The Dynamo football school opened on February 16 at the Baku Olympic Stadium with the support of VTB (Azerbaijan). Children from 4 to 13 years old will be able to study there under the guidance of professional coaches, including specialists from the Moscow club.
The first Dynamo football school in Azerbaijan should become a sports center of attraction and a forge of talents who will have a chance in the future to become pupils of the L.I. Yashin Dynamo Central Academy and grow into professional players who will defend the club's colors on football fields.
— We are connected by a common football history and such great names as Veli Kasumov, who played for Dynamo Moscow, and Yuri Kuznetsov, who played for Neftchi, whose son Alexander Kuznetsov is now the head of our Academy. We hope that with the help of Dynamo football club we will help to grow Azerbaijani talents, which will then become known all over the world. We will support the school in every possible way and help its development," said Denis Dmitriev, Development Director of the Dynamo Academy.
The event was attended by a large number of status guests and employees of the Dynamo Academy: member of the Management Board and Director of the Retail Business Development Department of VTB (Azerbaijan) Evgeny Borodin, Deputy head of the Russian community of Azerbaijan Vitaly Kovalev, head of the Russian Youth Association of Azerbaijan Sergey Danilov, Senior Adviser to the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Valery Korchagin, founder of the school Chingiz Gumbatov.
Denis Dmitriev, Head of the Dynamo Football Schools Development Department Valery Kasalitsa, Head of International Projects German Moshkovich and Regional Partner Programs Manager Ekaterina Elbert attended the event from the Academy.
— Traditionally, VTB (Azerbaijan) supports sports events in the republic, – said Yevgeny Borodin. – We are convinced that sport is not only health, but also an important tool for educating the younger generation. The opening of the Dynamo football school in Baku is an opportunity for Azerbaijani children to join the world of professional football, develop their skills and, possibly, become future sports stars. This is a unique project that combines the experience of Russian football and Azerbaijani sports traditions.
— I would like to express my great gratitude to the leadership of the Dynamo football club, the Lachin Sports club, and VTB Bank for the significant contribution you make to the development of children's and youth football and thereby help strengthen partnership and friendly relations between our countries. I am sure that thanks to the specially developed training process, the methods of the Yashin Football Academy, students will be happy to attend classes and acquire skills of high sportsmanship. Moreover, there is already a positive experience: football schools of this type are successfully operating in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan. I hope that in the near future we will be spectators at exciting matches of young football players from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, organized under the auspices of Dynamo," Valery Korchagin said.
The Dynamo football school was established in partnership with the Lachin sports football club. After the official ceremony, a friendly mini-tournament was held between young football players of Dynamo and Lachin clubs. It ended with a score of 3:3 – friendship won, and all the children received special gifts from the club.
"Today is a historic day for us," said Parviz Aghayev, sports director and head coach of the Dynamo children's football school in Baku. – We are confident that this school will fulfill the dream of hundreds of young football players and provide conditions for their growth. Dynamo Moscow has been playing an important role in the development of young football players for many years, and we are glad that this experience will be used in Azerbaijan as well.
