Sport24.az
An Azerbaijani football club is starting its activities in Germany. According to Sport24.az, the team, which will be called "AZE Internationale Lippstadt", will play in one of the lower leagues of the country.
Club founder Samir Salahov shared his impressions with us:
"Actually, we bought this club. It used to be an Italian club. It has been operating since 1961. Its previous name was "SC Internationale Calcio 1961 Lippstadt". But we bought the club. We will hold our first test match on May 24. We will play in League B. Our uniforms have arrived from Azerbaijan. We want our compatriots to recognize our team. We have no material desires."
Salahov, who is also the team's coach, spoke about the club's goals:
"We have goals in creating this club. I myself was a football player. This has been my sore point. After reaching the age of 18 in Azerbaijan, some talented football players disappear, get lost. When they reach military age, one out of 15 children becomes a football player, or not. We are a tool here. We have broken new ground in Europe, in Germany. Azerbaijanis have never done such a thing, created a club. We have realized everything with the money from our own pockets. So far, no one has supported us."
The club official emphasized that the football players in the team are also Azerbaijanis:
"This is my idea, my thought. I have put my stamp on it that Azerbaijanis will play in the club. In the initial stage, we can also play Germans, Arabs, Turks. But after that, we will only give a chance to local, Azerbaijani players. Our compatriots in Germany know us. We will not usurp anyone's rights. We just want them to help us so that the club is recognized."
Salahov said that the club's new logo is also ready after the name change: "Our uniform and logo are ready. We expect support from all our compatriots. We want to represent Azerbaijani football properly in Germany. Sarkhan Gambarov, Ilham Huseynov and Qadir Polen also contributed to the establishment of the club. Through you, I would like to appeal to AFFA and a number of businessmen. It would be good if they supported us, even a little."
