Ailivey, 47, has led the country's NOC since 1997, a year after the country made its Olympic debut in Atlanta having gained its independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

 

He controversially became President of Azerbaijan in 2003, following his father Heydar Aliyev, who stepped down after claiming he was ill.

 

Azerbaijan won seven medals at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year, one gold, two silver and four bronze.

 

The gold medal was won by judo player Elnur Mammadli, who claimed victory in the lightweight category.

 

Aliyev said: “Our sportsmen won seven medals in Beijing Summer Olympic Games,

 

"This is a good result, but the performance of the 2012 London Olympic Games should be much better.

 

"The problems of the kinds of sports, where no medals were won, should be analysed, progress should be achieved in London."

 

Under Aliyev, Azerbaijan's capital Baku was among the cities that bid to stage the 2016 Olympics.

 

But it failed to make the short-list in June and was eliminated along with Doha and Prague as Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo were put through to the next stage.