International Chovgan Federation

Overview

The International Chovgan Federation is the international governing body for chovgan, the traditional Azerbaijani horseback game also rendered chovqan or chovken. It was formed at a General Assembly in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024, where delegates from 19 countries took part and elected Bahruz Nabiyev as president and Maciej Michael Olbrich as secretary-general (AJMEDIA; BakuInform). The federation organizes world and continental championships in the sport, beginning with a World Chovgan Championship in Baku in 2024 and a European Championship in Poland in 2025 (Idman.biz; AnewZ). Spelling varies by outlet: UNESCO writes the game as chovqan, while Azerbaijani reporting variously uses chovgan and chovken for both the game and the federation.

Founding and leadership

The federation’s founding assembly kicked off in Baku on 1 February 2024, bringing together representatives of 19 countries from all continents, with approval of the organization’s statutes first on the agenda (AJMEDIA). Contemporary reporting put attendance at 29 delegates from 19 nations and placed the meeting at the Bina Equestrian Center, where Elchin Guliyev, president of the Equestrian Federation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Farid Gayibov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports, and Chingiz Huseynzade, vice-president of the National Olympic Committee, all spoke about the importance of horse riding (BakuInform). At the assembly, delegates elected Bahruz Nabiyev, then secretary-general of the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan, as the new federation’s president, and elected the Polish representative Maciej Michael Olbrich as general secretary (BakuInform; AJMEDIA). Nabiyev described the occasion as the first time an international federation of the sport had been established in Azerbaijan (AJMEDIA). Both men were still identified in those roles later in 2024, when Nabiyev took part virtually in the Federation of International Polo General Assembly and Olbrich attended in person (Azernews).

The game the federation governs

Chovqan is a traditional horse-riding game played on a flat, grassy field by two competing teams mounted on Karabakh horses, with five riders per side, two fullbacks and three forwards (UNESCO). Play starts at the centre of the field, and players use wooden mallets to drive a small leather or wooden ball into the opponents’ goal, while instrumental folk music called janghi accompanies the game (UNESCO). Players traditionally wear large astrakhan hats, long tight-fitting coats with a high waist, and special trousers, socks and shoes, and UNESCO records that players and trainers were local farmers and skilled riders (UNESCO). In 2013 UNESCO inscribed chovqan on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, finding that practice and transmission had weakened through declining youth interest, urbanization, migration, and shortages of players, trainers and Karabakh horses (UNESCO). The federation’s championship programme is therefore both a sporting project and a visibility project for a heritage game its home country presents as endangered.

Championships and calendar

The federation’s first major event in its founding year was the World Chovgan Championship in Baku, which opened at the Bina Equestrian Center with 10 teams and ran until 16 June 2024, with Nabiyev declaring the championship open (Idman.biz). The following year the federation organized the European Chovqan Championship in Poland from 5 to 7 June 2025, with six national teams: Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Hungary, Malta, Poland and the United Kingdom (AnewZ). Azerbaijan won its opening match 3-0 against Türkiye, beat Hungary 4-0 in the semi-final, and defeated Malta 6-2 in the final to take the title (AnewZ). Alongside that European event, the federation announced further continental championships: Asia in Uzbekistan in early September, Africa in Nigeria later that month, and South America in Buenos Aires in November (AnewZ). Those later events are reported here as announced plans, since the sources read in full do not confirm their results.

Championship	Host	Dates	Teams	Winner (where reported)
World Chovgan Championship 2024	Baku, Azerbaijan (Bina Equestrian Center)	10-16 June 2024	10	Not verified from sources read in full
European Chovqan Championship 2025	Poland	5-7 June 2025	6	Azerbaijan (beat Malta 6-2)
Asian Championship (announced)	Uzbekistan	Early September (announced 2025)	Not verified	Not verified
African Championship (announced)	Nigeria	Late September (announced 2025)	Not verified	Not verified
South American Championship (announced)	Buenos Aires, Argentina	November (announced 2025)	Not verified	Not verified

Source: Idman.biz; AnewZ.

Relationship with polo

Chovgan and polo are distinct sports, but the federation has pursued a cooperative relationship with polo’s governing body rather than treating the two as rivals. Azernews describes chovqan as the predecessor of modern polo and reports that the two games share visible similarities in mounted team play (Azernews). At the Federation of International Polo General Assembly in Buenos Aires, Olbrich attended as a special guest while Nabiyev joined virtually, and Nabiyev stressed the similarities between chovqan and polo and the value of a joint strategy to popularize both sports (Azernews). During that assembly Olbrich met Federation of International Polo president Pierre Dillier and director general Alejandro Taylor to discuss preparing a Memorandum of Friendship between the two federations (Azernews). The same reporting says the idea of staging a world championship in Baku was received with great interest at the meeting (Azernews). The profile does not claim that a memorandum was signed, since the sources read in full describe it only as under discussion.

Frequently asked questions

What is the International Chovgan Federation? It is the international governing body for chovgan, the traditional Azerbaijani horseback game also spelled chovqan or chovken. It was formed at a Baku General Assembly in 2024 with delegates from 19 countries, and it organizes world and continental championships in the sport.

Who leads the International Chovgan Federation? Bahruz Nabiyev was elected president and Maciej Michael Olbrich was elected secretary-general at the founding assembly in Baku. Both were still named in those roles later in 2024 during the federation’s engagement with the Federation of International Polo in Buenos Aires.

What championships has the federation organized? It staged a World Chovgan Championship in Baku in 2024 with 10 teams, and a European Chovqan Championship in Poland in June 2025 with six teams, won by Azerbaijan. It also announced continental championships for Asia, Africa and South America, whose results are not verified here.

Is chovgan the same as polo? No. Sources describe chovqan as the predecessor of modern polo and as a similar mounted team game, but they treat it as a distinct sport with its own federation, rules and heritage status. The two federations have discussed a Memorandum of Friendship rather than a merger.

Why does chovgan matter beyond sport? UNESCO inscribed chovqan in 2013 on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, citing weakened transmission, declining youth interest and shortages of players, trainers and Karabakh horses. The federation’s championships give the heritage game international visibility.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not give a current membership list, a headquarters address, statutes, or a committee structure; none of these could be verified from sources read in full, and only the 19 countries at the founding assembly are reported.
• It does not claim that the Memorandum of Friendship with the Federation of International Polo was signed; sources describe it only as under discussion.
• It does not label the 2024 Baku world championship as the first or second staging, because sources read in full disagree on that point.
• It does not report results for the announced Asian, African or South American championships, which are recorded here as announced plans only.
• It does not assert that chovgan and polo share a single origin story beyond what the cited sources state; Azernews calls chovqan the predecessor of modern polo, and the profile attributes that characterization to that outlet.
• It does not treat Azerbaijani press coverage as independent of Azerbaijan; the concentration of coverage in Azerbaijani outlets is disclosed in the source note and open items.