Soviet era (1937–1991) The club was founded on 18 March 1937 and played under the name of Neftyanik until 1968. The first official match of Neftyanik took place on May 24, 1937. In the 1/64 finals of the
Soviet Cup, Neftyanik beat
FC Dinamo Yerevan (1:0). The goal scored by Pavel Shtyrlin in the 87th minute was the first in the history of Neftçi. In the same year, in the matches for the
USSR Cup, Neftyanik, although he won in 1/64 and 1/32 finals in the Dinamo teams from
Yerevan and
Batumi, lost in the 1/16 finals, to the
Dinamo Tbilisi. As the war drew to an end, the team gradually resumed operations and in 1944, Neftyanik returned to the
Azerbaijani championship, becoming champions the following year. Neftyanik competed in the
2nd Group of the USSR championship in 1946–1948, and qualified for the first time in its history for the
1st Group (Top League) in
1949. The first Top League match was against the
VVS Moscow at the then
Lenin Stadium (now Ismat Gayibov Stadium). In this historic match, the team won with a score of 1:0. The first goal in group A of the championship of the USSR was recorded by Viktor Anoshkin. The team qualified for the second time in its history for the Top League in
1960, and by playing regularly in the Top League during 1960–1965. The
1966 season stands out in the history of Neftçi, as the club achieved its biggest success in the USSR championships by finishing third.
Dynamo Kyiv won the championship with 56 points. In
1987 season, Neftçi coached by
Aghasalim Mirjavadov, finished the championship in 9th place, registering its best performance since
1971. The team was known for its attacking trio which included
Isgandar Javadov,
Mashalla Ahmadov and
Igor Ponomaryov.
1988 was a disappointing season for the club, as they finished 15th and were relegated to the Second Division.
Aghasalim Mirjavadov coached them in the first half of the season and
Yuriy Kuznetsov in the second, but neither could save the team from relegation.
Domestic hegemony (1991–2012) is Neftçi's first foreign captain. Neftçi won the
first Azerbaijani national championship having begun as clear favourites, since many of the players playing for the club at the end of the Soviet period remained. The team was coached by
Ahmad Alaskarov. Another success came three years later. In 1995, Neftçi, led by
Vagif Sadygov, defeated all rivals in the fight for the
Cup of Azerbaijan. 1995–1996 season, Neftçi finished with a "golden double" — won the
national championship and became the owner of the Cup. This success was achieved thanks to the efforts of coaches
Vagif Sadygov, Asif Aliyev and
Kazbek Tuaev. In 2006, Neftçi managed to win the
CIS Cup after defeating
FBK Kaunas of Lithuania in the final. In European competitions, the club also have advanced to the second qualifying round of the
UEFA Champions League twice, having defeated Bosnian champions –
NK Široki Brijeg – and Icelandic champions –
FH Hafnarfjarðar – in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Neftçi advanced to the third round of the
2008 Intertoto Cup, after defeating the Slovak club
FC Nitra and the Belgian side
K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot in the first two rounds. A long period of decline followed the success of the 2005 to the end of the decade. Despite the appointment of famous names such as
Gurban Gurbanov,
Vlastimil Petržela,
Anatoliy Demyanenko and
Hans-Jürgen Gede, the club did not achieve any success and squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings. Prospects changed positively in December 2009 when the club's control was given to
Sadıq Sadıqov. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile international players such as
Bahodir Nasimov,
Nicolás Canales,
Flavinho,
Bruno Bertucci,
Eric Ramos,
Igor Mitreski and
Julius Wobay. In May 2011, coached by
Arif Asadov, the club won its sixth championship title. Asadov also become the first person in Azerbaijan to win the league title as a coach and football player. However, Asadov was dismissed after the defeat to
Dinamo Zagreb in the
qualifying round of the Champions League 2011–2012 season. In the
2011–12 season,
Boyukagha Hajiyev guided Neftçi to another domestic success as the club become champions for seventh time in their history. In November 2011, Neftçi celebrated its 1,000th victory in official matches and its 1,000th goal in
Azerbaijan League, scored by
Araz Abdullayev.
European breakthrough (2012–present) 's management, Neftçi became the first team to represent Azerbaijan in the group stage of a European competition. In 2012, Neftçi qualified for the
2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage, being the first Azerbaijani team to advance to this stage in a European competition. Neftçi managed to get three points in six matches, drawing with
Partizan both times and holding
Internazionale away at the
San Siro. A third consecutive Premier League title followed in
2012–13. Neftçi then won the
Azerbaijan Cup on 28 May 2013 to secure the
domestic double. Following Neftçi's early exit from European cups, Boyukagha Hajiyev resigned from his post. Following defeat at
2013 Azerbaijan Supercup,
Nazim Suleymanov was appointed as Neftçi's new manager after
Tarlan Ahmadov was sacked just three months in charge. On 8 January 2014, Suleymanov resigned as manager after a transfer fund dispute. In May 2014, despite finishing fourth, Neftçi managed to win
Azerbaijan Cup. In August 2014, the club reached
Europa League play-off round after defeating
Chikhura Sachkhere on aggregate. On 2 November 2014, Neftçi club president Sadygov stated that the club was experiencing financial difficulties. In 2015, it was announced that the club would become a
public limited company – Neftchi PLC, while the club's new president would be
Chingiz Abdullayev. On 8 June 2018,
Roberto Bordin was announced as Neftçi's new manager on a two-year contract. Under the head coach of Roberto Bordin, the team finished
Azerbaijan Premier League in second place and they have advanced two qualifying rounds in the
UEFA Europa League. On 18 January 2020, the club officially announced that the contract with Bordin mutually terminated, and he was replaced temporarily by his assistant
Fizuli Mammadov. On 11 November 2020,
Samir Abasov was appointed manager. The contract between the parties was signed until the end of the 2021/2022 season. In the first season under his coach, the club won the
Azerbaijan Premier league after 7 years again. On 11 July 2023,
Adrian Mutu was appointed as Neftçi's new Head Coach on a two-year contract. On June 26, 2024,
Roman Hryhorchuk was appointed as club's head coach. On October 7, 2024, his contract with the club was terminated by mutual agreement. Under his leadership, Neftçi played in 9 rounds of the
Azerbaijani Premier League, recording 5 draws and 4 losses. == Grounds ==