OMM Redaksiyası
Turqay Zeytingoz, sports director of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation, spoke about the importance of the new season for basketball in Azerbaijan.
He said that, for the first time in history, four Azerbaijani teams would represent the country in European competitions. According to Zeytingoz, this will not only improve the quality of the Azerbaijan League but also create additional opportunities for other clubs.
“Teams competing in Europe may take to the court for some league games more tired. I think the Azerbaijan League will be both high-quality and open to surprises,” the federation official said.
The number of league teams may increase
Zeytingoz said that each of the eight teams in the Azerbaijan League has a sponsor and that eight independent teams, not reliant on the federation, would compete this season. According to him, there are currently around 100 basketball players in Azerbaijan capable of playing in the league. This is why a second league was established.
The federation official said the number of teams in the First League could eventually be increased to 12 or 14. He stressed that this would require an increase in the number of sponsors and players.
National team’s next official game scheduled for 2027
Turqay Zeytingoz said the Azerbaijan national team’s next official game would be held in July 2027. The federation official said the development of young basketball players would be monitored until then and added that they wanted more young players to feature in the senior team.
Zeytingoz also positively assessed the performances of Ismayil, Emmanuel and Murad Babayev at the U-20 European Championship.
