Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

has ancient roots, and even now, both traditional and modern sports are still practiced.

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while oth ...

, however today, the most popular sports in Azerbaijan are

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

. Other popular sports are

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

, and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. Azerbaijan's mountainous terrain provides great opportunities for the practice of sports like

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

Water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

are practiced on the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

and in inland waters. Competitively, Azerbaijan has been very successful at chess, weightlifting, and wrestling at the international level. Azerbaijan is also an active member of the international sports community, with full membership in the

International Federation of Association Football FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was founde ...

(FIFA),

Union of European Football Associations Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

(UEFA),

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF),

European Athletics Association The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(EAA),

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), among many others. It has also hosted the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic Games, Olympic tradition contested by sportsperson, athletes from European nations and several European Olympic Committees#Notes, transcontinental countries. The Games were ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Islamic Solidarity Games The Islamic Solidarity Games ( ar, ألعاب التضامن الإسلامي) is a multinational, multi-sport event. The Games involve the elite athletes of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation who compete in a variety of sports. The Solidari ...

. Azerbaijan has recently employed a number of top Iranian athletes and coaches to its national teams by granting them Azerbaijani nationalities. These include

Saman Tahmasebi Saman Tahmasebi ( fa, سامان طهماسبی, born 26 July 1985) is a naturalized Azerbaijani wrestler who formerly represented his birthplace Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a ...

, Sabah Shariati and Jamshid Kheyrabadi in wrestling; and Reza Mehmandoost and Milad Beigi in Taekwondo.

History

Sport in Azerbaijan has ancient roots, and even now, both traditional and modern sports are still practiced.

has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's

, in which Azerbaijan won up to fourteen medals, including four golds since joining the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

. Currently, the most popular sports include

and

Types of sports

Wrestling

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

remains a historically important sport of Azerbaijan and often even referred to as its

. Both freestyle and

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

, particularly freestyle, are popular in Azerbaijan. With a history of great wrestlers, such as

Namig Abdullayev Namig Yadulla Abdullayev ( az, Namiq Abdullayev, born 4 January 1971) is a retired Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, as well as three gold medals at European championships and three silver medals ...

Farid Mansurov Farid Mansurov ( az, Fərid Mansurov) (born May 10, 1982 in Dmanisi, Georgia) is an Azerbaijani wrestler, gold medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling at 66 kg. He retired in 2010, after conceding jaw injury dur ...

, Rovshan Bayramov, and

Mariya Stadnik Mariya Stadnik ( uk, Марія Василівна Стадник; Mariya Vasylivna Stadnyk; born 3 June 1988) is a Ukrainian-born Azerbaijani female wrestler. She is a four-time Olympic medalist. Personal life Stadnik was born on 3 June 1988 i ...

, Azerbaijan is considered among the elite nations in this sport. Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation was established in 1959 as part of the USSR Wrestling Federation. After Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation was established in 1993, and officially admitted to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles at FILA Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland in the same year. During 1993-1997, Etibar Sardar oglu Mammadov was the President, Abbas Aydin oglu Abbasov the Vice President and Khanmirza Khanbala oglu Malikaliyev the Chief Scorer of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation.AWF conference is held every four years. During the regular conference held in 1997, Abbas Aydin oglu Abbasov was elected the President, Cavanshir Kazim oglu Qurbanov the First Vice President and Khanmirza Khanbala oglu Malikaliyev the Chief Scorer of AWF. Functional vice presidents (Mammad Ibrahimov, Chingiz Quliyev, Oleq Krapivin, Mammad Musayev, Arif Hasanov, and Oktay Huseynov were elected) carried out their activities within the Federation.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in Azerbaijan, and the

Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA; az, Azərbaycan Futbol Federasiyaları Assosiasiyası, AFFA) is the governing body of football in Azerbaijan. Formed in 1992, it is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amate ...

with 9,122 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country. The national football team of Azerbaijan demonstrates relatively low performance in the international arena compared to the nation football clubs. The most successful Azerbaijani football clubs are Neftchi Baku,

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Inter Baku Shamakhi FK ( az, Şamaxı Futbol Klubu, ) is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Shamakhi, that currently competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title twice. History Early years (1997– ...

, Qarabağ, Gabala and

Khazar Lankaran Khazar Lankaran FK ( tly, Xəzər Lankon Futboli Klub, script=Latn, az, Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran that last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season. Since the ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Neftchi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of a European competition, beating

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

4-2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League. The 1960s are considered the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

for Azerbaijani football, as they produced great players like

Anatoliy Banishevskiy Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy ( az, Anatoli Andreyeviç Banişevski; russian: Анатолий Андреевич Банишевский; 23 February 1946, in Baku – 10 December 1997, in Baku) was an Azerbaijani footballer. Throughout most o ...

Alakbar Mammadov Alakbar Mammadov ( az, Ələkbər Məmmədov; russian: Алекпер Мамедов; 9 May 1930 – 28 July 2014) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani footballer best known as a striker for FC Dynamo Moscow in the 1950s and later as the first manager ...

and football referee

Tofiq Bahramov Tofiq Bahramov ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov; ; russian: Тофик Бахрамов; 29 January 1925 – 26 March 1993) was a Soviet footballer and football referee from Azerbaijan. He was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a cont ...

, who is most famous for being a linesman who helped to award a goal for England in the

1966 World Cup Final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...

between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. The top football teams in

are

FK Baku FC Baku ( az, "Bakı" Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku that has been an amateur club since 2016. Prior to that, Baku played 18 seasons in the Azerbaijan Premier League, winning the championship twice and earning the Na ...

, PFC Neftchi Baku,

FK Karabakh FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

and

. On March 19, 2010, Azerbaijan won the bid to host the

2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the third edition of the women's football tournament, and was held in Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October, following a decision by the executive committee on 19 March 2010. Defending champions Sou ...

was also the former shirt sponsor of

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, which aimed to develop football in Azerbaijan based on an agreement between Spanish club and

Futsal

Azerbaijan achieved far more success in

than football. In the late 1980s, it was here that influenced the creation of the Russian futsal club MFK Dina Moskva, who dominated the futsal in post-Soviet countries during the 1990s. The

Azerbaijan national futsal team The Azerbaijan national futsal team is the national futsal team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international futsal competitions such as the FIFA Futsal World Cu ...

reached fourth place in the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship, while domestic club

Araz Naxçivan Araz Naxçıvan is a futsal club based in Nakhchivan City, Azerbaijan. The club is very dominant in Azeri futsal, as they won ten consecutive Premier League titles from 2004 to 2014. Araz is one of the strongest teams in Europe, having reached ...

clinched bronze medals at the 2009–10 UEFA Futsal Cup and 2013–14 UEFA Futsal Cup.

Backgammon

Backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...

is a game that has ancient roots in the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

and plays major role in Azerbaijani culture. This game is very popular in Azerbaijan and widely played among the local public. There are also different variations of backgammon developed and analysed by Azerbaijani experts.

Chess

Azerbaijan is known as one of the

superpowers and despite the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, chess is still extremely popular. Long term world champion

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

was born in Baku. Notable chess players of Azerbaijan includes

Teimour Radjabov Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov (also spelled Teymur Rajabov; az, Teymur Boris oğlu Rəcəbov, ; born 12 March 1987) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster, ranked number 18 in the world A former child prodigy, he earned the title of Grandmaste ...

, Shahriyar Mammadyarov,

Vugar Gashimov Vugar Gasim oghlu Hashimov ( az, Vüqar Qasım oğlu Həşimov; 24 July 1986 – 11 January 2014), known internationally as Vugar Gashimov , was an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. He was a noted player of blitz chess. At his peak ranking, he ...

and

Zeinab Mamedyarova Zeinab Hamid qizi Mamedyarova (also spelled Mamedjarova; az, Zeynəb Həmid qızı Məmmədyarova; born 3 October 1983) is an Azerbaijani chess player holding the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). Career In 2000, Mamedyarova won the Gir ...

. Azerbaijan has also hosted many international chess tournaments and competitions and became

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

winners in 2009. In 2009, Azerbaijani president

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

issued an order to improve development of chess in the Azerbaijan from 2009 to 2014 period. Grandmaster Teymur Radjabov became the first owner of the World Chess Cup in the history of Azerbaijan on October 4, 2019, in

Khanty-Mansiysk Khanty-Mansiysk ( rus, Ха́нты-Манси́йск, Khánty-Mansíysk, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty language, Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi language, Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the admini ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Martial arts

Martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

have also brought many medals to this country, namely

Elnur Mammadli Elnur Mammadli ( az, Elnur Məmmədli, born 29 June 1988, Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani judoka. He won the gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 73 kg division. In the final he beat the favorite Wang Ki-Chun. Wang h ...

who conquered gold at the European Championships and

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in the -73 kg category. However, his Olympic opponent,

Wang Ki-Chun Wang Ki-Chun (Hangul: 왕기춘, ; born September 13, 1988 in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do) is a former judoka from South Korea. He became known for beating the 2004 Olympic champion Lee Won-Hee in the qualification matches for the 2007 World Champ ...

, suffered

ribcage The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a sem ...

fracture when

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Leandro Guilheiro Leandro Marques Guilheiro (born August 7, 1983) is a Brazilian male judoka. He won the bronze medal in the lightweight (<73 kg) division at the Movlud Miraliyev Movlud Miraliyev (born 27 February 1974 in Kitab, Uzbekistan, Kitob, Qashqadaryo Province, Uzbekistan) is an Azerbaijani retired judoka of Meskhetian Turks, Turkish Meskhetian origin. Miraliyev finished in joint fifth place in the Judo at the 2 ...

won the bronze medal at the

and

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year (except the years when the Olympics take place) by the International Judo ...

in 2003.

Motorsports

Azerbaijan has a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

race track, the

Baku City Circuit The Baku City Circuit ( az, Bakı Şəhər Halqası) is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is , making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar (after C ...

, which hosted its inaugural race in 2016. The latest edition of the

Azerbaijan Grand Prix The Azerbaijan Grand Prix ( az, Azərbaycan Qran Prisi) is a Formula One motor racing event that was held for the first time in . It is held on the Baku City Circuit, a street circuit in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The event is due to take ...

was held on 12 June 2022. The 2020 race, which was scheduled for 7 June 2020, was canceled because of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions.

Paragliding

Rhythmic gymnastics

In recent years,

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

developed rapidly in Azerbaijan. Many Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnasts such as

Aliya Garayeva Aliya Nurgayanovna (Nikolayevna) Garaeva (Garayeva) ( tt-Cyrl, Алия Нургаян кызы Гәрәева; russian: Алия Нургаяновна Гараева), born 1 January 1988 in Yekaterinburg, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a reti ...

Anna Gurbanova Anna Gurbanova ( az, Anna Qurbanova; born September 24, 1986) is an Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast. Career She is the champion of Azerbaijan in ball performance, a participant of the Olympic Games held in Athens in 2004, World and European Ch ...

and

Dinara Gimatova Dinara Nailevna Gimatova ( tt-Cyrl, Динара Наил кызы Гиматова, russian: Динара Наильевна Гиматова; born 18 November 1986 in Astrakhan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is an Azerbaijani gymnast of Volga Tat ...

are among the leading rhythmic gymnasts in the world.

Rugby union

200px, left, Azerbaijani rugby player Zahid Sadmaliyev ("Zaza")

Volleyball

Azerbaijan is one of the leading volleyball countries in the world and its

Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League The Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League ( az, Azərbaycan Volleybol Superliqası), is the highest professional women's volleyball league in Azerbaijan. It is run by the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation. It is considered to be among the top ...

is one of the strongest women's leagues in the world. Its women national team placed fourth at the 2005 European Championship. Over the last years, clubs like

Rabita Baku Telekom Baku (formerly named Rabita Baku) was an Azerbaijani women's volleyball club. Telekom was an eight-time champion of Azerbaijani Superleague and the winner of the 2011 FIVB Club World Championship. History The Rabita Bank was founded in 2 ...

and

Azerrail Baku Azerrail Baku ('' az, Azərreyl Bakı'') is an Azerbaijani women's volleyball club based in Baku. Azerrail is a three-time champion of Azerbaijan Superleague and the winner of CEV Cup in 2002 and Challenge Cup in 2011. History Azerrail was foun ...

achieved great success at European cups. Azerbaijani volleyball players include likes of Valeriya Korotenko, Oksana Parkhomenko,

Inessa Korkmaz Inessa Korkmaz (born 17 January 1972 in Saratov) is a retired female volleyball player from Russia, who is also known as Inessa Emelyanova. She made her debut for the Soviet National Team in 1989. After 2001 she represented Azerbaijan in interna ...

Natalya Mammadova Natalya Aleksandrovna Mammadova ( uk, Наталія Мамедова; born 2 December 1984) is a retired Ukrainian and Azerbaijani volleyball player. Natalya played as an outside hitter and is widely recognized as one of the best players of her ...

and

Alla Hasanova Alla Hasanova (born 6 August 1970) is an Azerbaijani volleyball player, who competed for the Women's National Team at the 1994 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Brazil. At the 2005 Women's European Volleyball Championship in Croatia ...

. Ivan Dyachkov played a key role in the development of Azerbaijani volleyball in 1946–1947 years. Under his supervision, Azerbaijani men's volleyball team frequently gained victories in the 1950s. With the boost of the interest in volleyball in the country in 1950s, a number of very strong volleyball players emerged in Azerbaijan. They were drafted to the USSR teams and participated in the European and World Championships. There was an Azerbaijani volleyball player in the staff of the USSR team ranked 3rd at the World Championship in Paris in 1956. Two years later, Azerbaijani volleyball player Ogtay Agayev won the bronze at the European Championship. Coach Shamil Shamkhalov made great efforts for the development of women's volleyball in Azerbaijan. In 1956 six students of Shamkhalov won the USSR Youths championship. Three years later Shamil muallim went to Moscow with boys' and girls' teams to participate at the All-union School Spartakiad. Both teams won the championship. In 1962 18-year-old Inna Riskal was drafted to the USSR team to participate at the World Championship. With the only loss to the Japanese, the team ranked 2nd. Inna, who became one of the key players in the USSR team participated in four Olympiads and captured two gold medals and two silver medals. Another Azerbaijani volleyball player Vera Lantratova won the Olympiad in 1972. Vera Lantratova and Inna Riskal, being members of the USSR team, often participated at the World and European Championships, winning various titles. Inna Riskal was considered one of the three strongest woman volleyball players of the century. At the beginning of the 1960s two Azerbaijani women's teams, "Neftchi" and "Mahsul" participated at the USSR Championship. In 1966, the national women's volleyball team won the USSR Championship bronze medal. After the appointment to the position of chief coach in 1986 Faig Garayev laid the foundation for the restoration of women's volleyball in Azerbaijan. A year after, our team entered the major league. Ranked 9th in 1989 and 3rd in 1990 the team won its first awards. The women from Baku won the last USSR Championship in 1991. In 1992-1993 the team participated in European Top-Team Cup competitions as an independent nation's team and took the 2nd place. Azerbaijani team ranked 1st at the 1993 Bulgaria World Championship elimination stage, won the "Bahar" cup in Rumania in 1994, and ranked 9th at the same year's World Championship thus joining the list of the world's 10 strongest women's teams.

Shooting

Stand shooting exists in

since 1920. And the country first time was represented by marksmen in Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Valeri Timokhin attended in both Seoul and Atlanta Olympiads. Zemfira Meftahaddinova became the world’s most accurate stand marksman in Summer Olympic Games took place in Sydney in 2000. According to the results, she got 98 of 100 possible points. The first bullet shooting center was established in 1920, on Nargin island in USSR. Since that time the marksmen that trained in this center became the members of USSR national team and participated in various Olympiads. Albert Udachin, Anatoly Spivakov, Diana Osoliker, Irada Ashumova, and other marksmen represented Azerbaijan in this field. Irada Ashumova won a bronze medal at XXVIII Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Moreover, She won the 2nd place with small caliber pistol at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain (1998) and in Lahti, Finland (2002). Gabala Shooting Club (GSC) and Baku Shooting Center are the main facilities in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The mentioned facilities have been established for the purpose of a recreational and entertainment center, and as a training place for the national shooting team and international professionals. Baku Shooting Center (opened on March 9, 2015) is located in Bilajari settlement of Baku and is considered to be is one of the largest shooting complexes in Europe. It covers more than 123,000 square meters. The building includes a cafe, management, doping control, training, weapons storage, a medical center and so on. Gabala Shooting Club (GSC) (has been operated since 2012) also has similar facilities such as Archery shooting pitch, Shooting School Strike ball/Paintball, Sport-hunting appliances shop, etc. Another shooting center is located in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (was put into operation on December 7, 2013). The center has facilities for shooting range, paintball playgrounds, archery, and military-sports games.

Archery

Azerbaijan Archery Federation promotes the further development of this sport in Azerbaijan.

Statistics of medals won

In 2007, Azerbaijani athletes won over 300 medals at international competitions, 127 of which were gold. 127 medals won in Olympic sports. At the Olympic Games in Beijing, Sydney, and Athens, Azerbaijani athletes won 15 medals, including 4 gold. At XXVIII Summer Olympic Games, the national Olympic team of Azerbaijan got 1 gold and 4 bronze medals. Since its independence, Azerbaijani sportsmen have won 2615 medals (897 gold, 705 silver, 1013 bronze) in various world competitions.

Infrastructure

There have been built over 15 Olympic sports complexes since 2000, and the construction process of 16 complexes continues. Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex, Sport Complex “GYANJLIK”, Baku Sport Palace and the national / republic stadium, named after Tofig Bakhramov are important parts of the sport infrastructure of Azerbaijan.

Sport policy of Azerbaijan

Sport in Azerbaijan is directly supported by the government. Azerbaijani national leader,

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Aze ...

and later the President

have had personal attempts to promote and develop sports in order to improve the results of the country in the international arena. The Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic was established based on this vision in 1994 according to Decree no 861 of the former president Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. In 1995, in accordance with another decree, the Sports Foundation was set up and sport was funded by the resources allocated from President Fund. After I. Aliyev was elected the President of

National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Milli Olimpiya Komitəsi), also known as AZMOC, is an independent public organization, with a status of a legal entity, which passed registration in the ...

in 1997, sport in Azerbaijani Committee increased its international bonds. In 1997, Azerbaijani Milli Majlis adopted a law about “physical education and sports”. On April 21, 2001, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MYST) was established. In 2003, with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan about “preparing for XXVIII Summer Olympic Games” Azerbaijani sportsmen started to prepare for XXVIII Summer Olympic Games in a more sophisticated way in order to have better achievement. There are 44 Olympic sports complexes operating in the cities and districts of Azerbaijan currently.

International agreements and decrees

On July 31, 2004, an agreement about cooperation between the Russian Olympic Committee and Azerbaijan Olympic Committee was signed. In 2004, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a memorandum in Qatar in order to cooperate in the field of sport during his official visit to this country. In 2004, the state program about the development of physical education and sports in 2004-2008 in the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted with the Decree No 181 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On January 30, 2006, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism was cancelled Ministry in accordance with a presidential decree, and Youth and Sports and Ministry of Culture and Tourism were created. On 24 July 2006, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree “about Preparation to XXIX Summer Olympic Games”.

Achievements

The sportsmen of Azerbaijan have won 2615 medals in World and European and Cup championships since its independence (897 gold, 705 silver and 1013 bronze). In 2017, the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games were held in Baku on May 11–22. Azerbaijani athletes won 75 gold, 50 silver, and 37 bronze medals. In 2018, the Azerbaijani athletes won 753 medals - 263 gold, 230 silver, and 260 bronze medals in the world and European championships, cup competitions, and international tournaments. The first European Games, Formula 1 Grand Prix, Islamic Solidarity Games are important events that took place in Azerbaijan as a result of state support for sports.

Olympic Games

first participated at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

as an independent nation in 1996, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then. * Azerbaijan has participated in the following

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

to date: ** Azerbaijan at the 2016 Summer Olympics **

Azerbaijan at the 2012 Summer Olympics Azerbaijan competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympics in the post-Soviet era. The National Olympic Committee of the Azerbaija ...

** Azerbaijan at the 2008 Summer Olympics ** Azerbaijan at the 2004 Summer Olympics ** Azerbaijan at the 2000 Summer Olympics **

Azerbaijan at the 1996 Summer Olympics Azerbaijan competed in the Summer Olympic Games as an independent (nation), independent nation for the first time at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, United States. Previously, Azerbaijani athletes competed for the Unified T ...

* Azerbaijan has participated in the following

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

to date: ** Azerbaijan at the 2018 Winter Olympics ** Azerbaijan at the 2014 Winter Olympics **

Azerbaijan at the 2010 Winter Olympics Azerbaijan sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. This was Azerbaijan's fourth Olympic Winter Games, having appeared in each Winter Games since 1998 in 1998 W ...

** Azerbaijan at the 2006 Winter Olympics ** Azerbaijan at the 2002 Winter Olympics ** Azerbaijan at the 1998 Winter Olympics The National Olympic Committee of the Azerbaijani Republic made bids for

to host the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

and 2020 Olympics