On December 24, a ceremony dedicated to the sports results of 2024 was held. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony. During his speech at the event, the head of state also expressed his views on the football infrastructure:
“Now, a new stadium that meets all international standards is under construction in the city of Aghdam. The foundation of the Olympic Sports Complex has been laid in the city of Fuzuli. International rowing competitions are already held in the Sugovushan and Kondalanchay reservoirs. Several sports competitions have been held in the city of Shusha. The stadium in the city of Khankendi, built back in the 1950s with Azerbaijan’s budget, is now undergoing major overhaul and will be almost completely rebuilt. Exactly a year ago, we all watched a historic football match at the Khankendi stadium. But this stadium will also meet all international standards, and the reconstruction process will be completed next year. The construction of other sports facilities is on the agenda in other liberated territories, and we will carry out this work sequentially.
Next year, Azerbaijan will host another major sports competition: the CIS Games. The third CIS Games will be held in Azerbaijan. Fourteen cities have been selected for this, and the main games will be held in the city of Ganja. Ganja will be the center of the CIS Games. A new stadium is under construction in Ganja and should be operational before the games. At the same time, a few months ago, the largest Olympic Sports Complex in our country was inaugurated in Ganja. Even Baku has never had an Olympic Complex of this size and functionality. Seven thousand athletes are expected to participate in the third CIS Games. If we compare this with the 2015 European Games, there were approximately 5,000-5,500 participants back then.”
