Finding Family in Baku
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — August 2026
The world came to Baku to wrestle. Starting on July 25th, the National Gymnastics Arena was filled with the energy of the U17 World Wrestling Championships as young athletes from around the globe competed for medals, national pride, and the dream of becoming world champions. But for Wrestling for Peace (W4P), some of the most important victories in Baku happened far from the competition mat. They happened at an adaptive judo practice, at a local wrestling club, behind the scenes in cafes and corridors, and they happened when a child looked around the room and said four simple words: “This is my family.”
The W4P 2026 Global Campaign bridges cultures as a platform for diplomacy, and a way to reach communities and children who are often overlooked. In Baku, W4P collaborated with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation, the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation, USA Wrestling, Nike, Suples and local community partners to turn the global spotlight on Baku into an opportunity for connection and hope beyond the competition arena.
Farqani Aliyev, US Embassy staff, and Vusala Ali, Azerbaijani Wrestling Federation project manager, played an important role in helping build relationships and strengthen connections between the American and Azerbaijani sport and diplomatic communities. The W4P delegation, Dan and Joy Russell, Taft and Pariasr Blackburn, Ivan Ivanoff (Suples), and Nicole Tyson (Campbellsville University) contributed to a successful weeklong campaign on our first of four stops in the W4P 2026 Global Campaign.
The delegation had the honor of meeting with Chargé d’Affaires Amy Carlon, and Public Relations Counselor Michael Hackett, of the US Embassy in Baku, enjoying several nights of wrestling and cheering on team USA and the rest of the world. An important step was connecting embassy officials with local leaders, including Parvin Piriyev, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation.
One of the highlights of the week was watching the US U17 Men’s Greco team sign posters for the children of the Zafar Wrestling Club, which serves orphans and others in need. The laughter and joy expressed, even with the language barrier, was something no participant will forget. Each child was presented with a Wrestling for Peace medal, a small reminder that #EVERYONEWRESTLES, and champions are not just made on the mat. These children are champions in life.
Following the poster signing, was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Wrestling for Peace and the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation. Russell and Piriyev posed for pictures on the momentous occasion, establishing continued cooperation in sport diplomacy, cultural exchange, humanitarian awareness and grassroots development. This agreement represents more than a document. It represents a shared belief that the relationships created through wrestling can be used to make a difference far beyond the mat.
One of the most meaningful experiences of the week came through time spent with Down Syndrome children in an adaptive judo program. One child had been nonverbal before joining the program. Today, that child is learning to communicate and has gained the independence to do simple tasks on his own. It may sound like a small milestone, but for this child and his family, it represents enormous progress.
As we celebrated with these children, adorning each one with a t-shirt and a medal, our hope is that each one knew they were seen and that they mattered. Sometimes the greatest victory is a child finding a voice, gaining confidence, or discovering a new measure of independence. Sport can create that environment.
At Zafar Wrestling Club, Wrestling for Peace met youth from underserved communities, including orphans. The wrestling room was filled with sounds and sights familiar to every wrestling family: laughter, encouragement, competition and the determination to get back up after falling.
For these children, however, the Zafar Wrestling Club is something even deeper. It is a place to belong. A place where coaches become mentors, teammates become friends, and the wrestling room becomes a safe place to grow. One child captured it perfectly “This is my family.” Four words that say more about the power of wrestling than any medal ever could.
The wrestling world knows how to measure success. Wins. Losses. Medals. Team points. But Wrestling for Peace believes there is another scoreboard: How many children found hope? How many discovered that they belong? How many relationships crossed borders? How many communities were strengthened? How many young people began to believe their future could be different?
Those victories do not appear on the official results sheet. But they may be the victories that matter most. Baku reminded us why the Wrestling for Peace Global Campaign exists. The medals will eventually be packed away. The arena will become quiet. But the impact remains. It remains in the child who is learning to communicate. It remains in the child who discovered family. It remains in the relationships built between nations and communities. And it remains in the knowledge that wrestling provides something bigger than winning.
The world came to Baku to wrestle. Wrestling for Peace came to Baku to build bridges, create belonging and leave something behind that lasts. And this is only the beginning.
