The reasons for the unsuccessful performance of the Azerbaijani national team consisting of U-16 boys' volleyball players in the II qualifying round of the European Championship have been determined.

The head coach of the national team, Jahangir Seyed Abbasi, informed "Report" about this.

The expert stated that they were performing in this stage for the first time:

"The level of the competition was high, the teams were strong. The Azerbaijani national team qualified for the II stage for the first time in this age group. We started playing better and better. Austria took second place in the group. But we managed to take a set from this opponent. The children fought. Nevertheless, the opposing players were tall, physically superior, and also experienced".

He said that the goal in the competition was to get to know the opponents and build future plans accordingly:

"We have newly formed the team. The Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation created Regional Volleyball Clubs and held competitions for various age groups. We selected these children from those competitions based on their physical characteristics. The team had been practicing together for about a month. Although some of them are new to volleyball, they show promise. The goal in the competition was to get to know our opponents, see their strengths and build our future plans accordingly".

The head coach noted that there will be changes in the coaching staff:

"We currently have about 6-7 promising volleyball players. We are trying to increase their number. In the future, we will go to the U-18 competition. The Federation has decided to keep these children in focus. From June until 2027, they will regularly train as a team. I hope that by that time we will catch up with our opponents and see different results".

He emphasized that they are preparing two more national teams in addition to the U-16:

"We are preparing three teams at the same time. Volleyball players born in 2008-2009, consisting of girls, are preparing for the CIS Games to be held in Azerbaijan. Those born in 2009 and above will participate in the EEVZA tournament in November. We have chosen the hall of the Sumgayit Olympic Sports Complex for training. They will train in the morning and evening. Our first goal is to bring out a completely different team for the CIS Games. We hope that we will justify the trust shown to us by the federation and show different results".

It should be noted that in the second qualifying round of the U-16 European Championship, they lost to the national teams of Estonia (0:3), Spain (0:3) and Austria (1:3).