In Azerbaijan, presidents of sports federations are usually elected for a term of 4 years. After this period, reporting and election conferences are held in the federations, and the leadership is either renewed, or the current president is re-elected for the next term. At the same time, in some cases, due to organizational reasons, the holding of these conferences may be delayed for a certain period, and in this case, the current leadership continues its activities.
One of the striking features in the management model of sports federations in Azerbaijan is that high-ranking officials working in state institutions lead various federations. This approach is mainly applied in terms of expanding the management capabilities of federations, developing international relations, and more efficient coordination of organizational resources. At the same time, this model acts as part of a management practice that has been formed for many years.
Modern.az has investigated the presidents of Azerbaijani sports federations whose terms of office are about to expire and whose leadership is in question.
Saleh Mammadov, who headed the Azerbaijan State Agency of Automobile Roads for a long time, has been the president of the Azerbaijan Handball Federation since 2016. He was re-elected to this position at the reporting and election conference held in 2022. In accordance with existing rules, his next 4-year term of office expires in 2026. S. Mammadov, who has been heading AAYDA since 2017, is accused of overspending hundreds of millions of funds, and this factor creates some uncertainty regarding his future activities in the federation.
A similar situation is observed in the Azerbaijan Ski Federation. At the reporting and election conference held in 2022, Fuad Naghiyev was elected president of the federation. According to existing rules, his 4-year term of office expires in 2026, which makes the issue of new elections in the federation relevant in the near future.
Fuad Naghiyev is also the chairman of the State Tourism Agency and has been active in state administration for a long time. In addition, although the severe reprimand given to him by the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2025 regarding his activities in the institution does not directly affect F. Naghiyev's formal position in the federation, it raises questions in the general context about whether he will be a candidate again for the next term.
In July 2022, the general meeting of the Azerbaijan Tennis Federation was held, and as a result of the elections, Ogtay Asadov was re-elected president of the federation for a term of 4 years.
It should be noted that Ogtay Asadov, who worked in a high state position for many years, has recently been almost invisible in public-political and sports events and is not distinguished by his active activities. This raises certain questions about how active he is in terms of leading the federation.
His next term as president should end in 2026, and against this background, the issue of whether the leadership will continue and possible changes in the federation may become relevant in the upcoming period.
Emin Amrullayev was elected president of the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation on December 14, 2021. He has been holding this position for more than 4 years, and his term of office is practically coming to an end.
In accordance with existing rules, a reporting and election conference is expected to be held in the federation in the near future. This means that new elections will take place and the leadership will be formed for the next 4 years.
The president of the Azerbaijan Fencing Federation is Balakishi Gasimov. He was elected to this position at the general meeting held on November 20, 2021, and accordingly, his 4-year term of office is expiring. This indicates that the issue of reporting and elections in the federation will be on the agenda in the near future.
Balakishi Gasimov is also the general director of the Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company since 2018. He is a player of the elite club "What? Where? When?", the host and general producer of the game "What? Where? When?" in Azerbaijan, and the head of the GameTV.az production center. It should be noted that his term of office as general director of the Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company is also expiring, and new elections for this post will be held next month.
Shahın Mustafayev was elected president of the Azerbaijan Table Tennis Federation for the next term at the general meeting held on December 27, 2021. With this, his 4-year term of office is expiring, and a new reporting and election conference is expected to be held in the federation in the near future.
The same situation is observed in the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation. At the reporting and election conference held in December 2021, Kamaladdin Heydarov was re-elected president of the federation. His 4-year term of office has also already expired, and he is among the federations where the next elections are expected.
Gunel Muradova, the only woman among the presidents of Azerbaijani sports federations, has been leading the Azerbaijan Capoeira Federation since 2021. She was appointed to this position on September 23, 2020, after the previous president Nahid Agazade resigned, and then continued her activities as the president of the federation. Among those whose term of office expires this year is also Gudrat Gurbanov. He was elected president of the Azerbaijan Sailing Federation in 2022. G. Gurbanov worked in a leadership position at the State Maritime Agency.
Those whose term of office expires next year:
Kamran Nabizade was elected president of the Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation on September 28, 2023. With this, his 4-year term of office expires in 2027. He is also the general director of "Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation" OJSC since 2017.
At the general meeting held in 2023, Orkhan Mammadov was elected president of the Azerbaijan Minifootball Federation. His 4-year term of office will also end in 2027. He is concurrently the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Businesses.
At the general meeting held in the same year, Shahın Bagirov was elected head of the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation. His term of office also continues until 2027.
