page_title: Azerbaijanis
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Azerbaijanis / Azerbaijani Culture / Sports
caption_attribution_description: Cropped version of Image:Ali-Daei.JPG, taken by Hessam Armandehi
context_page_description: Azerbaijanis or Azeris, also known as Azerbaijani Turks, are a Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan region of Iran and the sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numerous ethnic group among the Turkic peoples after Turkish people and are predominantly Shia Muslims. They comprise the largest ethnic group in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the second-largest ethnic group in neighboring Iran and Georgia. The world's largest number of ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran, followed by the Republic of Azerbaijan. They speak the Azerbaijani language, belonging to the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages.
  Following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1813 and 1828, the territories of the Qajar Iran in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire, and the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders between Russia and Iran. After more than 80 years of being under the Russian Empire in the Caucasus, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established in 1918 which established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
context_section_description: Sports have historically been an important part of Azerbaijani life. Horseback competitions were praised in the Book of Dede Korkut and by poets and writers such as Khaqani. Other ancient sports include wrestling, javelin throwing and fencing.
  The Soviet legacy has in modern times propelled some Azerbaijanis to become accomplished athletes at the Olympic level. The Azerbaijani government supports the country's athletic legacy and encourages youth participation. Football is popular in both The Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran. There are many prominent Iranian football players such as Ali Daei, the world's all-time leading goal scorer in international matches and the former captain of the Iran national football team. Iranian athletes have particularly excelled in weight lifting, gymnastics, shooting, javelin throwing, karate, boxing, and wrestling. Weight lifters, such as Iran's Hossein Reza Zadeh, world super heavyweight-lifting record holder and two-time Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, or Hadi Saei is a former Iranian Taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and Nizami Pashayev, who won the European heavyweight title in 2006, have excelled at the international level.
  Chess is another popular pastime in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The country has produced many notable players, such as Teimour Radjabov, Vugar Gashimov and Shahriyar Mammadyarov, both highly ranked internationally.
caption: Ali Daei, the world's all-time leading goal scorer in international matches and the former captain of the Iran national football team.
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