The statement issued today about the closure of the Gabala Football Academy was a bolt from the blue.

Because it was not expected that the 20-year-old academy would be closed, or, as the statement said, "restricted its activities."

Just 5 days ago, a selection of talented child footballers was held in Gabala. 422 children showed their skills in 7 hours and 20 games and tried to get selected for the academy. So what happened all of a sudden? Where are the plans for the future, where are the child selections, where is the closure of the academy? Will the sinking ship take new passengers on board?

Of course, it has long been known that the financial situation of the Gabala Football Academy is not encouraging. Gabala officials have been making statements to the press about the decrease in the club's sponsors and the deterioration of its financial situation.

However, it should not be forgotten that AFFA allocated 700 thousand manats to Gabala club last season to maintain the academy and infrastructure.

Moreover, the last time AFFA provided financial assistance was two months ago, in May of this year. Half of the annual assistance package - 350 thousand manats - was transferred to Gabala. I wonder where this amount was spent in such a short time?

AFFA regularly provides assistance to clubs regarding the development of children's football. This means that funds would be allocated to the Gabala Football Academy in the 2025/2026 season as well. Gabala will receive 2.5 million manats from AFFA for participation in the Premier League alone, a certain percentage of which should be directed solely to the development of children's football.

Of course, the club has and should have other sources of income. AFFA helped Gabala whenever it had the opportunity and did not show indifference.

For example, last year, before our national team's match with Estonia, the federation spent a lot of money on reconstruction work at the Gabala city stadium. At the same time, Azerbaijani national teams of different age groups often hold training camps in Gabala. At this time, "Gabala" is also paid a certain service fee.

We unequivocally note that the closure of the "Gabala" Football Academy is a great loss for Azerbaijani football. We must now protect, build, create, and develop what we have in terms of children's and youth football. There were only a few football academies in our country, and "Gabala" was among the pioneers. Which club or team of ours does not have graduates of this academy?! "Gabala" Football Academy was of greater significance for Azerbaijani football than an ordinary academy.

Unfortunately, we do not know what is behind the unexpected decision of the Gabala management...

The club will participate in the Premier League, has a coaching staff consisting of foreigners, and a huge amount of money is spent on legionnaire footballers. Probably, the management was not able to fill the gap in the budget on the eve of the start of the new season. However, in no case should tears be shed on the fire of the land...

Perhaps we would not be so surprised if the processes had developed in the opposite direction. The main team of Gabala could be sacrificed to the Football Academy, but it is not logical to give children's football to the team consisting of legionnaire coaches and footballers...