Idman.biz
"Two factors are important for Azerbaijani football to be in a good condition. These are children's football and education."
This was stated by former Azerbaijani national team footballer Vagif Javadov in his statement to sportnet.az.
The former striker, who currently holds the position of head coach in "Sumgayit"'s reserve team, stated that a huge dilemma has arisen for football players between the club, the secondary school and the higher education institution where they study: "5 of my football players study in the second shift, and the others study in the first shift. How can I train 5 football players? I have to send them to training with the U-17 team. Because they are late for school, they can't make it."
According to Javadov, this situation applies not only to "Sumgayit", but also to our other clubs. He saw the solution in the creation of boarding schools and dialogue between clubs: "We cannot schedule a game for Monday. Because the players are in school. Suppose children's football players were educated in club academies. Then what should happen after entering higher education? Cooperation with the Azerbaijan Sports Academy should be done not by clubs, but by AFFA. Agil Nabiyev also said that if 5 football players had joined the U-17 national team, they would have advanced to the final stage of the European Championship. But their educational institutions did not let them go."
The head coach also drew attention to the military service problem: "We train football players up to the age of 17-18. Then they go to military service for 1.5 years. As a result, 10 years of effort are lost. Although he has talent and football skills. But everything is lost in the military service. After all, the club has supported him materially and in other aspects for 10 years. Even if you get into the U-19 national team, there is no guarantee that you will stay there permanently. Because a football player may show a game worthy of the national team today, but not tomorrow. Also, not all football players can get into the national team."
