Azerbaijan Appoint Deputy Prime Minister as Head of Baku’s 2020 Bid

Azerbaijan have announced the appointed their Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyubov as the head of Baku’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

Eyubov, 66, has been given the role by the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, who is head of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan (NOCA).

Aliyev has ordered the establishment of a Baku “Organising Committee to take measures relating to the nomination of Baku as candidate city for hosting Summer Olympic Games in 2020” in a Presidential decree.

The decree said: “Under the order, the Azerbaijani capital was nominated as candidate city to host the 2020 Summer Olympics with the purpose of further strengthening of state policy in the field of physical culture and sports, expansion of the Olympic Movement and its propaganda in wide geographic area,” 

“Holding of such representative competitions in Baku will contribute to raising the country’s authority in the world of sports.”

He will be supported by a group including Rovnag Abdullayev,·the chairman of·SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) and·President of the·Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, and·Elnur Mammadli, the Beijing 2008 -73kg judo champion.