Football arrived in Azerbaijan around 120 years ago, brought by visiting workers and traders. It caught on quickly - kids loved that you only needed a ball and a flat space. Today, almost every neighbourhood in Baku has a small pitch tucked between the buildings, often busy from early morning until after dark.
Baku's biggest stadium is the Baku Olympic Stadium, which can hold around 68,000 people. It hosted matches in the 2020 UEFA European Championship - a huge tournament that brought football fans from all across Europe to Azerbaijan. The atmosphere on match days was electric.
The most successful Azerbaijani club is called Qarabağ, which has played in some of Europe's biggest tournaments. Their fans are some of the loudest in the country. Many young footballers in Azerbaijan dream of playing for Qarabağ one day, or for the Milli at a World Cup.
As in most football-loving countries, Azerbaijani kids play with whatever they have - a 'proper' ball, an old tennis ball, a folded-up sock, two jumpers for goalposts. The score doesn't always matter as much as the running, shouting and trying tricks. Saturday morning football is a much-loved part of growing up.