Rovshan Najaf, President of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, met Gianni Infantino in Paris
The Azerbaijani FA has introduced video assistant referees and opened a new football academy with FIFA Forward support
Azerbaijan hosted FIFA Series™ matches in March
Gianni Infantino has praised Azerbaijan's efforts to develop football in a meeting with Rovshan Najaf, the President of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA).
During the meeting at the FIFA office in Paris, the FIFA President said the AFFA had made good use of the FIFA Forward programme and thanked Mr Najaf for his country's hosting of the FIFA Series 2024™ in March, which was designed to provide more varied opportunities for member associations.
"The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan is making a tremendous effort to develop football in the country, which I had the pleasure of visiting a few years ago," Gianni Infantino said. "We had a very open and productive discussion on a variety of topics, focusing on youth and women's football, and we looked at how to increase participation and enhance interest in the sport. I thanked the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan for hosting the FIFA Series earlier this year.
"FIFA Forward has been used to support some very important work in Azerbaijan, including the introduction of video assistant referees in domestic football and the construction of the Turan Tovuz Football Academy, and we look forward to working with the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan on more projects.
"I wished Mr Najaf the best of luck and promised that he can always count on FIFA's support in the future."
Mr Najaf said the AFFA would continue its collaboration with FIFA. "We appreciate all the programmes, all the initiatives which are done by FIFA and in that sense we are committed to engaging more in FIFA activities, in FIFA programmes," he said.
"We are, of course, interested and are developing in Azerbaijan, but (as part of the) FIFA family, which unites a lot of countries, a lot of nations, we have to work hand in hand to develop football further, to increase its inclusivity, to make it available for everyone who wants to play football, who wants to watch football."
He said that hosting Bulgaria, Mongolia and Tanzania in the FIFA Series in March had increased interest in international football in Azerbaijan.
"It was a very good opportunity to increase people’s attention to football. Different nations from different continents came to Azerbaijan and we are ready to co-host this event (again)," he added.