Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways, Javid Gurbanov has been appointed a new president of the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation.

In this post Gurbanov succeeds Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov.

The appointment was announced at the meeting of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan held on October 12. Youth and Sports Minister Azad Rahimov and other officials took part in the meeting.

Rahimov, addressing the meeting, stated that volleyball has a long tradition in Azerbaijan.

“But generation is changing and, as in every sport, there are also changes in volleyball," the minister said.

Highlighting the services of Ziya Mammadov in the development of this sport in the country, Rahimov said there were discussions over reshuffles in the Federation and there was proposed to elect Javid Gurbanov as the new federation head.

“Javid Gurbanov is always next to athletes, volleyball players, and supports them. Each of us wants to see our volleyball developed. Our goal is to win licenses to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020,” the minister said.

Gurbanov, in turn, stated that volleyball is an important and very difficult sport that does not forgive mistakes.

“The draw for Volleyball European Championship will take place in Baku in 2017. So, we must seriously prepare for this prestigious event,” he said, mentioning that there will be changes in the national team, particularly regarding the coaches.

Later, Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation Vagif Aliyev informed the meeting about the work carried out to develop this sport in the country.

Volleyball has become a favorite sport in the middle of the last century in Azerbaijan. The formation of volleyball in the country dates back to 1926. After regaining the independence in 1992, the country began to participate at international competitions with own national team.

The Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation was established in the country in 1992.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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