Azerbaijan’s top athletes, teams, federations and media professionals were recognised for excellence across sport and sports journalism.
Baku | By Nargiz Mahmudzada, AIPS MEMBER
The Azerbaijan Sports Journalists Association (AIJA) has announced the winners of its 2025 Sports Awards, honouring outstanding achievements by athletes, teams, sports institutions and media professionals across the country.
In the Athletes of the Year category, Subhan Mammadov (boxing), Hasrat Jafarov (Greco-Roman wrestling) and Tofig Aliyev (gymnastics) were recognised among men, while Gunay Gurbanova (wrestling), Sudaba Agayeva (judo) and Aynur Mikayilova (boxing) received the top women’s honours, reflecting Azerbaijan’s continued strength across Olympic and combat sports.
The Team and Club Awards saw Sabah Basketball Club named Club of the Year after becoming the first Azerbaijani side to compete in the Basketball Champions League group stage, while the Women’s National Chess Team was recognised as Team of the Year following its silver-medal finish at the World Championship. The Azerbaijan Boxing Federation was awarded Federation of the Year, and the Azerbaijan Deaflympic Committee received Sports Organization of the Year honours.
In the Media and Journalism Awards, AZERTAC was named Information Agency of the Year, and Idman TV was recognised as TV Channel of the Year. Individual journalism awards highlighted contributions across platforms, with Arifa Latifova (CBC Sport) named TV Journalist of the Year, Rasim Sultanzade (APASport.az) Sports Website Journalist of the Year, and Tural Dadashov honoured as Commentator of the Year, among others.
Speaking after receiving the TV Journalist of the Year award, Arifa Latifova described the recognition as both an honour and a responsibility, expressing hope that it would encourage more women to pursue careers in sports journalism. Sudaba Agayeva, named Sportswoman of the Year, said the award would serve as motivation to continue representing Azerbaijan with greater success on the international stage.
The annual AIJA Sports Awards are regarded as one of the country’s key platforms for recognising excellence in sport and sports media, highlighting both competitive achievement and the role of journalism in shaping Azerbaijan’s sporting narrative.