The opening ceremony of “Gabala - Sports Capital 2025” was held in Gabala

Jointly organized by the Gabala Region Executive Power and the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan Republic, the opening ceremony of "Gabala - Sports Capital 2025" was held on January 16, 2025. The participants of the event first visited the monument to the architect and founder of the state of Azerbaijan, Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, and laid flowers in front of it. The National Anthem of Azerbaijan was played at the event organized at the Gabala Olympic Sports Complex, the memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the restoration of our territorial integrity was commemorated with a minute of silence. Then a parade of members of federations in various sports was presented. Deputy Head of Guba Region Executive Power Saida Abasova in her speech spoke about the work and achievements by Guba, which was chosen as the “Sports capital” of Azerbaijan for 2024, and expressed her confidence that Gabala will properly fulfill this honorable work. The Deputy Head of the Gabala Region Executive Power Ataya Osmanova, who spoke at the event, stated that the youth strategy initiated by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev is being continued with great success by the President of the country, Ilham Aliyev, and the fact that Gabala today hosts international events - summits with the participation of heads of state, meetings, summits and forums, and international sports competitions. She also noted that Gabala was chosen as the "Youth capital" in the CIS in 2025 and congratulated all the residents of Gabala, especially the young people on this occasion. Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov said that athletes from Gabala constitute the majority and that he believes they will successfully represent Azerbaijan in the international arena in the future. He also noted that many competitions and events will be held in Gabala throughout the year within the framework of the "Sports capital", and said that there is a lot of work to be done, but Gabala will successfully fulfill this mission and achieve good results. Then the minister presented the symbolic key of the sports capital to the representative of Gabala region Ataya Osmanova. Then the mascot of "Gabala-Sports Capital 2025” "Marshal" was presented to the public. Former member of the rhythmic gymnastics national team Aliya Pashayeva, veteran football player Ilgar Gurbanov, former judoist Orkhan Safarov and national sports coach Khayyam Orujov, who were elected as sports ambassadors of 2024, wished success and new victories to all athletes performing under the flag of Azerbaijan. The event continued with the artistic part, athletes representing various sports demonstrated their skills accompanied by music.