"I have exchanged views with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, and we are of the same opinion. Next year, we will try to bring Swiss athletes here and organize joint training sessions."
Idman.Biz reports that this was stated by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation to our country, Thomas Stähli, in an interview with Report.
He shared his thoughts on the visit of athletes engaged in the traditional Swiss "Schwingen" wrestling to Baku within the framework of "Swiss Days 2025": "After I came to Baku, I had the idea to do something in the field of sports. Then I thought, let me bring Swiss wrestlers to Azerbaijan. Why Swiss wrestling? Because it is our national sport. It is based on strength and respect. This is a sport that expresses the spirit and values of Switzerland. Azerbaijan is a wrestling country. You have a great tradition in this sport. That is why I am very happy that the Swiss delegation is here now and that they are training together."
The Ambassador invited residents to the event in Baku Boulevard this weekend: "Here athletes will demonstrate Swiss wrestling, wrestling together with Azerbaijani wrestlers. I invite all Baku residents to the event within the framework of "Swiss Days" and to watch the performance of these wrestlers."
Thomas Stähli said that Azerbaijani wrestlers could also visit Switzerland: "I see this as the beginning of future cooperation. There have already been certain contacts between the two federations, and there is an idea to formalize these relations and hold joint training camps. That is, Swiss wrestlers can come and train here, or Azerbaijani wrestlers can go to Switzerland and train there."
"Cooperation in the field of sports is very important to me. There is great potential here. You have a magnificent sports infrastructure. This may not be limited to wrestling only, it can also be applied to other sports, and I want to develop this direction. I also exchanged views with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, on this topic, and we are of the same opinion. Next year, we will especially try to bring Swiss athletes here and organize joint training sessions."