Mission, vision, values
What we work for
Mission
To develop swimming in Azerbaijan as a life skill, as mass physical activity, as a professional high-performance sport and as a means of strengthening public health.
Vision
Through professional, transparent and sustainable work, to build a society in which every person can swim and holds good posture, tens of thousands train regularly in pools, and the national teams achieve consistent success internationally.
Values
Public value and accessibility in the broadest sense, health and well-being, responsibility and partnership, sporting excellence and patriotism.
Leadership
The management team
The leadership elected at the general assembly on 18 January 2025 serves a four-year term.
Strategy
2025–2036: the long-term plan
The federation's sport director Pierre Lafontaine presented the key directions of the national swimming strategy for 2025–2036 at an international academic and practical conference held at the Azerbaijan Sports Academy.
At the heart of the strategy are healthy development from an early age, water safety and drowning prevention, long-term athlete planning, coach education, cooperation with schools and building a stronger ecosystem for athletes.
In parallel the federation's administrative base was renewed, work began on official programmes and regulations, and the national team gained medical and scientific support — a doctor, a nutritionist, masseurs and psychologists.
International expertise
Who has joined the team
Pierre Lafontaine
An international specialist in long-term athlete development models; at ASF he leads the work on the national strategy.
Luka Gabrilo
More than 15 years of experience: head of the High Performance Centre at the Swiss Swimming Federation, head coach of the Israeli national team, head coach of “Team Iron” in the ISL.
Boro Štrumbelj
President of the Slovenian Swimming Association in 2019–2024. At ASF he works on the certification and licensing of coaches and officials, on teaching at the Sports Academy and on developing the “Let's Learn to Swim” project.
Goran Sablić
Responsible for the preparation of the water polo squad and for the sporting side of youth festivals.
International relations
Who we work with
ASF is part of the World Aquatics and European Aquatics family: federation representatives take part in congresses, conferences and development programmes. In September 2025 general secretary Oqtay Atayev represented the federation at the European Aquatics Congress and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conference in Tbilisi.
At home the key partners are the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Olympic Committee, the Azerbaijan Sports Academy and the Baku Aquatic Palace. Educational projects are supported by the IOC's Olympic Solidarity programme.