Azernews.Az

International Mini-Football Tournament has started in Baku.

The tournament was organized by Azerbaijan Mini-Football Federation (AMF) and the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to mark the 100th anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, Azernews reports.

Heads of sports federations, the diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan and others took part in the opening ceremony.

The National Anthem of Azerbaijan was played at the beginning of the event. The spectators also watched a video, which highlighted the attention and care of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the sports development.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov briefed the event participants about Azerbaijan's sports policy.

He recalled the successful results achieved by national sportsmen at international competitions. The minister also noted the increase in the number of sports competitions held by the country every year.

Honorary AMF President and the Zira Football Club Orkhan Mammadov emphasized that the National Leader Heydar Aliyev laid the foundation of sports policy in Azerbaijan.

As a result of the great attention and care shown by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the sports development, national sportsmen have achieved bright victories at international competitions.

Mammadov also shared his thoughts on the development of mini-football in the country. He also listed the main goals of the International Mini-Football Tournament.

The Honorary AMF President expressed his confidence that the tournament will be held in a friendly atmosphere and will be remembered for a long time. He also wished success to the teams that will take part in the competition.

In his speech, President of the World Minifootball Federation (WMF) Filip Juda outlined that Azerbaijan became the European champion in mini-football and interest in this sport has increased even more in the country.

He stressed the role of such prestigious international tournaments in the promotion of mini-football.

"Azerbaijan is known in the world as a sports country, and the attention paid to the development of sports at the state level has been repeatedly recognized by international sports organizations and federations," he said.

The opening ceremony was followed by an artistic program. At the end of the ceremony, the ten teams competing in the tournament were invited to the stage.

In the Group A match, the Serbian national team won against Georgia with a minimum score (1:0).

The Ukraine-Kazakhstan match in Group B ended with a victory for the Kazakh team (1:0).

The match between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic ended in a draw. France and South Africa met in Group B, and the game ended with a score of 11:0.

In the group stage, Azerbaijani national team will face the teams of Italy, Georgia, and Serbia.

The playoffs and semifinal games will take place on May 5. The final game will take place on May 6 at 20:30.

Note that the Azerbaijan-Italy match will take place on May 2 at 20:30.

The match between Azerbaijan and Georgia will be held on May 3 (20:30), while the Azerbaijan-Serbia match is scheduled for May 4 (19:00).

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