Azerbaijan gets ready for major int'l sporting events

The year 2023 brings major international sporting events to Azerbaijan.

The country is expected to play host to 57 international sports competitions from January 13 until late December 2023, Azernews reports.

Major sports events on the 2023 sporting calendar include Chess World Cup, U22 European Boxing Championship, FIBA European Youth Championships 2023 (U 18, C division), numerous gymnastics events, and much more.

Azerbaijan will host Chess World Cup for the second time. Baku hosted the World Cup for the first time in 2015.

Sergey Karjakin won the competition on tie-breaks after a four-game final against Peter Svidler. Both finalists qualified for the 2016 Candidates Tournament.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) once again entrusted the organization of the World Cup to Azerbaijan.

The chess competition will take place in Baku, from July 29 to August 26.

U22 European Boxing Championship is another major sports event to be held in the country.

Azerbaijan won the right to host the competition prevailing over other candidates, Bulgaria and Romania.

The European Championship will take place in October-November in Baku. The exact date of the competition will be further announced.

At the same time, Azerbaijan and UNESCO agreed on holding the VII MINEPS conference in Baku on March 14-17, 2023.

The document was signed by Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov and Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO Gabriela Ramos.

The International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sports (MINEPS) has been organized by UNESCO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since 1976.

It is a global forum for leading governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to develop future-oriented strategies which will help to use the benefits of physical education, physical activity, and sport for development.

Moreover, Azerbaijan's capital city will host the Badminton Europe Congress (BEC) in 2023.

The complete list can be found here. The exact dates of some competitions have not been confirmed yet. New sports events might be added to the list.