Tag Archives: sport

Azerbaijan wins support of F1 boss for Grand Prix

APRIL 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Central Asia and South Caucasus region will host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix next year in Baku.

Formula One boss Bernie Eccelstone gave the greenlight for Baku to host a Grand Prix despite lobbying from human rights and media groups who accuse the authorities in Azerbaijan of cracking down on civil liberties.

“Baku? No problem. That’s going to be another good race,” Mr Ecclestone told reporters ahead of the Grand Prix in Bahrain.

Formula One signed a deal with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev last year to host a Grand Prix, but without Mr Ecclestone’s support the race wouldn’t have gone ahead.

On the human rights issue, he said that Formula One had done their checks. “I think everybody seems to be happy,” he said. “Doesn’t seem to be any big problem there.”

Human rights groups, the United States and the European Union may disagree — they have all heavily criticised Azerbaijan for locking up activists — but Mr Ecclestone’s comments will be a vindication for Mr Aliyev.

Mr Aliyev has sort to promote Azerbaijan through sport. Later this year, Baku will host the first European Games, it sponsors the shirts of major football teams and will host matches at UEFA’s Euro 2020 tournament.

But Formula One is another level up. It is one of the most watched sports in the world and is certainly one of the most glamorous and now it will act as a prism for viewers to discover Baku when they watch Formula 1 race through its streets in 2016.

It will be the second Grand Prix held in the former Soviet Union. Last year, Russia hosted a Grand Prix at Sochi.

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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)

Azerbaijan says to relax visa regimes

APRIL 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is planning to relax its visa regime for the inaugural European Games in Baku on June 12, the US Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan said. Ten days ahead of the Games, people with tickets will be able to apply for a visa on arrival at Baku airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 226, published on April 8 2015)

Azerbaijan signs shirt deal with Lazio FC

MARCH 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Lazio, a football team based in Rome, may sign a shirt sponsorship deal with Azerbaijan to carry its “Azerbaijan: Land of Fire” slogan, Azerbaijani websites reported quoting the national football association. Azerbaijan already sponsors Atletico Madrid.
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(News report from Issue No. 225, published on April 12015)

Kazakhstan may bid for Football World Cup

APRIL 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Apparently not content with bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, Kazakh officials have said they are considering a bid to host the 2026 Football World Cup. The Football World Cup is perhaps the world’s biggest sports tournament.
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(News report from Issue No. 225, published on April 12015)

Aliyev blames the West for anti-Azerbaijan campaign

MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a public speech, President Ilham Aliyev blamed the international community for launching an anti-Azerbaijan campaign ahead of the European Games this summer.

This is important because analysts have been saying that Mr Aliyev has increasingly turned his back on the West. The United States and the EU have been increasingly vocal critics of his clampdown on civic society.

“This campaign, in fact, has never been stopped, but in the run-up to important international events this campaign becomes even uglier,” he said.

“We were faced with it three years ago in 2012, on the eve of the Eurovision contest. We are seeing it today, on the eve of the European Games. This is a well-coordinated anti-Azerbaijani campaign managed from one or several centres.”

The inaugural European Games, set to be staged in Baku in June, is a sensitive issue for Mr Aliyev.

He desperately wants to showcase Azerbaijan and to gloss over its more unsightly aspects such as a stalling economy and criticism over its human rights record.

According to the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Azerbaijan is spending $4b on the European Games.

In his speech Mr Aliyev stated that the main reason for the campaign is the current strength of the country. “

“It is also natural that the stronger Azerbaijan gets, the more pressure it comes under. Our independent policy is not to everyone’s liking though,” he said.

Erkin Gadirli of the ReAl oppositional movement said in an interview to Berlin-based Meydan TV that Mr Aliyev’s speech showed that he was increasingly paranoid about criticism in the international media.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

Georgians relish rugby win over Russia

TBILISI, March 14 2015 (The Bulletin) – “We love rugby. We love Lelos!” a crowd of almost 30,000 roared when Georgia scored yet another try in the final minutes of this Georgia-Russia rugby match.

The final score against Russia was a crushing 33-0 win. Georgia’s Lelos — named after lelo, a Georgian folk sport similar to rugby — haven’t lost to Russia’s Bears since 1993, a run of wins that their fans will gleefully tell you about.

Georgia has a strong rugby team and will play against New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Namibia in this year’s World Cup in England.

Although the head coach of the Lelos, New Zealander Milton Haig, has said there is no difference who the opponent is, it is clear for the crowd that it matters. They want to see Georgia beat, smash even, the Russian team.

For the match against Russia, Tbilisi’s Mikheil Meskhi stadium was packed with Georgian fans, waiting for Georgia to crush Russia in front of their eyes. People also waved Ukrainian blue and yellow flags, underlining the anti-Russian feeling in the crowd.

On the rugby pitch, at least, Georgia and Ukraine can get their own back at Russia.

Last year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has been sponsoring rebels in the east of the country in an ongoing civil war. In 2008, Russia defeated Georgia in a small war which concreted its control over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“It’s solidarity,” explained a young Georgian fan, before joining the crowd shouting “Putin khuylo!” and “Abkhazia is ours!”. The Kremlin has tighten its grip over parts of Georgia this year but Georgian rugby fans can still relish in their superiority over Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Cycling union accuses Team Astana of doping

FEB. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) -The International Cycling Union accused Team Astana of misleading it over anti-doping policies and called for its competition license to be withdrawn. Team Astana has near official backing in Kazakhstan and wears the national colours. A Team Astana rider won the 2014 Tour de France but other riders have failed drugs tests.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)

Azerbaijan paying for teams to go to the Games

FEB. 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is paying Britain to send a team of 160 athletes to compete at the inaugural European Games in Baku this year, the Guardian newspaper reported. In an interview, the British team manager, Mark England, said Azerbaijan was giving “participation grants”. Azerbaijan’s Olympic Committee said it was paying travel and other costs for all 50 teams to compete.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)

Doping pressure mounts on Team Astana

>>Cycling team is closely linked to Kazakhstan>>

JAN. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The disgraced former cycling champion Lance Armstrong told the BBC in an interview that cycling, including Astana Pro Team, was riddled with doping.

Mr Armstrong, who had cycled for Astana Pro Team, said the sport’s governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), should ban Astana Pro Team. The UCI placed Astana Pro Team under probation in December after another case of doping emerged involving two team members.

The Astana Pro Team management has strongly denied the allegations of doping.
The whole row will be embarrassing, though, for Kazakh President Nazarbayev.

Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh investment fund, sponsors Astana Team Pro. The team wears the blue and yellow national colours and companies and teams carrying the Astana brand, the name Mr Nazarbayev gave to his new capital, are closely linked to Kazakh nationality.

On the same day that the BBC aired its interview with Mr Armstrong, the Astana Pro Team manager Alexander Vinokourov visited Mr Nazarbayev at the presidential palace in Astana, presenting him with a yellow jersey, symbol of last year’s victory in the Tour de France — the most prestigious bike ride in the world.
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(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Boxing Championship played wrong Kazakh anthem

NOV. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An outdated version of the Kazakh national anthem was played at a medals ceremony at the Women’s World Amateur Boxing Championships in South Korea, media reported. Kazakhstan is sensitive about national anthem mix-ups after errors that included a spoof anthem and the old Soviet anthem.

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(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)