With two tournaments, the clubs trying to keep the game practice understood that it would not be possible to reach the European Cups without the championship. Thus, for the second year in a row, Azerbaijan was left without continental cups. The clubs demanded the convening of an extraordinary conference of the federation and new elections. Otherwise, they would not go to the championship.  

Negotiations, which began in early 2003 , were finally coming to fruition. The agreement was reached after the visits of UEFA and FIFA representatives to Baku, their meetings with government officials, AFFA and club representatives. The clubs agreed to start the championship, and the federation agreed to convene an extraordinary conference to determine the time of the election . Thus, the 12th national championship started on May 17.     

Neftchi, which strengthened its squad with Vidadi Rzayev and Huseyn Mahammadov , the next day went to a match with Shamkir, an uncompromising rival of recent years, and started the championship with a defeat. Then came a long undefeated series . By the end of the first half flagship CSKA and "Khazar University" games with a sensational way can be considered a no-hecələrə the rest of the matches ended with a victory. Vadim Vasilyev was especially distinguished for his leadership qualities and saved the team with his goals in the most difficult moments. After the first round, Baku was at the forefront of the tournament schedule.            

The break between the first round and the second was only due to the national team's game and cup matches. Since the championship started early, it was planned to play until December and take a break in the winter months. The second half of the first round of the "Neftchi" The main rivalry from her husband, the "Shamkir" I agreed. The game began with the attacks of the visitors, and already in the 23rd minute they opened the scoring. All the efforts of our players were in vain, and at the beginning of the second half Badri Kvaratskhelia passed the second ball through our goal. After that, our team rushed forward to save the game, and our most loyal player Igor Getman minimized the difference. 15 minutes before the end, Agil Mammadov equalized. But our team was not satisfied with this and continued its attacks. And two minutes later, the visitors played rough against Vasilyev in the penalty area. Vidadi Rzayev inaccurately scored the penalty awarded by the referee one step away from the victory . By the end of 2003, 21 rounds were played in the championship . Our team won all the games and went to the group of leaders together with "Garabagh" and "Shamkir" in the new year .               

AFFA held a report-election conference in late December . At the last moment, Fuad Musayev withdrew his candidacy and Neftchi President Ramiz Mirzayev was elected the new head of the federation. In the early days of 2004, he resigned from the management of Neftchi, and the club became the founder of the Azerneftyanajag Oil Refinery . At a board meeting on January 26, Rovnag Abdullayev was appointed the new president of the flagship. Always aiming for leadership, Abdullayev has shown from the first days that he will do everything necessary to make Neftchi champions .         

Contracts were signed with Mahmud Gurbanov and Jahangir Hasanzadeh, who returned home from Ukraine , Gurban Gurbanov , who returned from Russia, and Zaur Tagizadeh from Shafa . Strengthening with new players, "Neftchi" was one of the main candidates for the championship, and for this, first of all, it was necessary to beat "Karabakh" .     

Due to the great interest of fans in the game, the match was held at the Republican Stadium named after Tofig Bahramov with the consent of the parties. Gurban Gurbanov opened the score in the match watched by 15,000 spectators after Zaur Tagizadeh's traditional wing pass. Although the home team soon scored the second goal , during the next attack of our team, which showed more interesting football, defender Ilham Yadullayev played rough against the victim and the victim himself scored a penalty. Two minutes later, after a pass from the hero of the game, Eltay Aslanov scored a beautiful goal. Thanks to the victory, "Neftchi" took the lead.     

The match with MOIK was more difficult. The hosts tried their best to get points from our team, and sometimes they did not hesitate to be rude. Even in the 7th minute, goalkeeper Anar Bayramov's rudeness would have cost Gurban Gurbanov his life. The captain's tongue intervened and the players' instant intervention saved him. However, the captain's injury did not prevent him from maintaining the lead and celebrating the 4th championship. The team that finished the season well won the right to represent our country in the Champions League, 5 points ahead of its nearest rival.