A few days ago, Qarabag Football Academy’s coordinator Aftandil Hajiyev traveled to Nigeria and held preliminary discussions regarding the possible invitation of eight footballers to Azerbaijan in the future.

In a statement to Offsideplus.az, A. Hajiyev first shared his impressions of the trip:

“The proposal came from the other side, and we welcomed it positively. The main purpose of the invitation was to meet with us and gather general information about the Qarabag football academy, as well as to learn more about the achievements of the first team in recent years.

We also met with coaches and watched tournaments. We carried out scouting, and overall it was quite interesting. I watched 14 teams and nearly 400 players, from whom we selected 26. We organized a match with those players and liked 7–8 of them. They are 17, 18, and 19 years old. We may invite them to Baku in the near future. According to FIFA regulations, bringing players under 18 is somewhat difficult, while there is a higher likelihood of recruiting 19-year-olds in the future. If it doesn’t work out for us, we can propose them to other teams, either in the First Division or lower leagues.”

Aftandil Hajiyev also noted that cooperation with other countries will be established in the future:

“Of course, wherever we go, we build relationships. In Nigeria, we already have connections with several academies. It is also possible in other countries—both African and European nations are included in our plans. Currently, talks are underway with the Spanish club Levante. In the future, we want to further expand such partnerships.”