Speech by Ilham Aliyev in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Baku Olympic Stadium

Dear guests.

Dear ladies and gentlemen.

Dear friends.

It is a very momentous day in the life of our country. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of football in Azerbaijan. Let me warmly salute all the guests who have come to our country to celebrate this holiday together with us. In particular, I would like to sincerely salute FIFA President Joseph Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini. Every visit of yours gives an impetus to the development of football in Azerbaijan, and it is a great honor for us to see you among our guests.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate you, Mr. Blatter, on being reelected as FIFA President several days ago. Your convincing victory also demonstrates that under your leadership FIFA has covered a long and successful road, as the vast majority of the international world of football has supported your candidacy. I would like to reiterate that under your leadership FIFA has turned into a global organization, an organization pursuing the ideals of friendship, brotherhood, peace and justice.

While celebrating the 100th anniversary of football in Azerbaijan, we are optimistic of the future. I do hope that football will be developing successfully in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani government is taking necessary measures to develop football. As you may know, a State Program on the development of football has been under way for several years. The national championship arouses a great deal of interest. Specific steps are being taken to promote football in Azerbaijan. Both state bodies and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan are contributing a lot to the development of football by conducting goal-oriented activities. I am hopeful that these efforts will not remain futile and our footballers will gratify us in international competitions.

The development of football is important for every country. Football is the most popular sport. This is the case in Azerbaijan too. We want our children, youth and juniors to go into football. There are even better conditions for that now. We have commissioned several stadia in the country in recent years. Football pitches are being built. In other words, extensive work is under way in Azerbaijan to popularize football.

We are celebrating the opening of a new stadium in Baku today with the participation of Mr. Blatter and Mr. Platini. We are laying the foundation stone of our country’s biggest and most modern stadium. I do hope that a magnificent football arena, a 65,000-seat modern stadium meeting all international standards will be commissioned here in two to three years. It will be the most magnificent, beautiful, pretty and comfortable stadium not only in Azerbaijan but also in the whole region.

The construction of the stadium shows again that the Azerbaijani government is doing everything in its power to develop football. We will continue working to contribute further to the development of football. Of course, our public and football fans expect good results, great goals and victories from our footballers. This is our legitimate wish. I do hope that as a result of the work done to this date and to be done in the future, especially towards raising a generation of young footballers and proper organization of the selection process, our footballers will gratify us with football victories.

Our international relations in this area are growing. I want to indicate that next year Azerbaijan will play host to the biggest and most prestigious football event in its history. The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held in Azerbaijan. This means tremendous responsibility, and I am hopeful that all relevant bodies will do the preparatory work at the proper level and this championship will be held in Azerbaijan very successfully.

Our international cooperation is at a high level. The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) has secured a worthy place amongst the world’s football federations. I believe that this is a very important factor for the development of football. I would like to express my gratitude in particular to the leadership of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) because their support for Azerbaijan is highly important for us. I do hope that our football community will, in its turn, take additional and prudent steps for the development of football.

I would like to reiterate that it is a very remarkable and historic day today. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of football in Azerbaijan. Of these 100 years, Azerbaijan has been independent for 20 years. At the same time, the foundation-laying for a magnificent stadium is a historic event too.

I would like to sincerely congratulate the entire football community on this holiday again. Let me welcome all the guests to Azerbaijan again, and I think all the fans will join me in saying that we look forward to seeing great victories and successes of our footballers.

Thank you.