CRITICAL STAGE

Undoubtedly, 2019 will be an important and crucial year for Azerbaijani sports. This year, we will witness the struggle for qualification licenses of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It’s only a year and a half away, which means the athletes should get as many licences as possible. At the same time, Azerbaijan will host the world and European championships in various types of sports.

For the first time in 2019, Baku will host the European Youth Olympic Festival. The opening ceremony will be held at the Crystal Hall on July 21. The competition will last six days, gathering more than 2,000 athletes from 50 European countries in Baku. Competitions will be held in athletics, basketball, cycling, gymnastics, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, volleyball, Greek-Roman and freestyle wrestling. The festival is a high-level sporting event for European athletes of 14-18 years old. It was first held in 1991 in Brussels, Belgium.

Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation also announced a calendar of international competitions in gymnastics that will be held in Baku in 2019. The federation will open the new season on February 16-17 with the World Cup in trampoline jumping. A month later, on March 14-17, the World Gymnastics World Cup will be held in Baku for the fourth time. In April and May, Baku will also become an arena for the performances of athletes in rhythmic gymnastics — the World Cup will be held in Baku on April 26-28, and the European Championship will take place on May 16-19. It is the first time that AGF is organising two European gymnastics championships simultaneously. On May 24-26, the strongest athletes representing European aerobics will gather in our capital. Russian gymnasts will also perform at the European Youth Olympic Festival. The event will take place at the National Gymnastics Arena. The latest competition in 2019 will be the world rhythmic gymnastics championship, which Baku will host again 14 years later. All three cups, as well as the world gymnastics championship in Baku are licensed for the 2020 Olympics.

The Grand Slam / Grand Prix tournament in para-judo (May 10-12 / 13-14, Baku) will be the first Olympic tournament of its type held in Azerbaijan. Rating points will be awarded at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Approximately 300 athletes from more than 50 countries are expected to participate at the event.

The final of the second most prestigious club tournament in Europe will be held in Baku - the final match of the UEFA Europa League will take place on May 29 at the Baku Olympic Stadium. UEFA President and a number of world football stars are expected to attend the event.

On April 26-28, 2019, the fourth Formula 1 race will be held as part of the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. These competitions with a multimillion audience worldwide are organised by the Baku City Circuit (BCC) Operating Company. Nearly 150 journalists from all over the world are expected to arrive to cover this magnificent sports festival on the central streets of our capital.

For the sixth time in a row, in 2019, a chess super tournament dedicated to the memory of Azerbaijani chess player Vugar Gashimov will be held in Shamkir. This time ten grandmasters are expected to participate in the traditional tournament. Azerbaijan will be represented by two chess players. Existing world champion Magnus Carlsen is also expected to attend.

This year we also expect the participation of Azerbaijani athletes in a number of important international competitions abroad. The European Karate Championship (March 28-31, Guadalajara (Spain) is the first prestigious tournament in which Azerbaijani athletes can win medals, as well as qualify for the European Games to be held this summer in Minsk, Belarus.

On April 8-14, the European Wrestling Championship will take place in Bucharest, Romania. This competition will also issue licenses for the European Games, where Azerbaijani athletes can be champions of the continent in both the freestyle and the Greco-Roman and women's wrestling.

The world taekwondo championship held once in two years will be held in May in the UK.

The second European Games will be held on June 21-30 in Minsk. Athletes will compete for medals in 15 sports, including badminton, basketball 3x3, boxing, wrestling, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and canoeing, judo, karate, athletics, sambo, archery, shooting, table tennis, beach soccer. The European Games will also replace the European Championships in some sports. Thus, the Games will be a qualification round in badminton, boxing, cycling, rowing and canoeing, judo, karate, athletics, archery, shooting and bench shooting, table tennis in preparation for the Olympic Games-2020.

This year’s Universiade held once in two years will be held on July 3-14 in Naples, Italy. During the previous Universiade in Taiwan, competitions were held in 22 sports. This time however the athletes will test their strength in 18 sports. Participation of Azerbaijani athletes is also expected in this main tournament among students.

Azerbaijani judokas will participate in the World Cup in Japan. The championship will be a qualification round for the Olympics. The world boxing and wrestling championships will be held in Sochi, Russia and Astana, Kazakhstan, respectively.