2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Brisbane then enjoyed a brief purple patch, kicking four goals in seven minutes to take the lead. The first, to Clark Keating in the 16th minute, came from a solid contested mark in the forward pocket; to Daniel Bradshaw in the 19th minute from a 40m set shot; to Akermanis in the 21st minute, with a snap shot from the boundary line after a boundary throw-in; and finally to Tim Notting in the 22nd minute after he roved a goal square marking contest. Toby Thurstans (Port Adelaide) kicked a steadying goal from a coast-to-coast play in the 26th minute, and Brisbane led the game by one point at half time, Brisbane 6.7 (43) led Port Adelaide 6.6 (42).


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
In an even start to the third quarter, Thurstans kicked his second goal in the 2nd minute of the third quarter to regain the lead for Port Adelaide, before Notting kicked two goals on the run in two minutes to regain a six point lead for Brisbane. Pickett kicked his third goal in the 8th minute after winning a high tackle free kick at centre half-forward; and Daniel Bradshaw kicked another for Brisbane in the 10th minute from a 45m set shot to restore Brisbane's six point lead. The two teams then settled into a tight arm wrestle, each kicking one behind over the following ten minutes.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Then, Port Adelaide enjoyed a strong end to the quarter, kicking four goals in the final ten minutes of the quarter to open up a three goal lead. Josh Mahoney kicked the first in the 22nd minute after marking 30m from goal; Gavin Wanganeen kicked the second in the 25th minute with a mark from the same position; Shaun Burgoyne kicked the third in the 28th minute after roving a ruck contest in the forward pocket; and Wanganeen kicked the fourth in the 30th minute on the run after marking in the forward pocket. Brisbane had one chance in the final minute, Akermanis missing a snap shot from the pocket, and Port Adelaide led by 17 points at three-quarter time, Port Adelaide 12.8 (80) led Brisbane 9.9 (63).


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Mahoney having a very good quarter. Will it carry over the top – For Wanganeen! To put them three goals in front!


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
They are the winningest team in Australia. The old Port Adelaide have won 36 [SANFL] premierships. Today at the MCG may just be their finest hour.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Tim Lane calling the last goal of the third quarter on Network Ten.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
In the critical opening of the final quarter, Port Adelaide struck quickly, Gavin Wanganeen roving at full forward after Shaun Burgoyne created a turnover to kick his third goal in the second minute; and then Wanganeen again in the sixth minute to kick his fourth goal from 45m in general play. At this stage, Port Adelaide led by 29 points, having kicked six goals – four by Wanganeen – inside fifteen minutes either side of three quarter time. It was a premiership-winning burst against which Brisbane could not recover.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Bradshaw kicked a goal in the 9th minute from a turnover to bring the margin back to 22 points, but after Thurstans kicked his third goal in the 13th minute, any Brisbane resistance ended. Port Adelaide kicked two more goals – to Stuart Dew in the 23rd minute and Adam Kingsley in the 25th minute – eventually winning by a comfortable 40 points, Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) d. Brisbane 10.13 (73).


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Post match
Following the match, Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams was quite animated, his celebrations including a speech on the dais in which he uttered the now-famous words "Allan Scott – you were wrong! ", in reference to a comment made by Scott (a sponsor of the Port Adelaide Football Club), earlier in the 2004 season, that the club could not win a premiership under the coaching of Williams.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Post match
Williams also made a mock choking gesture by holding his tie above his head like a noose as he stepped onto the arena, a reference to the breaking of Port Adelaide's reputation as "chokers" – which had been acquired after having losing in the previous two finals series, despite dominating the home and away seasons in those years.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
Byron Pickett, a premiership winning defender with North Melbourne in 1999, turned into a match-winning on-baller for the Power, and capped his day with being awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield. His match statistics were: 19 kicks, 1 handball, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 3 goals and 2 behinds.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Tribunal
Alistair Lynch was reported several times for his fight with Darryl Wakelin, and was ultimately suspended for 10 weeks and fined $15,000 – although, as he retired after the game, he did not end up serving the suspension. Lynch later noted that he mentally snapped after having injured his quad early in the game triggered, and that his poor spectacle remains one of his greatest career regrets.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Tribunal
Additionally, Jonathan Brown was suspended for five matches and fined $3000 for striking and wrestling with Josh Carr, Simon Black was suspended for a total of three matches on two separate striking charges, Darryl Wakelin was fined $5000 for wrestling with Lynch, and Josh Carr was fined $2400 for wrestling Brown.


2004 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Tribunal
Following this game, the AFL introduced doubled tribunal penalties for indiscretions in the grand final, in an attempt to protect the spectacle of the grand final to its global audience. As of 2020, the 2004 incidents remain the last major grand final brawls.


2004 AFL Rising Star
The National AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a stand out young player in the Australian Football League. The 2004 medal was won by Melbourne player Jared Rivers.


2004 AFL Rising Star, Eligibility
Every round, an Australian Football League rising star nomination is given to a stand out young player. To be eligible for the award, a player must be under 21 on 1 January of that year, have played 10 or fewer senior games and not been suspended during the season. At the end of the year, one of the 22 nominees is the winner of award.


2004 AFL Under 18 Championships
The 2004 National AFL Under 18 Championships was the ninth edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships. Eight teams competed in the championships: Vic Metro, Vic Country, South Australia and Western Australia in Division 1, and New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory (NSW/ACT), Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania in Division 2. The competition was played over three rounds across two divisions. Vic Metro and the Northern Territory were the Division 1 and Division 2 champions, respectively. The Michael Larke Medal (for the best player in Division 1) was awarded to Victoria Metro's Jesse W. Smith, and the Hunter Harrison Medal (for the best player in Division 2) was won by the Northern Territory's Richard Tambling.


2004 AFL Under 18 Championships, Results, Division 2
NSW/ACT defeated Queensland by 4 points while NT beat Tasmania.


2004 AFL Under 18 Championships, Results, Division 2
NT defeated Queensland by 3 goals while Tasmania defeated NSW/ACT by 11 points.


2004 AFL Under 18 Championships, Under 18 All-Australian team
The 2004 Under 18 All-Australian team was named on 11 July 2004:


2004 AFL Under 18 Championships, Under 18 All-Australian team
New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory: Edward ClarkeNorthern Territory: Richard TamblingQueensland: Will HamillSouth Australia: Ben Eckermann, Ryan Griffen, Heath Grundy, Scott McMahon, Angus Monfries, Cameron WoodTasmania: Justin ShermanVictoria Country: Brett Deledio, Marcus Drum, Ruory Kirkby, Jordan Lewis, Dean PoloVictoria Metropolitan: Jayden Attard, Jarred Moore, Ben Sharp, Jesse W. SmithWestern Australia: Mark Le Cras, Mitchell Morton, Alan Toovey


2004 AFL Women's National Championships
The 2004 AFL Women's National Championships took place in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The tournament began on 19 June and ended on 24 June 2004. The 2004 tournament was the 13th Championship. The Senior-vics of Victoria won the 2004 Championship, defeating the U19-vics of Victoria in the final. It was Victoria's 13th consecutive title.


2004 AFL draft
The 2004 AFL draft, concerning player acquisitions in the 2004/05 Australian Football League off-season, consisted of a trade period, a national draft, a pre-season draft, and the elevation of rookies. The AFL draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.


2004 AFL draft
In 2004 there were 78 picks to be drafted between 16 teams in the national draft. Richmond received the first pick in the national draft after finishing on the bottom of the ladder during the 2004 AFL season. Three teams were allocated priority draft picks for winning 5 or less games in the previous season, Richmond, Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs. Carlton's two-year ban from the first and second rounds of the AFL draft expired in 2004 and they returned to the early part of the draft, with selections 9 and 25. As it had traded away its first and second round draft picks in 2001, effectively the Blues' first and second round draft picks were its first since 2000. They finished the 2004 season 11th with 10 wins and 12 losses, too high to be eligible for a priority draft pick.


2004 AFL draft, Rookie elevation
In alphabetical order of professional clubs. This list contains 2004-listed rookies who were elevated in the off-season; it does not detail the rookie draft which took place in the 2004/05 off-season.


2004 AFL season
The 2004 Australian Football League season was the 108th season of the elite Australian rules football competition and the 15th under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989.


2004 AFL season
See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.


2004 AFL season, Wizard Home Loans Cup
The Wizard Home Loans Cup Final saw St Kilda defeat Geelong 1.14.5 (98) to 1.10.7 (76) in front of a crowd of 50,533.


2004 AFL season, Match attendance
Total match attendance for all games was 5,915,407. Attendance at the grand final was 77,671. The largest non-finals attendance was 60,898 people for the Collingwood v Carlton game in round 22.


2004 AFL season, Match attendance
Attendances during the season were affected by the ongoing reconstruction of the Ponsford, Olympic and Melbourne Cricket Club stands at the MCG to be ready for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo in Japan. The men's tournament was part of the International Series Gold of the 2004 ATP Tour and the women's tournament was part of the Tier III category of the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the 31st edition of the event and was held from 4 October through 10 October 2004. Jiří Novák and Maria Sharapova won the singles titles.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Jared Palmer /  Pavel Vízner defeated  Jiří Novák /  Petr Pála 5–1 ret.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, Finals, Women's Doubles
Shinobu Asagoe /  Katarina Srebotnik defeated  Jennifer Hopkins /  Mashona Washington 6–1, 6–4


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Justin Gimelstob and Nicolas Kiefer were the defending champions, but Kiefer did not compete this year. Gimelstob teamed up with Ashley Fisher and lost in quarterfinals to Yves Allegro and Michael Kohlmann.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Jared Palmer and Pavel Vízner won the title by defeating Jiří Novák and Petr Pála. Palmer and Vízner were leading 5–1 in the first set until Novák was forced to retire due to a rib injury.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
Rainer Schüttler was the defending champion, but did not participate.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles
Maria Sharapova and Tamarine Tanasugarn were the defending champions, but decided to focus on the singles tournament only. Sharapova would eventually win the title.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles
Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik won the title by defeating Jennifer Hopkins and Mashona Washington 6–1, 6–4 in the final.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion and successfully defender her title, by defeating Mashona Washington 6–0, 6–1 in the final.


2004 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
The first two seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 AIHL season
The 2004 AIHL season was the fifth season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 1 May 2004 until 29 August 2004, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 4 and 5 September 2004. The Newcastle North Stars won the V.I.P. Cup after finishing the regular season first in the league standings. The Western Sydney Ice Dogs won the Goodall Cup for the first time by defeating the Newcastle North Stars in the final.


2004 AIHL season, Regular season
The regular season began on 1 May 2004 and ran through to 29 August 2004 before the top four teams advanced to compete in the Goodall Cup playoff series.


2004 AIHL season, Regular season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals. Current as of 5 September 2004


2004 AIHL season, Regular season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum 40% of the team's ice time. Current as of 5 September 2004


2004 AIHL season, Goodall Cup playoffs
The 2004 playoffs was scheduled for 4 September with the Goodall Cup final held on 5 September 2004. Following the end of the regular season the top four teams advanced to the playoff series which was held at the Erina Ice Arena in the Central Coast, New South Wales region. The series was a single game elimination with the two winning semi-finalists advancing to the Goodall Cup final. The Goodall Cup was won by Western Sydney Ice Dogs (1st title) who defeated the Newcastle North Stars 3–1 in the final.


2004 AMA National Speedway Championship
The 2004 AMA National Speedway Championship Series was staged over three rounds, which were held at Auburn (August 6), Victorville (August 7) and Auburn (September 24). Greg Hancock won the title for a fifth time, and for the second time in succession.


2004 AMA National Speedway Championship, Event format
Over the course of 20 heats, each rider raced against every other rider once. The field was then split into sections of four riders, with the top four entering the 'A' Final. Points were then awarded depending on where a rider finished in each final. The points in the 'A' Final were awarded thus, 20, 18, 16 and 14. Bonus points for were also awarded.


2004 AMA Superbike Championship
The 2004 AMA Superbike Championship is the 29th season of the AMA Superbike Championship


2004 ANAPROF
ANAPROF 2004 is the 2004 season of the Panamanian football league, ANAPROF. The season started on February 13, 2004, with the Torneo Apertura Bellsouth 2004 and finalized on November 7, 2004, with the Torneo Clausura Bellsouth 2004. Both the Apertura and Clausura champion was Arabe Unido, therefore, for the third time in ANAPROF history, Arabe Unido were crowned ANAPROF 2004 champions without the need to play a grand final.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge
The 2004 Women's ANZ Hockey Challenge was a women's field hockey event, comprising two four–nations tournaments. It was held in Darwin and Townsville, from 16 to 27 June 2004.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge
Australia won both tournaments, defeating New Zealand and Japan in the respective finals.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge, Competition format
The tournament featured the national teams of Australia, Japan and New Zealand, as well as a team from the Australian Institute of Sport. The teams competed in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other twice. Three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge, Statistics, Final standings
As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge, Statistics, Goalscorers
* Note: the following goalscorers list comprises players from both tournaments.


2004 ANZ Women's Hockey Challenge, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 67 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 4.19 goals per match.


2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open
The 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open was a Tier 4 women's professional tennis tournament on the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 16 through 21 February 2004. Nicole Pratt won the singles title.


2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open – Doubles
Elena Likhovtseva and Iroda Tulyaganova were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year. In the final, wildcards Liezel Huber and Sania Mirza defeated 3rd seeds Li Ting and Sun Tiantian 7–6(7–1), 6–4 to win their title.


2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open – Singles
Tamarine Tanasugarn was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko.


2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open – Singles
In the final, Nicole Pratt defeated Kirilenko 7–6(7–3), 6–1 to win her title.


2004 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The 2004 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship was the 19th edition of the tournament, de facto the last complete edition, due to the problems of the 20th edition, scheduled for 2006, but completed only in 2007.


2004 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The tournament was played at Hong Kong, and won by Japan.


2004 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The team were divided in three divisions, according to the results of 2003-2004 ARFU Asian Rugby Series


2004 ASB Classic
The 2004 ASB Classic was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand that was part of Tier IV of the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the 19th edition of the tournament and took place from 5 January until 10 January 2004. Third-seeded Eleni Daniilidou won her second consecutive singles title at the event and earned $22,000 first-prize money.


2004 ASB Classic – Doubles
Teryn Ashley and Abigail Spears were the defending champions, but Spears decided to compete in Gold Coast at the same week. Ashley teamed up with Shenay Perry and lost in first round to Iveta Benešová and Renata Voráčová.


2004 ASB Classic – Doubles
Mervana Jugić-Salkić and Jelena Kostanić won the title by defeating Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–1 in the final.


2004 ASB Classic – Singles
Eleni Daniilidou was the defending champion and successfully defended her title, by defeating Ashley Harkleroad 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2004 ASP World Tour
The ASP World Tour is a professional competitive surfing league. It is run by the Association of Surfing Professionals.


2004 ATP Buenos Aires
The 2004 ATP Buenos Aires was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina and was part of the International Series of the 2004 ATP Tour. It was the 32nd edition of the tournament and was held from 16 February through 22 February 2004. First-seeded Guillermo Coria won the singles title.


2004 ATP Buenos Aires, Finals, Doubles
Lucas Arnold /  Mariano Hood defeated  Federico Browne /  Diego Veronelli 7–5, 6–7(2–7), 6–4


2004 ATP Buenos Aires – Doubles
Mariano Hood and Sebastián Prieto were the defending champions but they competed with different partners that year, Hood with Lucas Arnold and Prieto with Martín García.


2004 ATP Buenos Aires – Doubles
García and Prieto lost in the first round to Juan Ignacio Chela and Nicolás Massú.


2004 ATP Buenos Aires – Doubles
Arnold and Hood won in the final 7–5, 6–7(2–7), 6–4 against Federico Browne and Diego Veronelli.


2004 ATP Buenos Aires – Singles
Carlos Moyá was the defending champion but lost in the final 6–4, 6–1 against Guillermo Coria.


2004 ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Series is the second tier tour for professional tennis organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The 2004 ATP Challenger Series calendar comprised 146 tournaments, with prize money ranging from $25,000 up to $150,000.


2004 ATP Masters Series
The table below shows the 2004 ATP Masters Series schedule.


2004 ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series are part of the elite tour for professional men's tennis organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals.


2004 ATP Tour
The 2004 ATP Tour was the global elite men's professional tennis circuit organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2004 tennis season. The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organised by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.


2004 ATP Tour, Statistical information
Players and titles won (Grand Slam, Masters Cup, and Olympic titles in bold), listed in order of number of titles:


2004 ATP Tour, Entry rankings, Singles
Roger Federer was the ATP Race Champion, finishing the 2004 season as the world number 1 with 6,335 total points.


2004 ATP Tour, Retirements
Following is a list of notable players (winners of a main tour title, and/or part of the ATP Rankings top 100 (singles) or top 50 (doubles) for at least one week) who announced their retirement from professional tennis, became inactive (after not playing for more than 52 weeks), or were permanently banned from playing, during the 2004 season:


2004 Abierto Mexicano Telefonica Movistar – Men's Doubles
Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


2004 Abierto Mexicano Telefonica Movistar – Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 6–2, 6–3 against Juan Ignacio Chela and Nicolás Massú.


2004 Abierto Mexicano Telefonica Movistar – Men's Singles
Agustín Calleri was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Luis Horna.


2004 Abierto Mexicano Telefonica Movistar – Men's Singles
Carlos Moyá won in the final 6–3, 6–0 against Fernando Verdasco.


2004 Abierto Mexicano Telefonica Movistar – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar
The 2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the men's tournament (4th for the women) of the event known that year as the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2004 ATP Tour, and of the Tier III Series of the 2004 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess in Acapulco, Mexico, from March 1 through March 7, 2004.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar, Finals, Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated   Juan Ignacio Chela /  Nicolás Massú 6–2, 6–3


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar, Finals, Women's Doubles
Lisa McShea /  Milagros Sequera defeated  Olga Blahotová /  Gabriela Navrátilová 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar – Women's Doubles
Émilie Loit and Åsa Svensson were the defending champions, but had different outcomes. While Svensson did not compete this year, Loit teamed up with Marion Bartoli and reached the semifinals before losing to Olga Blahotová and Gabriela Navrátilová.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar – Women's Doubles
Lisa McShea and Milagros Sequera won the title, by defeating Blahotová and Navrátilová 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 in the final. It was the 2nd title for McShea and the 1st title for Sequera in their respective doubles careers. It was also the 1st title for the pair during this season.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar – Women's Singles
Amanda Coetzer was the defending champion, but lost in second round to Marta Marrero.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar – Women's Singles
Qualifier Iveta Benešová won the title by defeating Flavia Pennetta 7–6(7–5), 6–4 in the final. It was her first singles title of her career.


2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar – Women's Singles, Seeds
The first two seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Abkhazian local elections
On 13 March 2004, Abkhazia held local elections for the 3rd convocations of its local assemblies, coinciding with early voting for the Russian presidential election of the following day. On 18 February, the People's Assembly rejected a proposal by President Vladislav Ardzinba to postpone the elections to coincide with the October 2004 presidential election, because all the necessary preparations had already been made.


2004 Abkhazian local elections
In total, 243 candidates competed for 173 seats. In Sukhumi, 40 candidates competed for sixteen seats, most of whom were under thirty years old. In the Gagra district, 42 candidates were nominated, of whom 32 were registered, including six women, contesting 25 seats. In the Ochamchira District, 38 candidates were registered, including five women and sixteen incumbents. In the Gudauta District, 40 candidates were registered, including four women, contesting 29 seats. In the Gali District, 41 candidates were nominated.


2004 Abkhazian local elections
158 out of 173 elections were decided in the first round. In Sukhumi, only six out of sixteen candidates were elected in the first round. Five elections required a second round while four elections had to be repeated. In Gudauta District, all but one of the 29 elections were decided in the first round. In Sukhumi District, all thirteen elections were decided in the first round.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004, the first that were competitive. Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba, who also enjoyed support from the Russian authorities. Khadjimba's main opponent was Sergei Bagapsh, who was supported by the two major opposition parties, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara, and later also by Aitaira when their candidate Alexander Ankvab was barred from running in a controversial decision by the Central Election Commission.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election
Bagapsh won in the first round with just over 50% of the vote. However, the results of the elections were heavily contested, with Khadjimba claiming that he had received the most votes and that a run-off was necessary. The Central Election Commission issued several conflicting rulings and the stand-off lasted for two months until on 5 December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba agreed to share power as President and Vice President respectively.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Background
On 14 July, during a session to which also Vice President Valery Arshba, Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, the cabinet and the general public were invited, the Parliament set the date for the elections to be 3 October 2004.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Background
At the time of the elections, the Republican Party "Apsny" was the main pro-governmental party, and there were four active opposition movements, Aitaira, United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara and the People's Party.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates
Prospective candidates had to be nominated by an interest group, a socio-political group or a political party between 4 and 23 August 2004. The nominees then had time until 18:00 local time on 23 August to register their candidacy with the Central Election Commission by submitting the required papers, and at least 2000 (but not more than 2500) signatures supporting their candidacy. In order for their candidacy to be accepted, nominees had to pass an Abkhaz language test, and to satisfy a residency requirement – they had to have lived in Abkhazia for the last 5 years before the election date.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates
A total of nine people were nominated, of which seven registered their candidacy. On 2 September the Central Election Commission announced that the registration of six candidates had been approved., but 3 September one candidate withdrew. The five candidates that participated in the elections are, in order of nomination:


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates
There was one candidate whose registration was accepted but who decided not to run anyway:


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates
There were two nominees who did not register their candidacy:


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Raul Khajimba, government candidate
Outgoing president Vladislav Ardzinba was by law prohibited from running for a third term, and his health would not have allowed him to either. Instead, the government's candidate for the presidential election was outgoing Prime Minister Khajimba. On 18 August, Ardzinba said in an interview with Respublika Abkhazia that Khajimba was the person most qualified to succeed him, and he appealed to all voters to vote for him. Khajimba also received the support of the Russian authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin had worked for the KGB like Khajimba, and posters of the two together were hanging everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Kobzon, both a deputy and a popular songster, came to Abkhazia campaigning for Khajimba.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Raul Khajimba, government candidate
On 11 August, the Republican Party "Apsny", which supported Khadjimba's nomination, issued a statement in which it warned that Georgia might try to influence the elections.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara unite to nominate Sergei Bagapsh
United Abkhazia planned to present former Prime Minister Sergei Bagapsh and former Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba as presidential and vice presidential candidates, with the order still to be determined, and former mayor of Sukhumi Nodar Khashba was to become prime minister. At the same time, there were some in Amtsakhara who wanted to field former Prime Minister Anri Jergenia as presidential candidate. However, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara then decided to enter into a political alliance.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara unite to nominate Sergei Bagapsh
In an interview with the newspaper Amtsakhara in July, Sergei Bagapsh said that the murder of Garri Aiba had been one of the factors that brought them together. On 20 June, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara announced that Sergei Bagapsh would be their presidential candidate, and Stanislav Lakoba their vice presidential candidate.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara unite to nominate Sergei Bagapsh
Shamba and Jergenia, who had thus lost out, both decided to run for President independently. Nodar Khashba was also nominated by an initiative group, but he did not register his candidacy, stating that he had been nominated without being consulted and that his registration would not stand a chance as he failed the five-year residency requirement.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
The presidential candidate for Aitaira was former Minister for Internal Affairs Alexander Ankvab. Ankvab refused to undergo the written Abkhaz language test mandated by law, on the grounds that the constitution did not provide for this.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
On 28 August, head of State Security Service Mikhail Tarba said that Aitaira chairman Leonid Lakerbaia had breached the law by calling for an overthrow of power if necessary. In turn, Lakerbaia denied having made the statement and declared that he would initiate a defamation action against Tarba.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
On 2 September, the central election commission announced that it rejected the registration of Aitaira's candidate Alexander Ankvab on the grounds that he had not lived the whole past five years in Abkhazia and that his proficiency in the Abkhaz language could not be established completely. On 3 September Aitaira petitioned the Central Election Commission to reverse this decision, and it appealed the Supreme Court to overrule the Central Election Commission. It contested that Ankvab was perfectly fluent in Abkhaz, but that the written language test contravened the constitution. Furthermore, Aitaira put forward that Ankvab had indeed resided in Abkhazia during the last five years, as demonstrated by Abkhazian documents and witnesses, but that the CEC had ignored these basing its decision solely on Russian documents showing that Ankvab also paid taxes there.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
On 9 September, Aitaira convened an extraordinary congress to discuss the matter, where it was suggested the party might support Sergei Bagapsh should the Supreme Court not rule in its favour. Among the guests who addressed the congress were Sergei Bagapsh, acting Prime Minister Astamur Tarba, chairman of the Central Election Commission Sergei Smyr and Chairman of the Language Commission Aleksei Kaslandzia.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
On 10 September The Supreme Court upheld the Central Election Commission's decision to bar Alexander Ankvab from the presidential elections. The court agreed with Ankvab and Aitaira that the CEC had failed to demonstrate that Ankvab had failed the residence requirements, but it also ruled that the CEC had been right to exclude Ankvab on the grounds that he had not taken the written language test. Even if this test went against the constitution, the law being the law Ankvab should have complied with it.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
During the proceedings, Chairman of the Language Commission Aleksei Kaslandzia testified that Ankvab did in fact have an excellent command of Abkhaz. He had spoken with the Commission's members in Abkhaz for 2 hours and 5 minutes, where just over half an hour is normal. He had not read the provided reading material, but had at one point started to read from and discuss the newspaper Respublika Abkhazia, which Kaslandzia judged to be of a far higher difficulty.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
In fact, the initial protocol prepared by the Language Commission had stated that Ankvab's command of the Abkhaz language was excellent, but this protocol had mysteriously disappeared. Chairman of the CEC Sergei Smyr had then insisted that the second draft of the protocol should state that Ankvab's proficiency could not be established, because he had not been fully tested. Language Commission chairman Aleksei Kaslandzia testified that Smyr had gone so far as to threaten him with litigation should he not comply.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Exclusion of Alexander Ankvab
After the ruling by the Supreme Court, Aitaira entered into an election alliance with United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, supporting Sergei Bagapsh and Stanislav Lakoba, with the agreement that Alexander Ankvab would become Prime Minister should the bid be successful, the position originally projected for Nodar Khashba.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Other candidates
The People's Party of Abkhazia put forward Iakub Lakoba as their presidential candidate. The decision during the Party's sixth extraordinary congress on 18 August to officially nominate Lakoba was not unanimous:  the Gagra and Gudauta branches thought it wiser to support Alexander Ankvab's nomination.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Other candidates
Vice President Valery Arshba ran independently for president, with Vice Speaker of Parliament Alexander Stranichkin as running mate. On 31 August, in his capacity of vice president, Arshba called on local authorities to uphold election law and enable fair elections. Arshba's registration was accepted, but a day later, on 3 December he announced that he withdrew from the race.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
Candidates could officially begin their election campaign after their registration had been accepted on 2 September. 18 August, a round table conference organised by Apsnypress and the Sukhum Media Club had adopted a set of ethical principals by journalists during the elections. On 31 August, as demanded by the Abkhazian constitution since Khajimba was participating in the elections, his premiership was temporarily suspended by President Ardzinba, his duties to be performed by first Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba .


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
Corresponding to election law, each candidate received five bits of free air time on national television, of which four live and one prerecorded. The broadcasting slots of these items was determined by lot by the Central Election Commission.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
On 17 September, the People's Assembly invited the Russian Club for Promoting Political Participation of Voters to observe the upcoming elections.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
On 23 September, the Union of Volunteers from Kabardino-Balkaria expressed its support for Khajimba.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
On 1 October, the five presidential candidates debated live on national television, and they agreed not to campaign the following day, the day before the elections.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
Election law forbade candidates to campaign on 3 October, the day of the presidential elections. The 190 polling stations opened 8:00 local time. In the afternoon Chief of the Central Election Commission Sergei Smyr announced that more than 120,000 voters had been registered and that by 13:00, more than 40% had voted. Head of the Gali district administration Yuri Kvekveskiri announced that there were no more than 15,000 voters in the Gali district.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
Head of the Club for Promoting Political Participation of Voters Nikolai Timakov declared in a press conference that elections had in general been organised well, and that the minor violations witnessed would not affect the outcome of the elections. Timakov reported that in the polling stations inspected by the club, members of the law enforcement agencies ensured the safety of voters and that voter lists as well as excerpts from the election law and posters of all the candidates had been attached to the walls.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Results
According to the official results, Bagapsh received 50.08% of all votes cast (including invalid votes), narrowly crossing the 50% threshold required to avoid a second round.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath
On 12 October Abkhazia's Supreme Court, after a series of contradictory decisions by the Electoral Committee, recognized that the new president would be businessman Sergei Bagapsh, accused by his rival's supporters of being pro-Georgian. (Georgia doesn't recognize any separatist candidates or even the elections). Abkhazia's outgoing President Ardzinba claimed the decision was illegal and made under pressure from supporters of Bagapsh. The decision was cancelled by the Supreme Court the night of the same day. When supporters of Raul Khadjimba seized the building of the Supreme Court and destroyed the protocols from local electoral constituencies new elections were prescribed.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath
Soon the Supreme Court cancelled the later decision, and again named Bagapsh the new president. His supporters captured a local TV station, while Raul Khadjimba's supporters took control over the parliament's building. Outgoing president Ardzinba replaced Raul Khadjimba as a prime-minister with Nodar Khashba, who, before this appointment served in the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
On 11 November, both Bagapsh and Khajimba met for around three hours with Ardzinba. According to Daur Tarba, member of Bagapsh's election team, Ardzinba initially agreed with Khajimba that the elections should be held again, but changed his mind when Bagapsh offered Khajimba "a very high post" in his future government.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
On Friday 12 November, around 10,000 supporters of Sergei Bagapsh gathered on Freedom Square, and around 500 supporters of Raul Khajimba gathered next to the Presidential building. During the day, Bagapsh and Khajimba met twice, first in the Galereya café and at 3pm again for about ten minutes. After the second meeting, Bagapsh told his supporters that no compromise had been reached but that dialogue would continue. Following this, his supporters expressed their dissatisfaction about the lack of progress, the crowd broke up into two parts that then moved towards the Presidential building.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
The supporters of Khajimba present at the site, moved back and some brawls broke out. In the meantime, Khajimba and Prime Minister Khashba left the building through the back door. As Bagapsh's supporters moved into the building, they encountered guards who fired warning shots into the air. The ricochets injured two of Bagapsh's supporters and mortally wounded the 78 years old Tamara Shakryl, an academic and human rights campaigner who supported Khajimba. She died in hospital 3 hours later, her relatives blamed Prime Minister Khashba for her death.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
First Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba then ordered the guards and special forces nearby to stand down, which left the Presidential building under control of Bagapsh's supporters. After a short celebration with liquor found inside the building, most of them left again, leaving just guards at the offices. At 5pm, Bagapsh arrived in the palace accompanied by Khajimba, and the two held a half-hour meeting in the Prime Minister's office. After the meeting, Khajimba left and Bagapsh addressed his supporters, stating:


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
"We are one people and we will make a common front against all our enemies. We are not planning to pursue anyone. Enough shake-ups. Raul Khajimba is my younger friend, he is my younger brother, and we will work together."


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
Afterwards, control over the Presidential building was handed over to the police, as Bagapsh's supporters retreated to the surrounding area which they continued to guard with a few dozen people.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
The taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters split government's opinions. President Ardzinba and Prime Minister Khashba condemned it as "an armed coup", and Khashba refused to enter the building on Monday 15 November in protest of the continued presence of armed supporters of Bagapsh.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
The actions were also condemned by Alexander Yakovenko, spokesman for the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, who described them as "an attempt at forcefully seizing power by the supporters of one presidential candidate", denouncing it as "illegal, forceful actions" and warning that it threatened the stability in Abkhazia and across the region as a whole. In contrast, more than half of government staff did show up for work 15 November, among whom Vice President Valery Arshba. Leader of Aitaira Leonid Lakerbaia denied that a coup had taken place – no one had seized power, since Bagapsh had been elected President, confirmed by both the Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
On 5 December the presidential candidates Sergei Bagapsh and Raul Khadjimba agreed to hold new elections. In these elections they would run on a joint ticket, with Khadjimba as vice presidential candidate. The new elections were won by Bagapsh.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters
These elections were not recognized by any State and International Organizations.


2004 Abkhazian presidential election, Aftermath, Long-term consequences
On 2 June 2005, United Abkhazia held its third party conference. The socio-political movement decided to revoke the memberships of Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba, who had founded and become head of the Social-Democratic Party of Abkhazia, of former Prime Minister Nodar Khashba, of former Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khilchevsky and of member of Parliament Albert Kapikian.


2004 Acropolis Rally
The 2004 Acropolis Rally (formally the 51st Acropolis Rally of Greece) was the sixth round of the 2004 World Rally Championship. The race was held over four days between 3 and 6 June 2004, and was won by Subaru's Petter Solberg, his 7th win in the win in the World Rally Championship.


2004 Acura Classic
The 2004 Acura Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in San Diego, California, in the United States. It was part of Tier I of the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the 26th edition of the tournament was held from July 25 through August 1, 2004. Fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport won the singles title and earned $189,000 first-prize money.


2004 Acura Classic, Finals, Doubles
Cara Black /  Rennae Stubbs defeated  Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez 4–6, 6–1, 6–4


2004 Acura Classic – Doubles
Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama were the defending champions, but Clijsters chose not to participate, and only Sugiyama competed that year. Sugiyama partnered with Shinobu Asagoe, but lost in the first round to Amélie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce.


2004 Acura Classic – Doubles
Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs won in the final 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, against Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez.


2004 Acura Classic – Doubles, Seeds
All eight seeded pairs received a bye to the second round. Text in italics indicates the round those seeds were eliminated, while champion seeds are indicated in bold.


2004 Acura Classic – Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but withdrew due to a virus.


2004 Acura Classic – Singles
Lindsay Davenport won the title, defeating Anastasia Myskina 6–1, 6–1 in the final.


2004 Acura Classic – Singles, Seeds
The first eight seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Acıbadem bombing
On 20 May 2004, a car bomb detonated in Acıbadem, Turkey, in the car park of a McDonald's restaurant. No casualties were reported and numerous parked cars were seriously damaged by the explosion. The police, who was informed about a bomb 15 minutes before the attack, evacuated the restaurant and took intense security measures, preventing the loss of life.


2004 Acıbadem bombing
8 people with connections to the attack were arrested in the week after the attack. After judicial process, it was revealed that they were TİKKO members. It was determined that the individuals were involved in the bombing, as well as an incident that resulted in the killing of 2 soldiers in Tokat.


2004 Adidas International
The 2004 Adidas International was a combine men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the NSW Tennis Centre in Sydney in Australia that was part of the International Series of the 2004 ATP Tour and of Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour. The tournament ran from 11 through 18 January 2004. Lleyton Hewitt and Justine Henin-Hardenne won the singles titles.


2004 Adidas International, Finals, Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman /  Todd Woodbridge defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan 7–6(7–3), 7–5


2004 Adidas International, Finals, Women's Doubles
Cara Black /  Rennae Stubbs defeated  Dinara Safina /  Meghann Shaughnessy 7–5, 3–6, 6–4


2004 Adidas International – Men's Doubles
Paul Hanley and Nathan Healey were the defending champions but they competed with different partners that year, Hanley with Wayne Arthurs and Healey with Jordan Kerr.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Doubles
Healey and Kerr lost in the first round to Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Doubles
Arthurs and Hanley lost in the quarterfinals to Yves Allegro and Rainer Schüttler.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge won in the final 7–6 (7–3), 7–5 against the Bryans.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Singles
Hyung-Taik Lee was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Singles
Lleyton Hewitt won the final 4–3 after Carlos Moyá was forced to retire.


2004 Adidas International – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2004 Adidas International – Women's Doubles
Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama were the defending champions, but Clijsters withdrew from the tournament due to a left ankle injury. Sugiyama teamed up with Liezel Huber and lost in the quarterfinals to Dinara Safina and Meghann Shaughnessy.


2004 Adidas International – Women's Doubles
Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs won the title by defeating Dinara Safina and Meghann Shaughnessy 7–5, 3–6, 6–4 in the final.


2004 Adidas International – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but was forced to withdraw due to a left ankle injury.


2004 Adidas International – Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne won the title by defeating Amélie Mauresmo 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


2004 Adidas International – Women's Singles, Seeds
The first four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Adjara crisis
The Adjara crisis was a political crisis in Georgia's Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President Eduard Shevardnadze's ousting during the Rose Revolution of November 2003. The crisis threatened to develop into military confrontation as both sides mobilized their forces at the internal border. However, Georgia's post-revolutionary government of President Mikheil Saakashvili managed to avoid bloodshed and with the help of Adjaran opposition reasserted its supremacy. Abashidze left the region in exile in May 2004 and was succeeded by Levan Varshalomidze.


2004 Adjara crisis, Tensions
Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze, being in strong opposition to the Rose Revolution, declared a state of emergency immediately after Eduard Shevardnadze's ousting on November 23, 2003. Following negotiations with central authorities, the state of emergency was temporarily canceled on January 3, 2004, just one day before the presidential election. The state of emergency was renewed on January 7 and was followed by the crackdown of an oppositional demonstration. On January 19, dozens were injured as a result of clashes between protesters and police in the southern Adjaran village of Gonio. The protesters demanded the resignation of Aslan Abashidze. In the wake of Abashidze's visit to Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on January 20 backing Abashidze's policy and condemning his opposition as "extremist forces." In late January, Georgian officials, including Acting President Nino Burjanadze and President-elect Mikheil Saakashvili, met with Abashidze in Batumi.


2004 Adjara crisis, Tensions
On February 20, the opposition movement's offices were again raided after the opposition had staged a protest rally in Batumi. Clashes between supporters of and opposition to Abashidze also took place in Kobuleti. Disorders coincided with the visit of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Walter Schwimmer in Batumi, who held talks with Aslan Abashidze. President Saakashvili demanded from Adjaran leadership to abolish the Autonomous Republic's Security Ministry, which was Abashidze's main weapon of repression.


2004 Adjara crisis, At the Choloki Bridge
The situation escalated on March 14, when the central Georgian officials took advantage of Abashidze's being in Moscow and headed to Adjara to campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 28. However, pro-Abashidze armed groups blocked the administrative border of Adjara at the Choloki River and prevented President Mikheil Saakashvili and other members of the government to travel to the Autonomous Republic. The Adjaran authorities claimed Saakashvili was going to take control over the region by force.


2004 Adjara crisis, At the Choloki Bridge
In retaliation, Georgia's central authorities imposed partial economic sanctions against its defiant region in a bid "to exhaust Adjaran regime's resources". Tensions defused between Tbilisi and Batumi on March 16 after President Saakashvili and Aslan Abashidze met and struck a deal that allowed for economic sanctions on Adjara to be lifted. An agreement was reached over disarmament of paramilitary forces in Adjara, release of political prisoners, joint control of the customs and port of Batumi, and providing conditions for free election campaigning in Adjara. However, Abashidze refused to disarm his paramilitary forces in April.


2004 Adjara crisis, At the Choloki Bridge
On April 19-April 21, Batumi-based military commanders Major General Roman Dumbadze and Murad Tsintsadze officially announced their insubordination to central authorities' orders. On April 24, the Adjaran Senate approved Aslan Abashidze's proposal to impose a curfew in the region. However, dozens of soldiers of Adjaran leader Aslan Abashidze's elite special purpose unit began to leave the region and pledged loyalty to the country's central authorities. Several Adjaran officials also did so. Local opposition resumed the series of protests in Batumi, being broken up severely on April 30.


2004 Adjara crisis, At the Choloki Bridge
At the end of April, Georgia launched its largest ever military exercises at the Kulevi training ground, near the Black Sea town of Poti. The Large-scale war games, some 30 km away from Adjara's administrative border, was a show of strength, amid the confrontation between the central authorities and the Adjaran leader. In retaliation, the two key bridges connecting Adjara with the rest of Georgia over the Choloki River were blown up by Abashidze's forces to prevent an incursion into Adjara allegedly planned by the country's central authorities. On May 3, the U.S. Department of State condemned Abashidze's activities and accused him of "trying to provoke a military crisis".


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
On May 4, a large opposition protest rally was attacked by the local security forces in Batumi. Dozens of protesters were reportedly injured. However, the violent break up of peaceful demonstration proved a catalyst for even larger protests later on the same day. Tens of thousands from all Adjara headed to Batumi demanding Abashidze's resignation. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and Interior Minister Giorgi Baramidze crossed the Choloki River on May 5 and held talks with Adjaran Interior Minister Jemal Gogitidze.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
The latter agreed to withdraw his forces and paramilitary groups from the administrative border provided he would be guaranteed with security. Abashidze's position became untenable when local protesters took control of the central part of the city of Batumi and Georgian special forces entered the region and started to disarm pro-Abashizde militants. Later on the same day, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov arrived in Batumi. Abashidze stepped down after overnight talks with Ivanov and left for Moscow.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
"Aslan has fled, Adjara is free," President Saakashvili announced at the dawn of St George's Day on May 6 and congratulated Georgians with what he described as "a second bloodless revolution" in Georgia. President Saakashvili also said that Abashidze's resignation "will pave the way for Georgia's prosperity." "It will be the beginning of Georgia's territorial integrity," he added.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
Saakashvili left for Adjara shortly after Aslan Abashidze's departure and met celebrating Adjarans in Batumi.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
On May 7, direct presidential rule was imposed in Adjara and a 20-member Interim Council was set up to run the Autonomous Republic before fresh local elections could be held in the region. Levan Varshalomidze was appointed as the Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
Regional parliamentary elections were held on June 20. Victorious Adjara, a party backed by President Saakashvili won 28 seats out of 30 in the local legislative body. The remaining two seats were occupied by Saakashvili's former allies, members of the Republican Party. There were allegations of vote-rigging from the Republicans, after they won less than 15 percent of the vote.


2004 Adjara crisis, Adjara's Revolution
On July 20, the Adjaran Supreme Council approved Levan Varshalomidze as the Chairman of the Autonomous Republic's Government.


2004 Adur District Council election
Elections to Adur District Council were held on 10 June 2004. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003 reducing the number of seats by 10. The Conservative Party held overall control of the council. Overall turnout was 38.0%.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500
The 2004 Advance Auto Parts 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. It was held on April 18, 2004, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia before a crowd of 91,000. The 500-lap race was won by Rusty Wallace of the Penske-Jasper Racing team after he started from a seventeenth position; It was Wallace's fifty-fifth and final victory of his career. Bobby Labonte finished second and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. came in third.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Background
Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway. The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847 km) oval. Its turns are banked at eleven degrees, and neither the front stretch (the location of the finish line) nor the backstretch is banked.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Background
Before the race Kurt Busch led the Drivers' Championship with 1,032 points, nineteen ahead of Matt Kenseth in second, and a further sixteen in front of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in third. Tony Stewart was fourth on 946 points, and Elliott Sadler was a further four points behind in fifth. Ford was leading the Manufacturers' Championship with 48 points; Chevrolet was second with 43 points, and Dodge was a close third on 42. Jeff Gordon was the race's defending champion.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race: one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, and the second and final sessions lasted 45 minutes. Jeff Gordon was fastest in the first practice session with a lap of 20.325 seconds; Ryan Newman was second and Jimmie Johnson third. Kasey Kahne took the fourth position with a time of 20.371, and Busch placed fifth. Robby Gordon, Earnhardt, Jamie McMurray, Ricky Rudd, and Sadler rounded out the session's top-ten drivers.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Practice and qualifying
Although forty-four drivers were entered in the qualifier; according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, only forty-three could race. Jeff Gordon clinched his third consecutive pole position at Martinsville Speedway with a time of 20.252 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by McMurray. Newman qualified third, Earnhardt fourth, and Kevin Harvick fifth. Ward Burton, Busch, Johnson. Sadler and Jeremy Mayfield rounded out the top ten qualifiers. The driver that failed to qualify was Todd Bodine.


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Practice and qualifying
After the qualifier, Gordon said, "We came with the basic setup that we sat on the pole here the last time with and we had to make some adjustments. We tweaked it and at the end of practice, I felt like we hit on some things. I took off and the car did everything I really wanted it to do. I couldn't ask for much more than I got out of the car."


2004 Advance Auto Parts 500, Report, Practice and qualifying
On Saturday morning, Mark Martin set the fastest time in the second practice session with a lap of 20.561 seconds, ahead of Harvick and Terry Labonte. Ricky Craven (with a time of 20.599) was fourth-fastest; Mayfield was fifth and McMurray sixth. Jeff Gordon, Scott Riggs, Johnson, and Robby Gordon followed in the top ten. Later that day, Earnhardt paced the final practice session with a time of 20.580; Johnson was second and Busch third. Jeff Gordon was fourth-fastest, ahead of Newman and Harvick. Terry Labonte was seventh-fastest, Robby Gordon eighth, Jeff Green ninth, and Craven tenth. Jeff Burton was afflicted with a problem with his brakes in the closing stages of the session; he spun back into the wall and heavily damaged his car's left side. Burton switched to a back-up car.


2004 Advanta Championships
The 2004 Advanta Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at The Pavilion in Villanova, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States that was part of Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the 20th edition of the tournament and was held from November 1 through November 7, 2004. First-seeded Amélie Mauresmo won her second consecutive singles title and earned $93,000 first-prize money.


2004 Advanta Championships, Finals, Doubles
Alicia Molik /  Lisa Raymond defeated  Liezel Huber /  Corina Morariu 7–5, 6–4


2004 Advanta Championships – Doubles
Martina Navratilova and Lisa Raymond were the defending champions from 2003, but Navratilova chose not to participate. Raymond successfully defended her title, playing alongside Alicia Molik.


2004 Advanta Championships – Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2004 Advanta Championships – Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion, and successfully defended her title.


2004 Advanta Championships – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2004 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships
The 8th Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria from June 3 to June 5, 2004.


2004 Afghan presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on October 9, 2004. Hamid Karzai won the elections with 55.4% of the vote and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than 1% of the vote. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of Afghanistan's nearly 12 million registered voters cast ballots. The elections were overseen by the Joint Electoral Management Body, chaired by Zakim Shah and vice-chaired by Ray Kennedy, an American working for the United Nations.


2004 Afghan presidential election
After some accusations of fraud circulated on the day of the election, at least fifteen candidates declared that they were boycotting the ballot, but the boycott dissolved when the United Nations announced it would set up a three-person independent panel to investigate the charges of irregularities. The panel included a former Canadian diplomat, a Swedish electoral expert, and the third member was later named by the European Union.


2004 Afghan presidential election
The date was originally set for July 5, 2004. The elections were twice postponed, first until September, and then until October. Candidates for president also nominated two vice-presidential candidates. Some candidates used this to balance their ticket with regard to Afghanistan's three main ethnic communities. If no candidate had secured 50% of the votes, a run-off election would have been held.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Twenty-three candidates put their name forward for presidency, but five of them dropped out of the running by the time campaigning began.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
The favourite throughout was interim president Hamid Karzai. Karzai ran as an independent, though he had the backing of several political parties, including Afghan Mellat, a social democratic party.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Initially, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a warlord that led the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan and then became a member of the Afghan National Army in Karzai's first interim government, was expected to be Karzai's main challenger, but it soon became clear that his popularity was limited.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Yunus Qanuni, who served in several prominent positions in the interim government, instead emerged as the focus of opposition to Karzai. Qanuni, a leading member of the Northern Alliance, had the support of Mohammed Fahim, an interim vice-president who was dropped from the Karzai ticket during the campaign. Qanuni claimed to represent the legacy of Ahmad Shah Massoud, as did several other candidates (including Massoud's brother, one of Karzai's vice-presidential candidates).


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Also running was Mohammed Mohaqiq. He was a leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, a minister under Burhanuddin Rabbani and Karzai, and had been a strong ally of Dostum. Mohaqiq criticised Karzai as a weak leader and pledged to unite conflicting factions and end the drugs trade. He faced widespread accusations that he committed war crimes during the fight against the Soviet occupation, subsequent internecine conflict within the Mujahedin, and later, against the Taliban.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
The youngest candidate was 41-year-old Abdul Hafiz Mansoor. He was a member of the Northern Alliance and claimant to the legacy of Massoud. A journalist and former Minister for Information and Culture, Mansoor accused Karzai of trying to form an elected dictatorship.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
The main candidate of the religious right was Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, leader of the exiled government in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation. Ahmadzai formerly led a radical Islamist group which was active in the Mujahedin, and later in both the Taleban and Al-Qaida, but has since disavowed any links with them.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Hamyon Shah Aasifi represented monarchist groups, although the former King, Mohammed Zahir Shah, has renounced his claims to be head of state.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Abdul Satar Sirat held several ministerial positions in the early 1970s. Sirat later served as envoy for the exiled King and was initially voted leader of the interim government but stepped aside in favour Karzai.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Massouda Jalal, a medical doctor, was the only female candidate, although two women were nominated for vice-president (Nelab Mobarez running with Aasifi and Shafiqa Habibi running with Dostum).


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Several candidates publicly supported women's rights, including Karzai, Wakil Mangal and, most prominently, the former police colonel Abdul Hasib Aarian. 72-year-old Abdul Hadi Khalilzai, the oldest candidate and a former teacher and religious lawyer, claimed to support women's rights "according to the Constitution, accepted Afghan tradition and the holy religion of Islam".


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Latif Pedram, a journalist and poet, and Mohammed Ibrahim Rashid were strong advocates for the rights of Afghan refugees. Sayed Ishaq Gailani, a Muslim intellectual who fought against the Soviet occupation, stood to represent the Sufi Muslim minority. All candidates claimed to be able to build bridges between Afghanistan's various communities and factions. Ghulam Farooq Nejrabi, a paediatric physician and medical lecturer who called for an end to religious, ethnic and sexual discrimination, even claimed he could build bridges with the Taleban.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Candidates and issues
Mahfuz Nedahi, who had served as Minister of Mines and Industry in the interim government, accused the other candidates of running on tribal or party lines and failing to offer a true programme of national unity, while Sayed Abdul Hadi Dabir, an amateur boxer and former fighter in the Mujahedin, criticised tribal nepotism in government appointments and called for a national Ulema to be formed as part of the elected parliament.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Campaigning and voting
Ballots contained the names of candidates, accompanied by their photo and an icon of their choice. Where appropriate, the icon was the symbol of their political party. However, most candidates ran as independents regardless of their party affiliation, and selected generic icons to distinguish their candidacy. In order to avoid voting fraud, voters dipped their thumb in ink after they had cast their ballot.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Campaigning and voting
In Afghanistan, polling centres opened at 6 am or 7 am in different areas, and were set to close at 4 pm. However, on election day, voting time was officially extended by two hours, but several polling centres closed on time before news of this announcement reached them.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Campaigning and voting
Very significantly, over two million people voted among refugee communities in Iran and Pakistan, thanks to an operation conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through a remarkable logistic effort. In Peshawar, Pakistan, under the leadership of Stuart Poucher, a small team from IOM managed in less than two months to hire over 400 electoral officers, and over 6,000 polling officials, to conduct voter education for over 800,000 refugees, over half of whom voted.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies
During the campaign there were some rumours that the election would be decided by negotiation, as candidates bargained for promises of political position under Karzai or another candidate in return for dropping out of the race. There were rumours in September that Sirat and Mohaqiq had formed a pact with Qanuni, whilst Gailani and Aarian declared their support for Karzai on the last day of campaigning, October 6.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies
All the candidates except Karzai, Gailani and Aarian, publicly declared that they were boycotting the ballot and would ignore the results— effectively uniting Karzai's disparate opponents. Two major opposition candidates, the Hazara leader Mohammed Mohaqeq and the Uzbek strongman General Abdul Rashid Dostum, soon declared they had not joined the boycott.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
Significant fraud occurred in the 2004 presidential election, even though it did not attract the level of international attention as the fraud in the 2009 presidential election.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
On election day there were several claims that the ink used to mark voters could be easily removed and that multiple voting had resulted, as well as isolated reports of intimidation and campaigning at the polling centres.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
Journalist Christian Parenti claimed that many people in Afghanistan were in possession of three or four photographic ID cards. He himself, not an Afghan citizen, could have easily voted. "One of the parties gave me two valid voting cards," he said "that I could add my photograph to and I could have voted if I wanted to." Other problems reported by Parenti included lack of pens in polling places, not having enough ballots, and differences in closing times of voting stations.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
The documentary film "God's Open Hand" by Ghost Studios exposes voter fraud. However, the film mainly focuses on the hopes and dreams of the Afghan people on their first ever Presidential elections.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
In September 2009, Hamid Karzai, downplaying the significance of the fraud in the 2009 presidential election, said "there was fraud in 2004" as well.


2004 Afghan presidential election, Controversies, Election fraud
On September 3, 2009, when envoys from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and other Western nations met in Paris to discuss the recent 2009 Afghan election, UN Special Representative in Afghanistan Kai Eide said that the 2009 Afghan presidential election, widely characterized by rampant fraud and intimidation, "was a better election than five years ago."


2004 Afghan presidential election, Violence
Rebels loyal to the former Taliban leadership had vowed to disrupt the election, accusing the United States moving to dominate the region. During the election process, five Afghan National Army soldiers died in skirmishes and due to landmines. 15 staff of the Joint Electoral Management Body were killed and a further 46 injured in various attacks. 2 International sub-contractors working in Nuristan in support of the electoral process were also killed.


2004 Africa Cup
The 2004 Africa Cup (officially called "Africa Top ten" at the time) was the fifth edition of top level rugby union tournament in Africa. Ten teams were admitted, but Tunisia withdrew.


2004 Africa Cup
The final was played in 2004, due to the participation of Namibia to the 2003 Rugby World Cup tournament.


2004 Africa Cup
The teams were divided into two zones, North and South. The North Zone contained four teams in a round robin pool. In South Zone, the six teams were divided in two pools, with a "Zone final" between the winner of each pool.


2004 Africa Cup
At the end a second division was also played as "CAR Development".


2004 African Championships in Athletics
The 14th African Championships in Athletics were held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July, 2004. Since African Championships is a biennial event, this edition was contested only a month before 2004 Summer Olympics. Thus some top athletes shunned the event. On the other hand, many athletes use the competition to prepare for the Olympics.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres
The men's 10,000 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14–15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres, Results, Heats
Wind:Heat 1: +2.6 m/s, Heat 2: -0.5 m/s, Heat 3: +1.1 m/s, Heat 4: +1.7 m/s, Heat 5: +1.5 m/s, Heat 6: +0.6 m/s


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 110 metres hurdles
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres
The men's 1500 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk
The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 200 metres
The men's 200 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16–18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 200 metres, Results, Heats
Wind:Heat 1: -2.1 m/s, Heat 2: +0.9 m/s, Heat 3: -1.1 m/s, Heat 4: -2.7 m/s, Heat 5: -2.1 m/s, Heat 6: -1.8 m/s


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase
The men's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres
The men's 400 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14–16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres hurdles
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 17–18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
The men's 5000 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres
The men's 800 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16–17.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's decathlon
The men's decathlon event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16–17.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's discus throw
The men's discus throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's high jump
The men's high jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw
The men's javelin throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's long jump
The men's long jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's pole vault
The men's pole vault event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's shot put
The men's shot put event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 17.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump
The men's triple jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres
The women's 10,000 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 17.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres
The women's 100 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14–15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres, Results, Heats
Wind:Heat 1: +1.3 m/s, Heat 2: +1.1 m/s, Heat 3: +1.9 m/s, Heat 4: +1.1 m/s


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles
The women's 100 metres hurdles event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres
The women's 1500 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 20 kilometres walk
The women's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 200 metres
The women's 200 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16–18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 200 metres, Results, Heats
Wind:Heat 1: -0.5 m/s, Heat 2: -0.3 m/s, Heat 3: +0.2 m/s, Heat 4: +0.9 m/s


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase
The women's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16. This marked the first time that this event was held for women at the African Championships.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
The women's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 18.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 400 metres
The women's 400 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15–16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 400 metres hurdles
The women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15–16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 5000 metres
The women's 5000 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's 800 metres
The women's 800 metres event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's discus throw
The women's discus throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's hammer throw
The women's hammer throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 17.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's heptathlon
The women's heptathlon event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14–15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's high jump
The women's high jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's javelin throw
The women's javelin throw event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's long jump
The women's long jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 16.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's pole vault
The women's pole vault event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's shot put
The women's shot put event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 15.


2004 African Championships in Athletics – Women's triple jump
The women's triple jump event at the 2004 African Championships in Athletics was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo on July 14.


2004 African Cup of Nations
The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004), was the 24th  edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).


2004 African Cup of Nations
The tournament was instead hosted by Tunisia. Tunisia won their first title after defeating one-time champions Morocco 2–1 in the final. Nigeria finished third after beating Mali 2–1 in the third place play-off. As champions, Tunisia qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. Tournament defending champions Cameroon eliminated in the quarter-finals after failing to win their match against Nigeria.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Host selection
The organization of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations was awarded to Tunisia on 4 September 2000 by the CAF Executive Committee meeting in Cairo, Egypt. Voters had a choice between four countries : Malawi and Zambia (joint bid), Tunisia and Zimbabwe.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Host selection
Benin and Togo were both also candidates at the start (joint bid) but withdrew on 4 September 2000 before the meeting.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Host selection
This edition was awarded to Tunisia which represented Africa in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France by taking the majority of the votes of the CAF Executive Committee members which are 13 after its impressive success in the 1994 edition.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Host selection
This is the third time that Tunisia has hosted the African Cup after 1965 and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Sponsorship
On September 20, 2003 in Tunis, Nokia acquired from CAF the right to be the “title sponsor” of the 24th edition, which is therefore officially called NOKIA Africa Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Mascot
To choose the tournament mascot, the organizing committee is launching a competition open to the entire Tunisian population. The only rules imposed, this mascot must be an eagle and must represent football, Africa and Tunisia.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Mascot
Of the fifty or so proposals submitted to the committee, it is the work of Malek Khalfallah that is retained. It is an eagle, which the author baptized Nçayir. The colors of its equipment, red and white, refer to the colors of the Tunisian flag.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Mascot
I sent my proposal by post without even giving my phone number. I just wanted to participate. And one day someone knocks on the door telling me that I must urgently call a number. To my surprise I learned that it was my first mascot proposal that won the competition! I then had to modify some details requested by the organizing committee.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Match ball
The official ball for the 2004 African Cup of Nations is the Adidas Fevernova. Designed two years earlier by Adidas for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the ball was reused during 2004 African Cup of Nations.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Qualification
The 49 nations registered for the competition are divided into thirteen groups: ten groups of four teams and three groups of three teams. The selections of Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Djibouti forfeit before the start of qualifying.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Qualification
The first of each group qualify for the final tournament in Tunisia, as well as the best of the second. Cameroon, as defending champion, and Tunisia, as host country, are automatically qualified for the final phase of the competition.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Qualification, First participation
Benin and Rwanda manage to qualify for the AFCON for the first final phase of their history, after finishing at the top of their group in the qualifiers in front of two former African champions, Sudan and Ghana.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Qualification, First participation
Zimbabwe do the same after finishing first in the finalists in all qualifying groups.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Venues
The six cities selected to host the event are coastal.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Squads
As is the case in all versions of the African Cup of Nations, each team participating in the tournament must consist of 23 players (including three goalkeepers). Participating national teams must confirm the final list of 23 players no later than ten days before the start of the tournament. In the event that a player suffers an injury which prevents him from participating in the tournament, his team has the right to replace him with another player at any time up to 24 hours before the team's first game.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Format
Only the hosts received an automatic qualification spot; the other 15 teams qualified through a qualification tournament. At the finals, the 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams each. The teams in each group played a single round robin. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners advanced to the semi-finals. The semi-final losers played in a third place match, while the semi-final winners played in the final.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Draw
The draw took place on 20 september 2003 in Tunis. In parentheses, the FIFA World Rankings as of January 14, 2004.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Draw
Tunisia (45) (hosts) Cameroon (14) (title holders) Nigeria (35) Senegal (33)


2004 African Cup of Nations, Draw
Algeria (63) South Africa (36) Egypt (32) DR Congo (54)


2004 African Cup of Nations, Match summary
The 16 national teams participating in the tournament together played a total of 32 matches ranging from group stage and progression matches to knockout matches, with teams eliminated through the various progressive stages. Rest days are set aside during the different stages to allow players to recover during the tournament.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Group stage, Tiebreakers
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 74):


2004 African Cup of Nations, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 88 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.75 goals per match.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Statistics, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2004 African Cup of Nations, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2004 African Cup of Nations Final
The 2004 African Cup of Nations Final was a football match that took place on 14 February 2004 at the Stade 7 November in Radès, Tunisia, to determine the winner of the 2004 African Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).


2004 African Cup of Nations Final
Tunisia won the title for the first time by beating Morocco 2–1.


2004 African Cup of Nations Final, Match details, Summary
In the final at the Stade 7 November in Radès, Tunisia got off to a good start with a lead 1-0 after four minutes with Mehdi Nafti centered on Francileudo Santos, who scored his fourth goal of the tournament. At the end of the first half, Morocco returned to the score with a goal from Youssouf Hadji on a lift from Youssef Mokhtari. Seven minutes passed in the second half before another Tunisian striker, Ziad Jaziri gave his country the lead. The match ultimately ended 2-1, giving Tunisia its first African Cup of Nations title.


2004 African Cup of Nations Final, Match details, Summary
Roger Lemerre also becomes the first coach to win two different continental tournaments. The national team also wins the African National Team of the Year award from the Confederation of African Football. The victory gives rise to the team's nickname, the "Eagles of Carthage" and, as a result, the team badge is changed to incorporate an eagle.


2004 African Cup of Nations qualification, Qualifying round
The 52 nations were divided into 10 groups of four teams and 3 groups of 3 teams, with the 13 group winners and the best runner-up from the groups containing 4 sides qualifying for the finals. Qualifying took place between 6 September 2002 and 6 July 2003.


2004 African Cup of Nations qualification, Qualifying round, Group 3
Tanzania pulled out for financial reasons and the game was awarded to Sudan.


2004 African Cup of Nations qualification, Qualifying round, Group 5
The match was abandoned at 3-0 in 85' when Mauritania were reduced to six players following 5 red cards. The result stood.


2004 African Cup of Nations qualification, Best runner-up
The best runner-up from groups with four teams would qualify for the finals.


2004 African Cup of Nations squads
Below is a list of squads used in the 2004 African Cup of Nations.


2004 African Cup of Nations squads, Group B, Kenya
Since participation in CAN 2004, the Kenyan goalkeepers received traditional numbers 1, 13 and 22.


2004 African Futsal Championship
The 2004 African Futsal Championship took place between 9 July – 3 September 2004. The tournament was won by Egypt who qualified for the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Chinese Taipei.


2004 African Judo Championships
The 2004 African Judo Championships were the 25th edition of the African Judo Championships, and were held in Tunis, Tunisia from 7 May to 8 May 2004.


2004 African Men's Handball Championship
The 2004 African Men's Handball Championship was the 16th edition of the African Men's Handball Championship, held in Cairo, Egypt, from 8 to 18 April 2004. It acted as the African qualifying tournament for the 2005 World Championship in Tunisia.


2004 African Men's Handball Championship
Egypt win their fourth title beating Tunisia in the final game 31–28.


2004 African U-19 Women's Championship
The 2004 African U-19 Women's Championship was the second edition of the African under-19 women's football championship. The winners of the tournament Nigeria have qualified to the 2004 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.


2004 African Women's Championship
The 2004 African Women's Championship  was the sixth edition of the African Women's Championship (now known as the Africa Women Cup of Nations), the biennial international football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the women's national teams of Africa. It was held in South Africa between 18 September and 3 October 2004.


2004 African Women's Championship
Nigeria won its sixth title, after defeating Cameroon 5–0 in the final.


2004 African Women's Championship
South Africa were elected as hosts on 12 December 2003.


2004 African Women's Championship, Qualification
South Africa qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining seven spots were determined by the qualifying rounds, which took place from May to July 2004. From this tournament onwards, the defending champions does not receive automatic qualification.


2004 African Women's Championship, Qualification, Format
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).


2004 African Women's Championship, Qualification, Format
The seven winners of the final round qualified for the final tournament.


2004 African Women's Championship, Format
The eight teams were divided into two groups of four teams each. The top two teams in the groups advanced to the semi-finals.


2004 African Women's Championship, Format
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss).


2004 African Women's Championship, Results, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner, except for the third place match where no extra time is played.


2004 African Women's Championship, Statistics, Goalscorers
Perpetua Nkwocha was the top scorer of the event with nine goals. In total, 48 goals were scored by 27 players.


2004 African Women's Championship qualification
The 2004 African Women's Championship qualification process was organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2004 African Women's Championship. South Africa qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining seven spots were determined by the qualifying rounds, which took place from May to July 2004.


2004 African Women's Championship qualification
From this tournament onwards, the defending champions does not receive automatic qualification.


2004 African Women's Championship qualification, Teams
A total of 17 national teams participated in the qualifying process.