How African magic, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, helped 9-year-old club qualify for Champions League

Sabah FC have completed one of the most remarkable stories in this season’s UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign, reaching the league phase for the first time in their history.

The Azerbaijan champions defeated Hapoel Be’er Sheva 5-2 on the night to secure a 6-4 aggregate victory, with Nigerian forward Christian Nwachukwu playing a starring role.

Founded in 2017, Sabah are only nine years old, but the club have already reached the summit of Azerbaijani football and now have a place among Europe’s elite. Nwachukwu played a crucial role in completing their historic journey after joining the club on August 1.

The Nigerian marked his arrival with his first goal for Sabah, scoring the equaliser after Hapoel Be’er Sheva had taken an early lead in the second leg.

The game remained locked at 2-2, a scoreline that would have sent the Israeli side through, before Sabah produced a stunning late comeback. Their African contingent then took centre stage.

Towering Gabonese striker Mbina rose highest to meet Aleksey Isayev’s cross and headed Sabah ahead in the 101st minute. Rwanda international Mickels then sealed the victory 15 minutes later, racing through on the counter before smashing his effort in off the crossbar.

Sabah's task became easier after Hapoel defender Djibril Diop was sent off for a second yellow card shortly before Mbina's decisive goal.

From TV quiz show to Champions League

Behind Sabah's historic achievement is an equally unusual story involving manager Valdas Dambrauskas. Long before becoming a Champions League manager, Dambrauskas appeared on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2000.

The football coach used the money he won from the television quiz show to attend coaching courses in England, setting him on a path that would eventually lead to the biggest stage in European club football.

Seven years later, Dambrauskas took charge of ninth-tier English side Kingsbury London Tigers, where he enjoyed some of the best results in the club's history.

He subsequently worked with several clubs, particularly in the Baltic region, before eventually arriving at Sabah. Now, the manager whose coaching journey was partly funded by a television quiz show has guided a club founded in 2017 into the Champions League league phase.

With Nwachukwu and Sabah's African stars contributing on the pitch and Dambrauskas' remarkable journey unfolding on the touchline, the Azerbaijani champions are preparing to discover what awaits them against Europe's biggest clubs.