Sabah FK, who made their debut in the competition this season, have been handed a tough group stage draw. The team, nicknamed The Owls, hail from Masazir, around 20 miles north-west of Azerbaijan's capital Baku, and have risen rapidly through the ranks since their founding in 2017. They won their first Azerbaijan Premier League title last season, completing a double by lifting the Azerbaijan Cup, and in the process breaking Qarabağ's grip at the top.
The team's coach, Valdas Dambrauskas, has a unique route to European football's showpiece event. Dambrauskas never played football beyond the third tier in his homeland and retired at the age of 23, before he embarked on a coaching career. He appeared on a Lithuanian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in 2002 and won 4,000 litas, which he used to move to London where he earned his coaching badges while working various jobs.
Sabah FK are the first team with pink as one of their main home kit colors to reach the group stage of the Champions League. They have opted to stick with a largely black shirt with pink accents for four consecutive seasons, and the team's nickname is Qara-çəhrayılar (Pink-Blacks). The Azerbaijani champions used to play in blue and white before changing their colors in 2023-24. Pink is important to Sabah's hometown as its famous Lake Masazir is known for its distinctive pink coloring.
Sabah FK will now face a tough test against some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Their first match in the group stage will be against Barcelona, followed by a match against Arsenal and then Borussia Dortmund. The team will have to be at their best to progress to the knockout phase of the competition.