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Associated Press International
September 20, 2013 Friday 12:09 PM GMT
Baku aims for Olympics buzz with Euro 2020 bid
By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer
DUBROVNIK Croatia
Azerbaijan hopes that bidding to stage 2020 European Championship
matches will promote Baku after it was twice rejected by the IOC as a
candidate city for the Olympics.
UEFA said Friday that Azerbaijan is among 32 member countries aiming
to be part of the 13-nation Euro 2020 hosting project.
Elkhan Mammadov, the Azerbaijan Football Association secretary
general, told The Associated Press that a successful Euro 2020 bid
could build momentum for a third shot at a chance to host the
Olympics.
"I believe yes," Mammadov said in an interview on the sidelines of a
four-day UEFA gathering. "It will bring some guarantees. It will
destroy some doubts in some people."
UEFA will choose 13 host cities next September. One will host the
final and semifinals, and the other 12 will each stage three group
matches and one knockout match at the 24-team tournament.
Azerbaijan is proposing the 68,000-capacity Baku Olympic Stadium,
which will be completed ahead of hosting events at the first European
Games in 2015.
The stadium was the intended center of the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but
Baku failed to reach the IOC's candidates shortlist.
Using revenue from its oil and gas reserves, Azerbaijan has been an
increasingly active bidder for sports events, and state oil company
SOCAR is a main sponsor of the football body.
Azerbaijan state president Ilham Aliyev has already signed off on full
government support for the Euro 2020 project, Mammadov said.
Aliyev also leads his nation's Olympic committee and is expected to
propose Baku for hosting the 2024 Summer Games.
"These kinds of events are breeding more trust," said Mammadov, who
helped organize the women's Under-17 World Cup last year.
For the FIFA event, Azerbaijan brought Jennifer Lopez to headline the
opening ceremony concert and Shakira performed at the final.
The success of Azerbaijan's Euro 2020 bid could depend on having a
nearby partner country to co-host one of the six groups. Neighboring
Turkey is bidding only for the final match package.
UEFA President Michel Platini has pledged to limit travel time for
fans attending the tournament.
"We have to see in which regional zone we are. We have to see what
will be the priority," Mammadov said.
The Azerbaijan official said he expected fans to come to Baku from
neighboring UEFA countries Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Kazakhstan,
plus Iran and Turkmenistan from Asia.
"It was a very good decision by the UEFA president to bring football
to the fans and not the fans to football," Mammadov said, adding that
Azerbaijan would "open our borders" through football.
In November, the national team led by former Germany coach Berti Vogts
will go to Kyrgyzstan for the first international friendly played in
Bishkek in eight years.
"Can you imagine how hungry and angry the fans have been?" Mammadov
said. "We have made a commitment of going to travel there and play a
match. We keep our word."
A football accord with neighboring Armenia is more elusive. Six years
ago, the countries refused to play each other in Euro 2008 qualifying
matches because of a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
UEFA and FIFA have since kept the countries apart in each qualifying
program, as they do also with Russia and Georgia, and Spain and
Gibraltar.
"It is impossible to play a match," Mammadov said. "It is not a good
sign that we have more and more countries split. But today we have no
relationship in any sectors of different levels with Armenia."
Still, Azerbaijan will continue to build its football relations
Saturday when Platini visits the country to open a new technical
center close to Baku.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
September 20, 2013 Friday 12:09 PM GMT
Baku aims for Olympics buzz with Euro 2020 bid
By GRAHAM DUNBAR, AP Sports Writer
DUBROVNIK Croatia
Azerbaijan hopes that bidding to stage 2020 European Championship
matches will promote Baku after it was twice rejected by the IOC as a
candidate city for the Olympics.
UEFA said Friday that Azerbaijan is among 32 member countries aiming
to be part of the 13-nation Euro 2020 hosting project.
Elkhan Mammadov, the Azerbaijan Football Association secretary
general, told The Associated Press that a successful Euro 2020 bid
could build momentum for a third shot at a chance to host the
Olympics.
"I believe yes," Mammadov said in an interview on the sidelines of a
four-day UEFA gathering. "It will bring some guarantees. It will
destroy some doubts in some people."
UEFA will choose 13 host cities next September. One will host the
final and semifinals, and the other 12 will each stage three group
matches and one knockout match at the 24-team tournament.
Azerbaijan is proposing the 68,000-capacity Baku Olympic Stadium,
which will be completed ahead of hosting events at the first European
Games in 2015.
The stadium was the intended center of the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but
Baku failed to reach the IOC's candidates shortlist.
Using revenue from its oil and gas reserves, Azerbaijan has been an
increasingly active bidder for sports events, and state oil company
SOCAR is a main sponsor of the football body.
Azerbaijan state president Ilham Aliyev has already signed off on full
government support for the Euro 2020 project, Mammadov said.
Aliyev also leads his nation's Olympic committee and is expected to
propose Baku for hosting the 2024 Summer Games.
"These kinds of events are breeding more trust," said Mammadov, who
helped organize the women's Under-17 World Cup last year.
For the FIFA event, Azerbaijan brought Jennifer Lopez to headline the
opening ceremony concert and Shakira performed at the final.
The success of Azerbaijan's Euro 2020 bid could depend on having a
nearby partner country to co-host one of the six groups. Neighboring
Turkey is bidding only for the final match package.
UEFA President Michel Platini has pledged to limit travel time for
fans attending the tournament.
"We have to see in which regional zone we are. We have to see what
will be the priority," Mammadov said.
The Azerbaijan official said he expected fans to come to Baku from
neighboring UEFA countries Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Kazakhstan,
plus Iran and Turkmenistan from Asia.
"It was a very good decision by the UEFA president to bring football
to the fans and not the fans to football," Mammadov said, adding that
Azerbaijan would "open our borders" through football.
In November, the national team led by former Germany coach Berti Vogts
will go to Kyrgyzstan for the first international friendly played in
Bishkek in eight years.
"Can you imagine how hungry and angry the fans have been?" Mammadov
said. "We have made a commitment of going to travel there and play a
match. We keep our word."
A football accord with neighboring Armenia is more elusive. Six years
ago, the countries refused to play each other in Euro 2008 qualifying
matches because of a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
UEFA and FIFA have since kept the countries apart in each qualifying
program, as they do also with Russia and Georgia, and Spain and
Gibraltar.
"It is impossible to play a match," Mammadov said. "It is not a good
sign that we have more and more countries split. But today we have no
relationship in any sectors of different levels with Armenia."
Still, Azerbaijan will continue to build its football relations
Saturday when Platini visits the country to open a new technical
center close to Baku.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress