"Azerbaijan is a nice place where we can develop recreational activities for our paddle sports," said European Canoe Association (ECA) President Jean Zoungrana during an event held for Fuzuli residents as part of the International President Cup 2025 Regatta.
Idman.biz reports that Zoungrana expressed his satisfaction at attending the event and highlighted that it was his second visit to Fuzuli: "I had the opportunity to visit Mingachevir and Sougovshan. In Mingachevir we had the International President Cup 2025 Regatta, a big competition in canoeing with a lot of nations. I was very happy as President of the European Canoe Association to attend this competition.
“This travel was my first travel as President of the European Canoe Association in a foreign country. It's something important for me. Today I'm here to discover a new venue close to Fuzuli.
“It's also a nice place where we can develop recreational activities for our paddle sports. I'm very happy to see that you have a lot of kids on the water paddling. That's good for the future of canoeing in Azerbaijan and in Europe.
“Yes, we have more and more countries. For us it's important because Azerbaijan can get experience of this organization.
“So for the future we will be able to host European Championships. That's why I'm here. Our technical delegate will be here at the end of this week to look at the venue, to see how we can improve the organization so we can apply for European Championships in good condition.
“I think you have a lot of venues where you can develop the activity It's possible.
“We can create associations, clubs to develop the activity. We can also develop the activity at schools with pupils. There's a lot of things to do, of course."
The International President Cup 2025 Regatta, featuring over 200 athletes from more than 20 countries, will take place from April 30 to May 2.
Idman.biz
