Today, the opening ceremony of the XXV Spartakiade of oil, gas and chemical Industry workers has been held at the Garadagh Training Base in Lokbatan settlement. SOCAR President Mr. Rovnag Abdullayev, representatives of the company management, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mr. Ismayil Ismayilov and Olympic and world champions took part in the event.First, the participating teams of the competition went to the stadium and the head referee of the tournament Mr. Hijran Sharifov gave a report to the head of the Organizing Committee.SOCAR President Mr. Rovnag Abdullayev congratulated the athletes on this grand sports event: “Holding of the Spartakiad of oil, gas and chemical industry workers on the eve of the professional holiday of oilmen every year has become a good tradition. As you know, the state care for physical education and sports is increasing day by day. Thanks to this, sports in Azerbaijan have already reached a high level of development. The nationwide leader of our nation, Heydar Aliyev, paid attention to the development of sports and the spread of mass sports, as in all spheres of the country’s life. The worthy successor of his political course, President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev, is the greatest supporter of sports and athletes in our country today. Great work is being done in the field of strengthening material-technical base of our sport and large projects are being implemented in our republic. In addition to the capital, modern Olympic sports complexes are being built in different parts of the country, and high-level athletes are being trained in these complexes. Thanks to the state policy carried out in this field under the leadership of our dear President Ilham Aliyev, our country is becoming one of the most well-known sports centers in Europe and the world. In recent years, holding various international competitions in our country and achieving high achievements by our athletes are brilliant examples of this.”Mr.Rovnag Abdullayev noted that the interest in physical education and sport is increasing in Azerbaijan: “And it has played a great role in organizing the Spartakiade at a great level. Of course, the main purpose of organizing these tournaments is to protect the health of oil workers and their family members. The physical and mental health of oil, gas and chemical industry workers is the basis of SOCAR’s labor victories. Our company is active in the implementation of state policy in this direction. We carry out this activity through the “Neftchi Sports Club”. Among the sports clubs in our country, “Neftchi Sports Club” has a special place for its rich history and modern successes. The club is constantly organizing various tournaments among oil, gas and chemical industry workers, and the most spectacular of them is Spartakiada. Fortunately, the number of participants in this event is growing every year. In this prestigious competition, More than 1238 participants will compete in 14 kinds of sports and 201 participants are women.”SOCAR President stressed that the Neftchi Sports Club has an indispensable role in the training of professional athletes: The club’s athletes represent our country in the international arenas, protect the honor of Azerbaijan and return to the Homeland with medals from various competitions. We won 162 medals at the IV Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku in May 2017 and 59 of these medals were won by athletes of “Neftchi Sports Club”. And all these indicate the importance of the club for Azerbaijani sport. I believe that “Neftchi Sports Club” will continue its worthy traditions and will win new victories. “Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Mr. Ismayil Ismayilov and veteran oil worker Mr. Zamaddin Hamishayev spoke about the work done in the field of sport development in Azerbaijan. At the ceremony, the importance of Spartakiada was emphasized for the country, and the role of such events was highlighted in the training of the younger generation.Then there were exemplary performances of athletes. At the end of the event, cultural and art figures performed a concert in front of the participants.