A commemorative postage stamp has been released to mark the 80th anniversary of the legendary Azerbaijani footballer Anatoli Banishevski, following an initiative by AFFA and with the support of Azerpoct LLC.

According to Offsideplus.az, this new philatelic release reflects the rich sporting legacy of Banishevski. The collection consists of a single postage stamp alongside specially designed anniversary postcards. The print run includes 2,500 stamp blocks and 1,000 postcards. This initiative is of great importance in preserving Banishevski’s heritage and passing it down to future generations.

Anatoli Banishevski went down in history as one of the most prominent Azerbaijani footballers of the 20th century. Representing the USSR national team, he secured 4th place at the 1966 World Cup and won a silver medal at the 1972 European Championship.

At the club level, he was a bronze medalist of the USSR Championship with Neftchi in 1966. Having made over 50 appearances for the Soviet national team, Banishevski was awarded the Order of Glory in 1996. In 2004, he was named Azerbaijan's Golden Player of the past 50 years by UEFA.