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134-453: Initially, all sports in the country were on an amateur basis with competitions called Technical Innovation Contests being held several times a year since the 1960s until 2009. Technical Innovation Games typically started in February each year. In 1977, sport in the country was reformed, creating professional teams with paid players for each sport. Since then, an annual championship, called

268-553: A "cheaper and faster" option. One married couple in the eastern Farap district said that they had to provide documents and letters from 40 different agencies to support their adoption application, yet three years later there was still no decision on their bid. Meanwhile, wealthier applicants in Farap received a child for legal adoption within four months after applying because they paid up to 50,000 manats (about $ 14,300) in bribes. At 488,100 km (188,500 sq mi), Turkmenistan

402-655: A ban for fielding a contracted professional was Brighouse Rangers who were expelled from the National Conference League during 2007–2008 season, and the player handed a sine die ban (though in part for gouging ), although the club itself has since been admitted to the Pennine League. Also, some rugby unions have amateur rules, most notably the Argentine Rugby Union , where all member clubs are amateur. The Campeonato Argentino ,

536-422: A century ago was commonly applied to the aristocratic patrons of sports, some of which, such as pugilism , are not now the fashion." The "Corinthian ideal" of the gentleman amateur developed alongside muscular Christianity in late Victorian Britain, and has been analysed as a historical social phenomenon since the later 20th century. The Corinthian Football Club founded in 1882 was the paragon of this. In

670-624: A court decision. Homosexual acts are illegal in Turkmenistan. The use of the death penalty in the country was suspended in 1999, before being formally abolished in 2008. Despite the launch of Turkmenistan's first communication satellite , the TurkmenSat 1 , in April 2015, the Turkmen government banned all satellite dishes in Turkmenistan the same month. The statement issued by

804-601: A day off, making the opportunity to take part in sport more widely available. Working class sportsmen found it hard to play top level sport due to having to turn up for work. On occasion, cash prizes, particularly in individual competitions, could make up the difference; some competitors also wagered on the outcomes of their matches. As professional teams developed, some clubs were willing to make "broken time" payments to players, i.e. , to pay top sportsmen to take time off work, and as attendances increased, paying men to concentrate on their sport full-time became feasible. Proponents of

938-426: A different club took part was in the 1989–90 edition, in which North Korea was represented by Ch'andongja SC; Ch'andongja finished last in their qualifying round group, and did not advance. After the 1991 Asian Club Championship , in which April 25 advanced as far as the group stage, North Korean teams did not compete in any Asian club competitions for over twenty years, when Rimyŏngsu SC were invited to take part in

1072-479: A distinction between amateur and professional status with separate competitive leagues. The most prominent of these are golf and boxing . In particular, only amateur boxers could compete at the Olympics up to 2016. Problems can arise for amateur sportsmen when sponsors offer to help with an amateur's playing expenses in the hope of striking lucrative endorsement deals with them in case they become professionals at

1206-501: A factory or a government agency which was represented in competition with its team. In this way athletes were officially getting paid as workers or officials. Athletes of the Soviet Armed Forces Sports Society or Dynamo Sports Club ( NKVD sports society) carried a rank and a uniform. The difference between the teams of masters and other teams was the fact that the first competed at all-Union level and

1340-468: A game. Sometimes payments were substantial. Barry John was once asked why he hadn't turned professional and responded, "I couldn't afford to." Rugby union was declared "open" in August 1995 - almost exactly 100 years after the original split occurred - meaning that professionalism has been permitted in both rugby codes since that date. However, while the professional-amateur divide remained in force, there

1474-499: A later date. This practice, dubbed " shamateurism ", a portmanteau of sham and amateur , was present as early as in the 19th century. As financial and political stakes in high-level were becoming higher, shamateurism became all the more widespread, reaching its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, when the International Olympic Committee started moving towards acceptance of professional athletes. The advent of

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1608-724: A new Constitution . The latter resulted in the abolition of the council and a significant increase in the size of Parliament in December 2008 and also permits the formation of multiple political parties. The Assembly ( Turkmen : Mejlis ) is since January 2023 the unicameral legislature of Turkmenistan. Between March 2021 and 21 January 2023 it was the lower house of the now defunct bicameral National Council of Turkmenistan ( Turkmen : Milli Geňeş ). It has 125 members, elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies . The People's Council of Turkmenistan ( Turkmen : Halk Maslahaty , [xɑlq mɑθlɑxɑt̪ɯ] ; "People's Council")

1742-541: A non-democratic snap presidential election in 2022, establishing a political dynasty in Turkmenistan. On 19 March 2022, Serdar Berdimuhamedov was sworn in as Turkmenistan's new president to succeed his father. After over a century of being a part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union (including 67 years as a union republic), Turkmenistan declared its independence on 27 October 1991, following

1876-419: A notional amateur status. Women's cricket has always been almost entirely amateur; however, the recent popularity of women's sport has seen many top-level female cricketers become fully professional, with top international players earning up to $ 300,000 before endorsements and franchise contracts. Boot money has been a phenomenon in amateur sport for centuries. The term "boot money" became popularised in

2010-533: A part of." Some have criticized this system as exploitative; prominent university athletics programs are major commercial endeavors, and can easily rake in millions of dollars in profit during a successful season. College athletes spend a great deal of time "working" for the university, and earn nothing from it at the time aside from scholarships sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars; basketball and football coaches, meanwhile, earn salaries that can compare with those of professional teams' coaches. Supporters of

2144-503: A pervasive cult of personality . A 1994 referendum and legislation in 1999 abolished further requirements for the president to stand for re-election (although in 1992 he completely dominated the only presidential election in which he ran, as he was the only candidate and no one else was allowed to run for the office), making him effectively president for life . During his tenure, Niyazov conducted frequent purges of public officials and abolished organizations deemed threatening. Throughout

2278-513: A player rejoining the national team after the end of the Second World War applied to be issued with a new shirt and was reminded that he had been supplied with a shirt prior to the outbreak of hostilities . In Wales the position was more equivocal with clubs attempting to stem the tide of players going north with boot money , a reference to the practice of putting cash payments into player's footwear whilst they were cleaning up after

2412-414: A quality education. Also, most sports other than football and men's basketball do not generate significant revenue for any school (and such teams are often essentially funded by football, basketball, and donations), so it may not be possible to pay athletes in all sports. Allowing pay in some sports but not others could result in the violation of U.S. laws such as Title IX . Through most of the 20th century

2546-421: A role in the 2002 assassination attempt. In 2004, a series of bilateral treaties restored friendly relations. In the parliamentary elections of December 2004 and January 2005 , only Niyazov's party was represented, and no international monitors participated. In 2005, Niyazov exercised his dictatorial power by closing all hospitals outside Ashgabat and all rural libraries. The year 2006 saw intensification of

2680-434: A self-interest in blocking the professionalization of sport, which threatened to make it feasible for the working classes to compete against themselves with success. Working class sportsmen didn't see why they shouldn't be paid to play. Hence there were competing interests between those who wished sport to be open to all and those who feared that professionalism would destroy the 'Corinthian spirit'. This conflict played out over

2814-422: A similar situation. Professionals were often expected to address amateurs, at least to their faces, as "Mister" or "Sir" whereas the amateurs often referred to professionals by their surnames. Newspaper reports often prefaced amateurs' names with "Mr" while professionals were referred to by surname, or sometimes surname and initials. At some grounds amateurs and professionals had separate dressing rooms and entered

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2948-412: A thousand years later, in the 8th century AD, Turkic -speaking Oghuz tribes moved from Mongolia into present-day Central Asia. Part of a powerful confederation of tribes, these Oghuz formed the ethnic basis of the modern Turkmen population. In the 10th century, the name "Turkmen" was first applied to Oghuz groups that accepted Islam and began to occupy present-day Turkmenistan. There they were under

3082-643: A tie with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 169th place globally, between Chad and Equatorial Guinea, with a score of 19 out of 100. Opposition media and foreign human rights organizations describe Turkmenistan as suffering from rampant corruption. A non-governmental organization, Crude Accountability , has openly called the economy of Turkmenistan a kleptocracy . Opposition and domestic state-controlled media have described widespread bribery in education and law enforcement. In 2019,

3216-413: A week for a player with no outside employment lingered until the 1960s, even as transfer fees reached over a hundred thousand pounds; again, "boot money" was seen as a way of topping up pay. Today, the most prominent English football clubs that are not professional are semi-professional (paying part-time players more than the old maximum for top professionals). Until 2019, when it abandoned amateur status,

3350-556: Is Radio Azatlyk , the Turkmen-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . Internet access is filtered and websites to which the government objects are blocked. Blocked websites include opposition news media, YouTube, many social media sites (including Facebook), and encrypted communications applications. Use of virtual private networks to circumvent censorship is prohibited. Transparency International 's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Turkmenistan in

3484-489: Is Turkmenistan's independent "representative body" exerting supreme constitutional authority. It includes in its membership, but is not considered part of, the legislature . Inter alia it is empowered to amend the constitution. Its chairperson is appointed by the president and is designated the "National Leader". State media referred to the People's Council as the "supreme organ of government authority". From 2018 to 2023 it

3618-1089: Is a member of the United Nations , the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank , the Economic Cooperation Organization , the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Islamic Development Bank , Asian Development Bank , European Bank for Reconstruction and Development , the Food and Agriculture Organization , International Organization of Turkic Culture and observer member of Organisation of Turkic States . Turkmenistan

3752-839: Is allowed to touch the tiller or in any way assist in steering." Although the RCYC website derives the name Corinthian from the Isthmian Games of ancient Corinth , the Oxford English Dictionary derives the noun Corinthian from "the proverbial wealth, luxury, and licentiousness of ancient Corinth", with senses developing from "a wealthy man" (attested in 1577) through "a licentious man" (1697) and "a man of fashion about town" (1819) to "a wealthy amateur of sport who rides his own horses, steers his own yacht, etc" (1823). Dixon Kemp wrote in A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing published in 1900, "The term Corinthian half

3886-585: Is considered to be one of the "10 Most Censored Countries". Each broadcast under Niyazov began with a pledge that the broadcaster's tongue will shrivel if he slanders the country, flag, or president. Religious minorities are discriminated against for conscientious objection and practising their religion by imprisonment, preventing foreign travel, confiscating copies of Christian literature or defamation. Many detainees who have been arrested for exercising their freedom of religion or belief were tortured and subsequently sentenced to imprisonment, many of them without

4020-538: Is in a temperate desert zone with a dry continental climate. Remote from the open sea, with mountain ranges to the south and southeast, Turkmenistan's climate is characterized by low precipitation, low cloudiness, and high evaporation. Absence of mountains to the north allows cold Arctic air to penetrate southward to the southerly mountain ranges, which in turn block warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean. Limited winter and spring rains are attributable to moist air from

4154-454: Is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing and training. In the majority of sports which feature professional players, the professionals will participate at a higher standard of play than amateur competitors, as they can train full-time without the stress of having another job. The majority of worldwide sporting participants are amateurs. Sporting amateurism

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4288-563: Is mostly governed by the Interior Ministry . The Ministry of National Security (KNB) is the intelligence-gathering asset. The Interior Ministry commands the 25,000 personnel of the national police force directly, while the KNB deals with intelligence and counterintelligence work. Turkmenistan has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and has imposed severe restrictions on foreign travel for its citizens. Discrimination against

4422-653: Is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population over 7 million, Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent. Turkmenistan has long served as a thoroughfare for several empires and cultures. Merv is one of the oldest oasis-cities in Central Asia, and

4556-502: Is severely curtailed, inhibiting free expression of the voters' will. Despite measures to demonstrate transparency, the integrity of elections was not ensured, leaving veracity of results in doubt The judiciary in Turkmenistan is not independent. Under Articles 71 and 100 of the constitution of Turkmenistan, the president appoints all judges, including the chairperson (chief justice) of the Supreme Court , and may dismiss them with

4690-556: Is strictly forbidden by the ISU is participating in unsanctioned "pro" competitions, which the ISU uses to maintain their monopoly status as the governing body in the sport. Many people in the skating world still use "turning pro" as jargon to mean retiring from competitive skating, even though most top competitive skaters are already full-time professionals, and many skaters who retire from competition to concentrate on show skating or coaching do not actually lose their competition eligibility in

4824-728: Is the 82nd most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index . The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ( Turkmen : Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri ), known informally as the Turkmen National Army ( Turkmen : Türkmenistanyň Milli goşun ) is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Ground Forces , the Air Force and Air Defense Forces , Navy , and other independent formations (etc. Border Troops , Internal Troops and National Guard ). The national police force in Turkmenistan

4958-665: Is the world's 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and larger than Cameroon . It lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N , and longitudes 52° and 67° E . Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert . The center of the country is dominated by the Turan Depression and the Karakum Desert. Topographically, Turkmenistan is bounded by the Ustyurt Plateau to the north,

5092-469: The 11 September 2001 attacks . In 2002 an alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov led to a new wave of security restrictions, dismissals of government officials, and restrictions placed on the media. Niyazov accused exiled former foreign minister Boris Shikhmuradov of having planned the attack. Between 2002 and 2004, serious tension arose between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan because of bilateral disputes and Niyazov's implication that Uzbekistan had

5226-582: The 2014 edition of the AFC President's Cup . Rimyŏngsu performed well, finishing second in their group in the first round. They went undefeated in the second round to top their group and advance to the final, in which they lost 1–2 to HTTU Ashgabat of Turkmenistan - who had finished first in Rimyŏngsu's group in the first round. However, the 2014 edition proved to be the last time the President's Cup

5360-519: The 2017–18 season , featuring thirteen teams that play a full season of home-and-away matches. The 2018-2019 season started on 1 December 2018 and was scheduled to end October 2019. Due to the unusual nature of the domestic football competitions, North Korean teams only rarely took part in international club competitions of the Asian Football Confederation . The first time a North Korean club took part in an AFC club competition

5494-562: The 2018 AFC Cup ; as the champions, April 25 will begin play in Group I of the group stage . The runners-up, Hwaebul SC , had to first play in the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs . There, they faced Erchim FC of Mongolia , winning 7–0 on aggregate to advance to the group stage, where they will play matches against April 25, Hang Yuen F.C. of Taiwan , and Benfica de Macau . Both teams will travel abroad for away matches, and foreign teams will travel to North Korea; April 25 will use

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5628-615: The American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) and Major League Ultimate (MLU). Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest , Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast , Afghanistan to the southeast , Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city . It

5762-762: The Atrek (Etrek) River . Tributaries of the Atrek include the Sumbar River and Chandyr River . The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is 1,748 kilometres (1,086 mi) long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no natural access to the ocean, although the Volga–Don Canal allows shipping access to and from the Black Sea . Major cities include Aşgabat , Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk), Balkanabat , Daşoguz , Türkmenabat , and Mary . Turkmenistan

5896-713: The International Olympic Committee (IOC). At the IIHF Congress in 1969, the IIHF decided to allow Canada to use nine non-NHL professional hockey players at the 1970 World Championships in Montreal and Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada. The decision was reversed in January 1970 after IOC President Avery Brundage said that ice hockey's status as an Olympic sport would be in jeopardy if the change

6030-840: The Kopet Dag Range to the south, the Paropamyz Plateau, the Koytendag Range to the east, the Amu Darya Valley, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Turkmenistan includes three tectonic regions, the Epigersin platform region, the Alpine shrinkage region, and the Epiplatform orogenesis region. The Alpine tectonic region is the epicenter of earthquakes in Turkmenistan. Strong earthquakes occurred in

6164-524: The Mongols took over the more northern lands where the Turkmens had settled, scattering the Turkmens southward and contributing to the formation of new tribal groups. The sixteenth and eighteenth centuries saw a series of splits and confederations among the nomadic Turkmen tribes, who remained staunchly independent and inspired fear in their neighbors. By the 16th century, most of those tribes were under

6298-805: The National Championship , also known as the DPR Korea Championships , has been held September through each year. Several other competitions held together with the National Championship each year include the Man'gyŏndae Prize held since at least 2002 in March through April in honour of Kim Il Sung 's birthday, the Paektusan Prize held since at least 2010 in February in honour of Kim Jong Il 's birthday, and

6432-553: The Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize held since 2010 in May through June to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Poch'ŏnbo . The Osandŏk Prize competition, held in December in honour of Kim Jong-suk , was originally the primary tournament of North Korean ice hockey and other winter sports, but football was added in 2015. Hwaebul Cup was first held in 2013. In 2010, football's National Championship

6566-463: The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium as its home field, whilst Hwaebul will use Kim Il Sung Stadium as its home venue. As a result of the new league structure, the champions and runners up of the 2017–18 Premier League season will take part in the 2019 AFC Cup . Amateur sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration . The distinction

6700-481: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country is widely criticized for its poor human rights , including for its treatment of minorities, and its lack of press and religious freedoms. Since the independence declared from the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan has been ruled by repressive totalitarian regimes: that of President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Türkmenbaşy or "Head of

6834-557: The dissolution of the Soviet Union . Saparmurat Niyazov , a former official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , ruled Turkmenistan from 1985, when he became head of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR , until his death in 2006. He retained absolute control over the country as President after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 28 December 1999, Niyazov was declared President for Life of Turkmenistan by

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6968-495: The 1880s when it was not unusual for players to find half a crown (corresponding to 12½ pence after decimalisation ) in their boots after a game. The Football Association prohibited paying players until 1885, and this is referred to as the "legalisation" of professionalism because it was an amendment of the "Laws of the Game". However, a maximum salary cap of twelve pounds a week for a player with outside employment and fifteen pounds

7102-624: The 1972 retirement of IOC President Avery Brundage , the Olympic amateurism rules were steadily relaxed, amounting only to technicalities and lip service, until being completely abandoned in the 1990s (In the United States , the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 prohibits national governing bodies from having more stringent standards of amateur status than required by international governing bodies of respective sports. The act caused

7236-462: The 19th century were arranged and led by professional cricketer-promoters such as James Lillywhite , Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury , a more pragmatic approach generally prevailed. In England the division was reflected in, and for a long time reinforced by, the series of Gentlemen v Players matches between amateurs and professionals. Few cricketers changed their status, but there were some notable exceptions such as Wally Hammond who became (or

7370-611: The 19th century, with the United Kingdom and the United States taking the lead. Sporting culture was especially strong in private schools and universities, and the upper and middle-class men who attended those institutions played as amateurs. Opportunities for working classes to participate in sport were restricted by their long six-day work weeks and Sunday Sabbatarianism. In the UK, the Factory Act of 1844 gave working men half

7504-461: The America's Cup, this amateur spirit has given way in recent years to large corporate sponsorships and paid crews. Like other Olympic sports, figure skating used to have very strict amateur status rules. Over the years, these rules were relaxed to allow competitive skaters to receive token payments for performances in exhibitions (amid persistent rumors that they were receiving more money "under

7638-485: The First World War due to his 'defection' to the league code. One Member of Parliament , David Hinchliffe , described it as "one of the longest (and daftest) grievances in history" with anyone over the age of 18 associated with rugby league being banned forever from rugby union. The Scottish Rugby Union was a particular bastion of amateurism and extreme care was taken to avoid the 'taint' of professionalism:

7772-577: The Kopet Dag Range in 1869, 1893, 1895, 1929, 1948, and 1994. The city of Ashgabat and surrounding villages were largely destroyed by the 1948 earthquake . The Kopet Dag Range , along the southwestern border, reaches 2,912 metres (9,554 feet ) at Kuh-e Rizeh (Mount Rizeh). The Great Balkhan Range in the west of the country ( Balkan Province ) and the Köýtendag Range on the southeastern border with Uzbekistan ( Lebap Province ) are

7906-513: The Mejlis (parliament), which itself had taken office a week earlier in elections that included only candidates hand-picked by President Niyazov. No opposition candidates were allowed. The former Communist Party, now known as the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan , is the dominant party. The second party, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs , was established in August 2012, and an agrarian party appeared two years later. Political gatherings are illegal unless government sanctioned. In 2013,

8040-428: The NRFU in the first few years of its existence. Rugby football in Britain therefore became subject to a de facto schism along regional - and to some extent class - lines, reflecting the historical origins of the split. Rugby league - in which professionalism was permitted - was predominant in northern England, particularly in industrial areas, and was viewed as a working class game. Rugby union - which remained amateur -

8174-409: The Olympics allowed only amateur athletes to participate and this amateur code was strictly enforced - Jim Thorpe was stripped of track and field medals for having taken expense money for playing baseball in 1912. Later on, the nations of the Communist bloc entered teams of Olympians who were all nominally students , soldiers , or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by

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8308-442: The Olympics, because of the unwillingness of the NHL to take a break mid-season and the IOC's amateur-only policy. Before the 1984 Winter Olympics, a dispute formed over what made a player a professional. The IOC had adopted a rule that made any player who had signed an NHL contract but played less than ten games in the league eligible. However, the United States Olympic Committee maintained that any player contracted with an NHL team

8442-455: The RFU. A similar interpretation was applied to all players who played either for or against such clubs, whether or not they themselves received any compensation. Such players were effectively barred sine die from any involvement in organised rugby union. These comprehensive and enduring sanctions, combined with the very localised nature of most rugby competition, meant that most northern clubs had little practical alternative but to affiliate with

8576-477: The Russian Empire's participation in World War I resonated in Turkmenistan, as an anticonscription revolt swept most of Russian Central Asia. Although the Russian Revolution of 1917 had little direct impact, in the 1920s Turkmen forces joined Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , and Uzbeks in the so-called Basmachi rebellion against the rule of the newly formed Soviet Union . In 1921 the tsarist province of Transcaspia ( Russian : Закаспийская область , 'Transcaspian Oblast')

8710-428: The Russians eventually overcame the Uzbek khanates. In 1879, the Russian forces were defeated by the Teke Turkmens during the first attempt to conquer the Ahal area of Turkmenistan . However, in 1881, the last significant resistance in Turkmen territory was crushed at the Battle of Geok Tepe , and shortly thereafter Turkmenistan was annexed, together with adjoining Uzbek territory, into the Russian Empire . In 1916,

8844-618: The Soviet Union which had Soviet-type economic planning in the country and no non-state enterprises were permitted. Existence of professional sports in the Soviet Union was considered to be amoral because no one must be involved in profiting from their body and/or skills and instead dedicate those to the state. In 1936 the government agency for sports adopted a decision to form competitions for "teams of [football] masters", while at republican level ( union republics ) there were organized separate competitions among teams of factories and government agencies. Football players were officially on payrolls of

8978-409: The Turkmens") until his death in 2006; Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow , who became president in 2007 after winning a non-democratic election (he had been vice-president and then acting president previously); and his son Serdar , who won a subsequent 2022 presidential election described by international observers as neither free nor fair , and now shares power with his father. Turkmenistan possesses

9112-478: The United States, "Corinthian" came to be applied in particular to amateur yachtsman, and remains current as such and in the name of many yacht clubs ; including Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (founded 1874, added "Corinthian" to the name in 1881) and Yale Corinthian Yacht Club (likewise 1881 and 1893). By the early 21st century the Olympic Games and all the major team sports accepted professional competitors. However, there are still some sports which maintain

9246-451: The amateur ideal deplored the influence of money and the effect it has on sports. It was claimed that it is in the interest of the professional to receive the highest amount of pay possible per unit of performance, not to perform to the highest standard possible where this does not bring additional benefit. The middle and upper-class men who dominated the sporting establishment not only had a theoretical preference for amateurism, they also had

9380-411: The amateur policy of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Following a lengthy dispute on this point during the early 1890s, representatives of more than 20 prominent northern rugby clubs met in Huddersfield in August 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU), a breakaway administrative body which would permit payments to be made to players. The NRFU initially adopted established RFU rules for

9514-528: The amateur-professional division was rarely noticed in the years before World Series Cricket , as many top-level players expected to receive something for their efforts on the field: before World War I profit-sharing of tour proceeds was common. Australian cricketers touring England were considered amateurs and given the title "Mr" in newspaper reports. Before the Partition of India some professionalism developed, but talented cricketers were often employed by wealthy princely or corporate patrons and thus retained

9648-576: The breakup of the Amateur Athletic Union as a wholesale sports governing body at the Olympic level). Olympic regulations regarding amateur status of athletes were eventually abandoned in the 1990s with the exception of wrestling, where the amateur fight rules are used due to the fact that professional wrestling is largely staged with pre-determined outcomes. Starting from the 2016 Summer Olympics , professionals were allowed to compete in boxing, though amateur fight rules are still used for

9782-692: The consent of the Parliament. Outside observers consider the Turkmen legislature to be a rubber stamp parliament, and thus despite constitutional guarantees of judicial independence under Articles 98 and 99, the judiciary is de facto firmly under presidential control. The chief justice is considered a member of the executive authority of the government and sits on the State Security Council . The U.S. Department of State stated in its 2020-human rights report on Turkmenistan, Although

9916-644: The cost of food, housing, tuition, and other university-related expenses. In order to ensure that the rules are not circumvented, stringent rules restrict gift-giving during the recruitment process as well as during and even after a collegiate athlete's career; college athletes also cannot endorse products, which some may consider a violation of free speech rights. Former NBA player Jerome Williams says, "For years, student-athletes, especially those from minority communities, have been disadvantaged from monetizing their image, or what we call 'player intellectual property.' There's an ongoing revenue stream college athletes are not

10050-523: The country's ethnic minorities remains in practice. Universities have been encouraged to reject applicants with non-Turkmen surnames, especially ethnic Russians. It is forbidden to teach the customs and language of the Baloch , an ethnic minority. The same happens to Uzbeks, though the Uzbek language was formerly taught in some national schools. According to Human Rights Watch , "Turkmenistan remains one of

10184-408: The country. His successor, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow , repealed some of Niyazov's most idiosyncratic policies, including banning operas and circuses for being "insufficiently Turkmen" , though other such rules were later put into place such as the banning of non-white cars. In education, Berdimuhamedow's government increased basic education to ten years from nine years, and higher education

10318-471: The course of more than one hundred years. Some sports dealt with it relatively easily, such as golf , which decided in the late 19th century to tolerate competition between amateurs and professionals, while others were traumatized by the dilemma, and took generations to fully come to terms with professionalism even to a result of causing a breakdown in the sport (as in the case of rugby union and rugby league in 1895). Corinthian has come to describe one of

10452-528: The dominion of the Seljuk Empire , which was composed of Oghuz groups living in present-day Iran and Turkmenistan. Oghuz groups in the service of the empire played an important role in the spreading of Turkic culture when they migrated westward into present-day Azerbaijan and eastern Turkey . In the 12th century, Turkmen and other tribes overthrew the Seljuk Empire. In the next century,

10586-671: The ethnonym Türkmen and the Persian suffix -stan meaning "place of" or "country". The name "Turkmen" comes from Turk, plus the Sogdian suffix -men, meaning "almost Turk", in reference to their status outside the Turkic dynastic mythological system. However, some scholars argue the suffix is an intensifier , changing the meaning of Türkmen to "pure Turks" or "the Turkish Turks." Muslim chroniclers like Ibn Kathir suggested that

10720-443: The etymology of Turkmenistan came from the words Türk and iman ( Arabic : إيمان , lit.   'faith/belief'); this is in reference to a massive conversion to Islam of two hundred thousand households in the year 971. Turkmenistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union after the independence referendum in 1991. As a result, the constitutional law was adopted on 27 October of that year and Article 1 established

10854-492: The first multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan was a one-party state from 1991 to 2012; however, the 2013 elections were widely seen as rigged. In practice, all parties in parliament operate jointly under the direction of the DPT. There are no true opposition parties in the Turkmen parliament. Since the December 2006 death of Niyazov, Turkmenistan's leadership has made tentative moves to open up

10988-464: The game is to score points by passing the disc to members of your own team, on a rectangular field, 120 yards (110m) by 40 yards (37m), until you have successfully completed a pass to a team member in the opposing team's end zone. There are currently over five million people that play some form of organized ultimate in the US. Ultimate has started to be played semi-professionally with two newly formed leagues,

11122-592: The game itself, but soon introduced a number of changes, most obviously a switch from 15 to 13 players per side. It became the Rugby Football League in 1922, by which time the key differences in the two codes were well established, with the 13-a-side variant becoming known as rugby league. The RFU took strong action against the clubs involved in the formation of the NRFU, all of whom were deemed to have forfeited their amateur status and therefore to have left

11256-501: The government indicated that all existing satellite dishes would have to be removed or destroyed—despite the communications receiving antennas having been legally installed since 1995—in an effort by the government to fully block access of the population to many "hundreds of independent international media outlets" which are currently accessible in the country only through satellite dishes, including all leading international news channels in different languages. The main target of this campaign

11390-655: The invading Persian army of Nasreddin-Shah . In the second half of the 19th century, northern Turkmens were the main military and political power in the Khanate of Khiva . According to Paul R. Spickard, "Prior to the Russian conquest, the Turkmen were known and feared for their involvement in the Central Asian slave trade ." Russian forces began occupying Turkmen territory late in the 19th century. From their Caspian Sea base at Krasnovodsk (now Türkmenbaşy ),

11524-533: The law provides for an independent judiciary, the executive controls it, and it is subordinate to the executive. There was no legislative review of the president's judicial appointments and dismissals. The president had sole authority to dismiss any judge. The judiciary was widely reputed to be corrupt and inefficient. Many national laws of Turkmenistan have been published online on the Ministry of Justice website. Turkmenistan's declaration of "permanent neutrality"

11658-486: The most commercialized college sports, such as NCAA football and basketball , do not financially compensate competitors, although coaches and trainers generally are paid. College football coaches in Texas and other states are often the highest-paid state employees, with some drawing salaries of over five million US dollars annually. Athletic scholarship programs, unlike academic scholarship programs, cannot cover more than

11792-703: The most prominent true amateur men's club was probably Queen's Park , the oldest football club in Scotland, founded in 1867 and with a home ground ( Hampden Park ) which is one of UEFA's five-star stadia. They have also won the Scottish Cup more times than any club outside the Old Firm . Amateur football in both genders is now found mainly in small village and Sunday clubs and the Amateur Football Alliance . A peculiar situation took place in

11926-532: The most virtuous of amateur athletes—those for whom fairness and honor in competition is valued above victory or gain. The Corinthian Yacht Club (now the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club , RCYC) was established in Essex in 1872 with "encouragement of Amateur Yacht sailing" as its "primary object". To that end, club rules ensured that crews consisted of amateurs, while "no professional or paid hand

12060-461: The naming of a successor. Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow , who was named interim head of government, won a non-democratic special presidential election held in early February 2007. His appointment as interim president and subsequent run for president violated the constitution. Berdimuhamedow won two additional non-democratic elections, with approximately 97% of the vote in both 2012 and 2017 . His son Serdar Berdimuhamedow won

12194-468: The national championship for provincial teams, does not include players contracted to the country's Super Rugby side, the Jaguares . Alternative sports, using the flying disc, began in the mid-sixties. As numbers of young people became alienated from social norms, they resisted and looked for alternative recreational activities, including that of throwing a Frisbee . What started with a few players, in

12328-447: The national chief of police, Minister of Internal Affairs Isgender Mulikov , was convicted and imprisoned for corruption. In 2020, the deputy prime minister for education and science, Pürli Agamyradow, was dismissed for failure to control bribery in education. The illegal adoption of abandoned babies in Turkmenistan is blamed on rampant corruption in the agencies involved in the legal adoption process which pushes some parents to

12462-477: The new name of the state: Turkmenistan ( Türkmenistan / Түркменистан). A common name for the Turkmen SSR was Turkmenia ( Russian : Туркмения , romanization : Turkmeniya), used in some reports of the country's independence. Historically inhabited by Indo-Iranians , Turkmenistan's written history begins with its annexation by the Achaemenid Empire of Ancient Iran. After centuries of turmoil, over

12596-476: The next half-century, Turkmenistan played its designated economic role within the Soviet Union and remained outside the course of major world events. Even the major liberalization movement that shook Russia in the late 1980s had little impact. However, in 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Turkmenistan declared sovereignty as a nationalist response to perceived exploitation by Moscow . Although Turkmenistan

12730-647: The nominal control of two sedentary Uzbek khanates , Khiva and Bukhoro . Turkmen soldiers were an important element of the Uzbek militaries of this period. In the 19th century, raids and rebellions by the Yomud Turkmen group resulted in that group's dispersal by the Uzbek rulers. In 1855 the Turkmen tribe of Teke led by Gowshut-Khan defeated the invading army of the Khan of Khiva Muhammad Amin Khan and in 1861

12864-646: The only other significant elevations. The Great Balkhan Range rises to 1,880 metres (6,170 ft) at Mount Arlan and the highest summit in Turkmenistan is Ayrybaba in the Kugitangtau Range – 3,137 metres (10,292 ft). The Kopet Dag mountain range forms most of the border between Turkmenistan and Iran. Major rivers include the Amu Darya , the Murghab River , the Tejen River , and

12998-413: The playing arena through separate gates. An anecdote narrated by Fred Root epitomises the difference between amateurs and professionals: In a match against Glamorgan , the batsmen, Arnold Dyson and Eddie Bates , had collided mid-pitch, and the ball was returned to Root, the bowler. Root didn't break the stumps as both batsmen seemed injured. An amateur repeatedly shouted "Break the wicket, Fred, break

13132-741: The post-Soviet era, Turkmenistan has taken a neutral position on almost all international issues. Niyazov eschewed membership in regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation , and in the late 1990s he maintained relations with the Taliban and its chief opponent in Afghanistan , the Northern Alliance . He offered limited support to the military campaign against the Taliban following

13266-616: The process. Rugby has provided one of the most visible and lasting examples of the tension between amateurism and professionalism during the development of nationally organised sports in Britain in the late-19th century. The split in rugby in 1895 between what became rugby league and rugby union arose as a direct result of a dispute over the pretence of a strict enforcement of its amateur status – clubs in Leeds and Bradford were fined after compensating players for missing work, whilst at

13400-574: The professional game with many league players joining union to take a slice of the larger amounts of money available in the sport. Nowadays, while rugby union no longer makes the professional-amateur distinction, the professional-amateur split still exists within rugby league with the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) strictly amateur, though it allows some ex-professionals to play provided they are no longer under contract. The most recent club to get

13534-606: The recent Team Racing Worlds, and the American Team Racing Nationals, most of the sailors competing in the event were amateurs. While many competitive sailors are employed in businesses related to sailing (including sailmaking, naval architecture, boatbuilding and coaching), most are not compensated for their own competitions. In large keelboat racing, such as the Volvo Around the World Race and

13668-668: The reinstatement rule to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics . However, when all of these skaters promptly returned to the pro circuit again, the ISU decided the reinstatement policy was a failure and it was discontinued in 1995. Prize money at ISU competitions was introduced in 1995, paid by the sale of the television rights to those events. In addition to prize money, Olympic-eligible skaters may also earn money through appearance fees at shows and competitions, endorsements, movie and television contracts, coaching, and other "professional" activities, provided that their activities are approved by their national federations. The only activity that

13802-670: The rule was only applied to the NHL and that professionally contracted players in European leagues were still considered amateurs. Murray Costello of the CAHA suggested that a Canadian withdrawal was possible. In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988, but let the individual sport federations decide if they wanted to allow professionals. After

13936-555: The same time the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was allowing other players to be paid. Rugby football, despite its origins in the privileged English public schools , was a popular game throughout England by around 1880, including in the large working-class areas of the industrial north. However, as the then-amateur sport became increasingly popular and competitive, attracting large paying crowds, teams in such areas found it difficult to attract and retain good players. This

14070-494: The semi-final round. The best result of a North Korean club was in the 1990–91 Asian Club Championship, when April 25 reached the semi-finals, losing to Liaoning FC of China; however, April 25 then went on to defeat Pelita Jaya of Indonesia in the third-place match. April 25 represented North Korea in six of the seven seasons in which North Korean teams took part in the Asian Club Championship. The only time

14204-600: The sixties, like Victor Malafronte, Z Weyand and Ken Westerfield experimenting with new ways of throwing and catching a Frisbee , later would become known as playing freestyle . Organized disc sports, in the 1970s, began with promotional efforts from Wham-O and Irwin Toy (Canada), a few tournaments and professionals using Frisbee show tours to perform at universities, fairs and sporting events. Disc sports such as freestyle , double disc court , guts , disc ultimate and disc golf became this sports first events. Two sports,

14338-654: The state to train on a full-time basis. Near the end of the 1960s, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) felt their amateur players could no longer be competitive against the Soviet team's full-time athletes and the other constantly improving European teams. They pushed for the ability to use players from professional leagues but met opposition from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and

14472-607: The state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. All North American university sports are (generally) conducted by amateurs. Even

14606-467: The system say that college athletes can always make use of the education they earn as students if their athletic career doesn't pan out, and that allowing universities to pay college athletes would rapidly lead to deterioration of the already-marginal academic focus of college athletics programs. They also point out that athletic scholarships allow many young men and women who would otherwise be unable to afford to go to college, or would not be accepted, to get

14740-670: The table"), then to accept money for professional activities such as endorsements provided that the payments were made to trust funds rather than to the skaters themselves. In 1992, trust funds were abolished, and the International Skating Union voted both to remove most restrictions on amateurism, and to allow skaters who had previously lost their amateur status to apply for reinstatement of their eligibility. A number of skaters, including Brian Boitano , Katarina Witt , Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean , and Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov , took advantage of

14874-488: The team sport of disc ultimate and disc golf are very popular worldwide and are now being played semi professionally. The World Flying Disc Federation , Professional Disc Golf Association , and the Freestyle Players Association, are the official rules and sanctioning organizations for flying disc sports worldwide. Disc ultimate is a team sport played with a flying disc . The object of

15008-512: The tournament. English first-class cricket distinguished between amateur and professional cricketers until 1963. Teams below Test cricket level in England were normally, except in emergencies such as injuries, captained by amateurs. Notwithstanding this, sometimes there were ways found to give high performing "amateurs", for example W.G. Grace , financial and other compensation such as employment. On English overseas tours, some of which in

15142-467: The trends of arbitrary policy changes, shuffling of top officials, diminishing economic output outside the oil and gas sector, and isolation from regional and world organizations. China was among a very few nations to whom Turkmenistan made significant overtures. The sudden death of Niyazov at the end of 2006 left a complete vacuum of power, as his cult of personality , comparable to the one of eternal president Kim Il Sung of North Korea , had precluded

15276-530: The west, originating in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Winters are mild and dry, with most precipitation falling between January and May. The Kopet Dag Range receives the highest level of precipitation. The Karakum Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world; some places have an average annual precipitation of only 12 mm (0.47 in). The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat

15410-460: The wicket!" until Root said: "If you want to run him out, here's the ball: you come and do it." The amateur responded with the words "Oh, I'm an amateur. I can't do such a thing." After the Second World War the division was increasingly questioned. When Len Hutton was appointed as English national cricket captain in 1952 he remained a professional. In 1962 the division was removed, and all cricket players became known as "cricketers". In Australia

15544-502: The world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas . Most of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert . From 1993 to 2019, citizens received government-provided electricity, water and natural gas free of charge. Turkmenistan is an observer state in the Organisation of Turkic States , the Türksoy community and a member of the United Nations . The name of Turkmenistan ( Turkmen : Türkmenistan ) can be divided into two components:

15678-473: The world's most repressive countries. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny, media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal." According to Reporters Without Borders 's 2014 World Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan had the 3rd worst press freedom conditions in the world (178/180 countries), just before North Korea and Eritrea . It

15812-530: Was a professional and therefore not eligible to play. The IOC held an emergency meeting that ruled NHL-contracted players were eligible, as long as they had not played in any NHL games. This made five players on Olympic rosters—one Austrian, two Italians and two Canadians—ineligible. Players who had played in other professional leagues—such as the World Hockey Association —were allowed to play. Canadian hockey official Alan Eagleson stated that

15946-418: Was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports and monetisation of amateur and collegiate sports, and is now strictly held as an ideal by fewer and fewer organisations governing sports, even as they maintain the word " amateur " in their titles. Modern organized sports developed in

16080-530: Was allowed to become) an amateur in 1938 so that he could captain England. Hammond was an example of "shamateurism", in that he was offered a "job" which paid more than he earned as a professional cricketer to act as a company's representative and play cricket. Amateurs touring abroad could claim more in expenses than professionals were paid. M.J.K. Smith was a well-salaried secretary - and an amateur captain - of Warwickshire County Cricket Club . Trevor Bailey at Essex and Reg Simpson at Nottinghamshire were in

16214-403: Was because physically fit local men needed to both work to earn a wage – limiting the time that they could devote to unpaid sport – and to avoid injuries that might prevent them working in the future. Certain teams faced with these circumstances wanted to pay so-called 'broken time' money to their players to compensate them for missing paid work due to their playing commitments, but this contravened

16348-514: Was extended from four years to five. Berdimuhamedow was succeeded by his son Serdar in 2022 . The politics of Turkmenistan take place in the framework of a presidential republic , with the President both head of state and head of government . Under Niyazov, Turkmenistan had a one-party system ; however, in September 2008, the People's Council unanimously passed a resolution adopting

16482-503: Was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995. Former President Saparmurat Niyazov stated that the neutrality would prevent Turkmenistan from participating in multi-national defense organizations, but allows military assistance. Its neutral foreign policy has an important place in the country's constitution . Turkmenistan has diplomatic relations with 139 countries, some of the most important partners being Afghanistan , Armenia , Iran , Pakistan and Russia . Turkmenistan

16616-426: Was held. The 2016 North Korean champions and runners up, April 25 and Kigwancha respectively, were invited to take part in the 2017 AFC Cup . Both started in the group stage, in the same group; April 25 advanced to the knockout stage, with a +1 goal differential over Kigwancha. April 25 faced Bengaluru FC of India , losing 0:3 on aggregate. The 2017 DPRK League champions and runners up are presently taking part in

16750-485: Was ill-prepared for independence and then- communist leader Saparmurat Niyazov preferred to preserve the Soviet Union, in October 1991, the fragmentation of that entity forced him to call a national referendum that approved independence. On 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Niyazov continued as Turkmenistan's chief of state, replacing communism with a unique brand of independent nationalism reinforced by

16884-412: Was known as non-amateur sports, while others at republican was considered to be amateur sports. The preceding football competitions among cities and regions were phased away. Around the turn of the 20th century, much of sailing was professionals paid by interested idle rich. Today, sailing, especially dinghy sailing, is an example of a sport which is still largely populated by amateurs. For example, in

17018-509: Was made. In response, Canada withdrew from all international ice hockey competitions and officials stated that they would not return until "open competition" was instituted. Günther Sabetzki became president of the IIHF in 1975 and helped to resolve the dispute with the CAHA. In 1976, the IIHF agreed to allow "open competition" between all players in the World Championships. However, NHL players were still not allowed to play in

17152-629: Was once among the biggest cities in the world. It was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road . Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union , the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent after

17286-416: Was originally very limited crossover between the two codes, the most obvious occasions being when top-class rugby union players 'switched codes' to rugby league in order to play professionally. Welsh international Jonathan Davies was a high-profile example of this switch. Since professionalism has been allowed in rugby union the switches have started to come the opposite way. Union has swiftly grown to embrace

17420-612: Was predominant in the rest of England, as well as in Wales and Scotland . Rugby union also had a more affluent reputation, although there are areas - notably in South Wales and in certain English cities such as Gloucester - with a strong working-class rugby union tradition. Discrimination against rugby league players could verge on the petty - former Welsh international Fred Perrett was once excluded in lists of players who died in

17554-481: Was renamed Top Class Football League or Highest Class Football League, but was still held together with the National Championships of other sports, and the other football competitions of the year. This competition was last held in October 2017, after which it was replaced by the current DPR Korea Premier Football League held in the home-and-away round-robin style used in most other countries. As of

17688-424: Was renamed Turkmen Oblast ( Russian : Туркменская область ), and in 1924, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was formed from it. By the late 1930s, Soviet reorganization of agriculture had destroyed what remained of the nomadic lifestyle in Turkmenistan, and Moscow controlled political life. The Ashgabat earthquake of 1948 killed over 110,000 people, amounting to two-thirds of the city's population. During

17822-529: Was the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship , when April 25 SC took part as the previous season's North Korean champions, though they did not advance from the qualifying round. North Korean teams also took part in the 1986 , 1987 , 1988–89 , 1989–90 , 1990–91 and 1991 editions of the Asian Club Championships, with some success; in 1988–89, April 25 finished first in their group in the qualifying round, but did not advance from their group in

17956-507: Was the upper chamber of the National Council of Turkmenistan. Outside observers consider the Turkmen legislature to be a rubber stamp parliament. The 2018 OSCE election observer mission noted, The 25 March elections lacked important prerequisites of a genuinely democratic electoral process. The political environment is only nominally pluralist and does not offer voters political alternatives. Exercise of fundamental freedoms

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