Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

is a growing sport. They are currently unranked in the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

's world rankings, which ranks only the top ninety-five countries. The governing body for Azerbaijan is ''Azerbaycan Reqbi Federasiyasl'' (Azerbaijan Rugby Federation).

Governing body

The Azerbaijani Rugby Federation founded in 2004 and became affiliated to the

in 2005.

History

Soviet period

Rugby union was played in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

as early as in 1908, and in 1936 the first Soviet Championship took place. In 1949, rugby union was forbidden in the USSR during the "fight against the

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

". The competitions were resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship in 1966. In 1975 the Soviet national team played their first match. Azerbaijan had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.

Post independence

Rugby union in Azerbaijan has begun to grow in recent years, as they competed in the 2006 European Nations Cup. They played two matches; one on 29 April 2006 against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, and one on 14 May 2006 against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Zenica Zenica ( ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The ...

. They lost to Bosnia by a score of 28-7 and also to Luxembourg by a score of 11-3. Azerbaijan competed in the 2008 ENC Cup.

References

External links

Official website for the Azerbaycan Reqbi Federasiyasl (in English)

Сайт Федерации Регби Азербайджана

Официальный сайт клуба "Baku Exiles Rugby Club"
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