THE NEW ARENA OF WORLD FOOTBALL

Gymnastics, wrestling, boxing and now world football are discovering a new arena where high-level tournaments can be held

The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is the first major international football competition hosted by Azerbaijan. The decision to this effect was made back in March 2010 by the executive committee of FIFA. This is also the first FIFA event in Azerbaijan and the first U-17 Women's Cup being held in Eurasia. In general, this tournament is being held for the third time.

To participate in the world championships, teams from Japan, Korea, China, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, New Zealand, France, and Germany have arrived in Baku. The host country - Azerbaijan - is also represented at the championship with its own team. Along with Baku, matches are also being held in the city of Lankaran. Six stadiums - 5 in Baku and 1 in Lankaran - have been allocated for the tournament.

Thanking the government of Azerbaijan for hosting the championship, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that the country is now in a position to host other prestigious football competitions. The FIFA head attended the opening of the world championship together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. The tournament will be closed by UEFA President Michel Platini.

The opening of the junior championship was broadcast live to 125 countries. The show was made especially attractive by the appearance of the world famous circus Cirque du Soleil with a programme prepared specially for the ceremony, and of course, the long-awaited appearance of international pop star Jennifer Lopez at the Baku arena. The championship will be closed by the no less popular star Shakira.

As for the national team of Azerbaijan, the forecasts about the girls not being prepared for the world championship proved true from the first match. Azerbaijan is represented at a FIFA U-17 championship for the first time. The national team disappointed the fans, losing to Colombia, Canada and Nigeria with a big score in Group A. After losing to Colombia with a score of 0-4 at the opening of the championship, the Azerbaijani footballers experienced a real shock in the game with Nigeria. Losing seven goals in the first half, Sissy Wright's team finished the match with a score of 0:11. The fans, of course, were not happy with such a failure at home. In their opinion, it would have been better if the team had missed this championship. But we should not forget that Sissy Wright actually created this team in two years. At a time when the country has no championship for 17-year-old girls and football players limit themselves to training abroad instead of gaining experience in the national championship, the defeat of the team is explicable. On the other hand, it is also related to the low popularity of women's football in Azerbaijan. However, according to experts, after the FIFA U-17, the interest in women's football in the country should increase.

The organization of the competition also served as an additional incentive for the development of the football infrastructure. Two stadiums for the championship were opened quite recently. This suggests that at this rate, Azerbaijan will be able to host larger football tournaments in the near future. It is already known that in 2016, we will host the UEFA U-17 Men's Championship. And in 2020, Azerbaijan and Georgia want to host the "adult" European football championship. If UEFA does not accept the offer of Baku and Tbilisi, Azerbaijan will nominate itself for the World Cup of 2026 together with Turkey.

Meanwhile FIFA U-17 is continuing. As our journal went to press, three teams lost all chances of reaching the playoffs. These are Azerbaijan, Gambia and Uruguay.