Ilham Aliyev: Shortcomings in field of sports must be seriously analyzed

The shortcomings in the field of sports must be seriously investigated and analyzed, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said as he received in a video format Farid Gayibov due to his appointment as Minister of Youth and Sports, Report informs, citing AzerTag.

"In particular, work in some federations was unsatisfactory in the run-up to the Olympic Games. So the situation in all federations needs to be seriously analyzed. Special attention should be paid to the training process and training camps," the head of state said.

"We must also take into account the fact that our athletes who won medals at the last Olympic Games are experienced athletes. They are almost veteran athletes. There are no representatives of the younger generation among them, and this should be analyzed very seriously. How can there be such a gap between generations, such a distance, so to speak? In recent years, the construction of sports facilities has been stepped up in all our regions. About 50 of our sports and Olympic centers operate in the regions alone. Their activities should be seriously examined. What is the level of the training process, can children and teenagers come to the sports facilities, what are the conditions for doing sports? Because we have created this infrastructure and these centers in order to enhance the popularity of sports and to train professional athletes. Given that young athletes failed to win medals at the Tokyo Olympics, this needs to be scrutinized. The situation in sport clubs should be analyzed as well. In other words, we must draw the right conclusions. We can, of course, be proud of our victories, but there are also shortcomings that need to be addressed. Transparency in this area must be fully ensured and all unpleasant situations must be seriously dealt with," the president said.