Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

World Military Cup 2013 football tournament starts with the solemn opening ceremony to be held at 7 p.m. at the Dalga Arena stadium in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on July 2.

Football teams from 16 countries will take part in the opening, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on July 1.

The trilling first match will be held between the Azerbaijani and Malian teams in Group A.

According to the draw, Group A includes Azerbaijan, Mali, Canada, and Iraq; Group B includes Bahrain, Algeria, France, and Kenya; Group C comprises Oman, Germany, Ivory Coast and the United States; Group D includes Qatar, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Cameroon.

The Azerbaijani team will also face Canada on July 5 and Iraq on July 8.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry and the International Military Sports Council (IMSC) signed an agreement on holding the first World Military Cup in Baku in February.

The championship brings together 16 member countries of the IMSC. Brazil, the U.S. and Canada will represent the Americas, while Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Mali will join from Africa, Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatar from Asia, and Germany and France and the Netherlands from Europe. Azerbaijan, the host country, will be the 16th team.

About 500 athletes and about a hundred delegates are expected to join the championship, which will be held on the newly reconstructed stadiums Shefa, Dalga Arena, Bayil and Zira.

An organizing committee established to deal with the preparations includes the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Defense Ministry.

The World Military Cup is a football competition for national military teams organized by the IMSC. The tournament has been held since 1946 and was originally called the World Military Championship. The name changed for the 2001 edition. When the multi-sport Military World Games were set up in 1995 the football championship was incorporated into it, but it is still being held independently every two years.