Baku to take in first World Military Football Cup

By AzerNews

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and the International Military Sports Council (CISM) on Wednesday signed an agreement on holding the first World Military Football Cup in Baku on July 2-14.

The document was inked by Azerbaijani Deputy Defense Minister Chingiz Mammadov and CISM President Hamad Kalkaba Malboum.

The championship will bring together 16 member countries of the CISM. Brazil, the U.S. and Canada will represent the Americas, while Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Mali will join from Africa, Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatar from Asia, and Germany and France from Europe; the third European team will be determined after the match between the Netherlands and Cyprus to be held on March 8. Azerbaijan, the host country, will be the 16th team.

The sides agreed that the lots-drawing ceremony will be held on April 29.

About 500 athletes and about a hundred delegates are expected to join the championship that will be held in the newly reconstructed stadiums of Shefa, Dalga Arena, Bayil and Zira.

An organizing committee established to deal with the preparations includes the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), Youth and Sports Ministry and Defense Ministry.

The World Military Cup is a football competition for national military teams organized by the CISM. The tournament has been held since 1946 and was originally called the World Military Championship. The name changed for the 2001 edition. When the multi-sport Military World Games was set up in 1995 the football championship was incorporated into it, but it is still being held independently every two years.