Media Development Agency Project: Physical and Spiritual Development of Children and Youth

The international relations of the "Qarabagh" Football Academy continue to grow. Thus, the U-17 team of the Aghdam representative tested its strength in the prestigious "Gothia Puma Trophy" tournament this month. "Qarabagh" won in the group stage of the competition against "Mjällby" (Denmark) (2:1), drew with "Sporting Lagos" (Nigeria) (0:0), and lost in the match with the local "Gothenburg" - 0:2. The team, which advanced to the 1/4 finals of the B play-off, lost here to "Brommapoyrkärna" (Sweden) - 0:4.

Looking back at the recent past, we recall that the U-13, U-14 and U-15 teams of "Qarabagh" also competed in international tournaments.

Our topic today is precisely the performance of "Qarabag" U-17 in the "Gothia Puma Trophy", which is related to the club's international relations.

So, what do these tournaments, facing foreign peers at an early age, give to the current young footballers, who are the future of Azerbaijan, in terms of experience?

While talking about the topic, Aftandil Hajiyev, the coordinator of the "Qarabag" Football Academy, first spoke about the prestige of the "Gothia Puma Trophy" tournament: "We participated in this tournament 2 years ago. We also had a meeting with representatives of the "Gothia Puma Trophy" when "Qarabag" faced "Hekken" in the Euroleague. Perhaps this tournament is "number 1" in the world. It is a very large-scale competition. You can even call the "Gothia Puma Trophy" a kind of Olympics for young footballers. We felt this during the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was similar to the opening of the Olympic Games. There was a very good organization."

Aftandil Hajiyev

Noting that "Qarabag" competed in the "Elite" category in the competition, A. Hajiyev also said that such tournaments can contribute to the development of our football: "There are several categories in the "Gothia Puma Trophy". Amateur teams competed in separate categories, and professional teams competed in separate categories. We were in the "Elite" category. I can only say good things about this tournament. "Gothia Puma Trophy" is a tournament with a 50-year history. The participants in the competition were quite high-quality teams. I think it was a great experience for both coaches and footballers. As the number of such tournaments increases, the experience of our players will increase in the future and their chances of reaching better places will increase. We will try to participate in such tournaments in the future. Because tournaments like "Gothia Puma Trophy" pave the way for the development of footballers both in terms of playing, personal, and psychological aspects. This is a good opportunity for them to overcome obstacles. Therefore, we will do our best to participate in such tournaments continuously".

A. Hajiyev said that Qarabag is working intensively on improving international relations: "We are trying to improve our international relations. Not only in connection with tournaments, but we are thinking about testing several players in the academies of European clubs. We have already started this. We had a meeting with the Italian club "Udinese". Based on these negotiations, several of our players will have the chance to test in their academy. Work has already begun. The process is underway. We have started work at the scout level. Video materials from the game of some of our players have been sent. The scouts there are watching and telling us their answers. Later, a time will be set for the players to go there. In this way, we are also negotiating with several clubs".

A. Hajiyev said that they have also agreed on cooperation with the Spanish club "Levante": "Levante" has also decided to cooperate with us. We have already started working. Our negotiations are continuing in several directions - about our coach and our players going there. "We are already in the final stage of negotiations. There may be such projects in the future. These will also be steps aimed at the development of coaches and football players."