MAY 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hours after hearing that its bid to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games had been rejected, Azerbaijan announced that it would prepare a joint bid with Georgia to host the 2020 European soccer championship. The soccer tournament is one of the biggest in the world and would involve major investment in infrastructure.
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(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)
MAY 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected Baku’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Baku had been one of five bids considered at the initial stage of the selection process but was dropped for being unrealistic. The IOC also rejected Doha’s bid. The remaining candidates are Madrid, Istanbul and Tokyo.
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(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)
MARCH 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s soccer team lost 2-0 to Oman in playoffs to win a place at the Olympic Games, ending its bid to become the first Central Asian or South Caucasus nation to play in a global soccer tournament. Uzbekistan lost a 2-0 lead against the UAE in Tashkent earlier in March, a victory that would have won them an automatic place at the Olympics.
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(News report from Issue No. 082, published on April 6 2012)
DEC. 18 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Soccer’s governing body, FIFA, scrapped plans for Uzbekistan to host the women’s under-20 soccer world cup next year. FIFA said it had to re-schedule the competition in Japan because of technical issues. Human rights groups have been strongly critical of Uzbekistan in the past few months.
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(News report from Issue No. 70, published on Dec. 22 2011)
DEC. 13 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – An investigation by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) cleared Azerbaijan of trying to buy two gold medals at next year’s Olympic Games for $9m. The BBC made the bribery allegations during a TV news story. Another separate investigation by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) is due to report next year.
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(News report from Issue No. 70, published on Dec. 22 2011)
OCT. 21 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Georgian rebel region of Abkhazia hosted the 8th world dominoes championship, an event it hoped would raise its international profile. Predictably the tournament irritated Georgia. Far less predictable was the participation of a team, although unofficial, from the US, Georgia’s ally.
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(News report from Issue No. 62, published on Oct. 25 2011)
SEPT. 22 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A BBC documentary alleged that an Azerbaijani national paid a $9m bribe to the part of the sport’s governing body that organises judges at the Olympic Games, in exchange for guaranteeing two gold medals at next year’s event in London. Azerbaijan and boxing officials vigorously deny the allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 58, published on Sept. 27 2011)
JULY 29 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s chess team returned home to a hero’s welcome after winning the World Team Chess Championship in China three days earlier. Victory is important to Armenia where chess is played widely. The Team Chess Championship is one of the world’s most prestigious chess tournaments.
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(News report from Issue No. 51, published on Aug. 2 2011)
APRIL 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia plans to make two hours of chess a week compulsory for children at primary school, AFP reported quoting an official from the education ministry. Chess stars are revered in Armenia, which has produced a number of Grandmasters.
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(News report from Issue No. 36, published on April 18 2011)
JAN. 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan opened the seventh Asian Winter Games in Almaty, one of the continent’s most prestigious tournaments. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, attended the opening ceremony. The tournament, shared with Astana, will end Feb. 6.
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(News report from Issue No. 25, published on Jan. 31 2011)