The biggest night in #Azerbaijan football history awaits

When they step onto the field of the Baku Olympic Stadium tonight (29 May), Arsenal and Chelsea will be making Azerbaijani footballing history. Of course, I recognize the difficulties associated with this particular occasion, but as an Azerbaijani, I can’t help but feel the excitement. When the victors hold the famous Europa League Cup aloft it will be a source of great pride to my fellow countrymen that our capital will have played host to one of the European game's greatest spectacles. It will indicate how far we have come as a footballing nation, helping move the game beyond the confines of the continents so called ‘elite’ nations, writes Tale Heydarov, former chairman of FC Gabala of the Azerbaijani Premier Division.

When the Azerbaijan Premier League got up and running in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse, few would have thought it possible to see one of our teams in European competition, let alone hosting a final. For most fans, especially in England, we are best known for being the home of the 1966 World Cup final’s ‘Russian linesman’, Tofiq Bahramov, who was actually born and raised in Baku. Yet our footballing pedigree has quietly been on the rise in recent years.

Historically, freestyle wrestling has been the sport of choice for Azerbaijanis. Prior to independence, we had little individual sporting reputation to boast of, with the country’s best players finding themselves co-opted into the Soviet Union’s teams. With the fall of the iron curtain, we were introduced to the footballing delights of Italy, France, England and the Netherlands. Since then, the game’s popularity has soared and today, over 9,000 players are registered with the Azerbaijani Football Association, more so than at any point in the nation’s history.

This has been thanks, in the main part, to regular upgrades in the country’s footballing infrastructure, led in the most part by its professional clubs. When I became President of FC Gabala, the football club I had the privilege of leading for nearly 15 years, the quality of footballing facilities across the country was exceedingly low. Through years of investment, the Azerbaijani football landscape now looks better developed than ever before.

Writing for Football365 last year, Gabala’s former Head Coach and Arsenal and England legend, Tony Adams, wrote of the scene that greeted him when he arrived. The army undergoing live-fire exercises in the immediate vicinity, animals grazing on the first team pitch and virtually not pro-licensed coaches. Thanks to his help and others, FC Gabala today boasts a modern 3,500-seater stadium, a fully developed youth academy and a host of fully licensed coaches.

Later this year, the Ronaldinho Academy will open at the club, taking FC Gabala’s ability to produce top-class youth players to another level. Of all the advances to have happened during my time with the club, this is the one I am proudest of. To ensure we take the opportunity presented by high profile footballing occasions, such as the Europa League final, it is essential we put in place the facilities aimed at sustaining and enhancing the future of Azerbaijani football. An academy such as this is key to that.

We are still a long way off a club from Azerbaijan finding themselves competing in the Europa League final. Indeed, getting beyond the group stages still presents too great a challenge as it stands. However, I have faith that with continued investment in youth development and nurturing this raw talent, the day may not be too far off. Indeed, when the country’s Premier Division began in 1992, the notion of Baku playing host to the final of one of the world’s most prestigious club competitions would have been laughable.

Yet come this evening, that once outlandish prospect will become a reality. Historic clubs from football’s powerful elite nations will take to the turf to battle it out for the Europa League, with hundreds of millions of eyes across the globe fixed on Azerbaijan. As someone who has been at the heart of developing the game in the country for years, this is a source of immense pride. One day I dream of seeing an Azerbaijani team take to the pitch in such a game. It may sound fanciful, but so was the reality of hosting a European cup final once.

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