the region and its passion for football. Artsakh fielded a team with players from the local league and the Armenian league and finished at the 5th place. The final was held at the capital city Stepanakert in front of 12,000 fans.
This conflict echoes far beyond the two nations.
In Iran for example, fans of Tractor Sazi Tabriz, who many of them re part of the Azeri minority in the Islamic Republic, have demonstrated with their club’s emblem in favour of the Azerbaijani army.
Last year, Baku hosted the Europa League final. While both teams - Chelsea and Arsenal, were English, one player couldn't travel to Baku. Henrikh Mkhitaryan decided that he wouldn't travel to Baku, as he had no guarantee for his security. It was the second time that the Armenian didn't travel to Azerbaijan. In 2015 he could not join Borussia Dortmund to an away match against Gabala.
If there will be no changes due to the coronavirus, Baku will be one out of 12 host cities of the 2020 Euro. Turkey was drawn to play two matches in Azerbaijan, against Switzerland and Wales. According to the reports, Turkey is supporting Azerbaijan and playing a significant role in the latest escalations. Turkey and Azerbaijan are already known as having close relations and cultures, but playing in Baku after this support could be a home match away from home.
The conflict is far from being over, influencing the lives of everyone in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Meanwhile, football will continue to be one of the battling grounds on which the two sides showcase their struggle.
