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Developing football in Armenia

Armenia's football history began officially in the 1990s but its traditions stretch back further.

Armenia line up for a men's futsal game
Armenia line up for a men's futsal game ©AFP/Getty Images

Overview

The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) is striving to improve the nation’s footballing infrastructure, using its limited resources to improve facilities as it bids to bring more players, men and women, into the game. Armenia is a football country, and the FFA is eager to set the pace and encourage local teams to fulfil their potential at international level.

Figures continue to be encouraging, the FFA’s number of registered players – in football and futsal – continuing to rise year on year, as the federation works hard in collaboration with local clubs to make improvements on the ground. A significant challenge is finding good places for children to train and play, but with 39 new mini-pitches laid in the 2021/22 season, and stadiums being refurbished in Armavir, Abovyan and Vanazdor, progress is being made.

The FFA is also aiming to ensure that women have the opportunity to play, with campaigns geared towards developing a strong, sustainable infrastructure for women’s clubs, coaches, officials and volunteers, as well as raising the profile of women’s football.

“In 2020 we launched the FFA strategy, and we are on our way to successfully implementing it. We are keen to develop grassroots and amateur football, as well as youth football, to increase the number of people involved in the game. Whenever and wherever we organise any events, lay down infrastructure or make investments, our main goal is to build a legacy.”

Artur Azaryan, FFA General Secretary

UEFA support

UEFA HatTrick funding helped to build the national team’s training complex in Yerevan, and to upgrade the Hrazdan Stadium in the capital. The youth academy in Gyumri, in northern Armenia, also benefitted from UEFA’s support, with more recent projects focusing on infrastructure for youth football and regional infrastructure development based on the FFA strategy, for example the reconstruction of the City Stadium in Abovyan. Important projects are also being undertaken under UEFA’s Football and Social Responsibility banner, covering coaching for health, World Heart Day, blind football, opportunities for amputee players and inclusion.

UEFA Foundation for Children

Set up in 2015, the UEFA foundation uses football as a vehicle to help improve children's lives by supporting hundreds of campaigns and projects across Europe and around the world.

Generation Sport 2022

The project promotes sport among young people and encourages physical eduction throughout the country. Twenty-five schools have been selected to receive sports equipment. Events will be organised to promote sport and exercise among the school-age population. Organised meet-and-greets with sports personalities will motivate the youngsters and encourage them to fulfil their potential. The project will help promote the inclusion of disabled children in sporting activities.

Timeline

Association history

1973 Armenian teams play in the USSR system during the Soviet era, and Ararat Yerevan reach their pinnacle in 1973 when they win the USSR championship – edging out Dynamo Kyiv and Dinamo Moskva – and the Soviet Cup, beating Dynamo Kyiv in the final. Ararat lift the cup for a second time in 1975, and finish as league championship runners-up in 1971 and 1976. 1975 Ararat make it to the European Cup quarter-finals in 1974/75, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Bayern München. 1992 Armenia declares independence from the USSR in 1991, and the Football Federation of Armenia (Hayastani Futboli Federacia or FFA) is founded on 17 January the following year. The FFA becomes a member of both FIFA and UEFA that year, and also oversees the first editions of the Armenian top division and the Armenian Independence Cup. 2007 Work begins on a national-team training centre and academy with residential facilities. The centre opens on 1 September 2010, providing a training base for Armenia's national sides as well as a youth academy. 2014 An FFA academy is founded in Gyumri, providing an opportunity to develop football in the north of Armenia. Another academy opens in Vanadzor in 2016. Present day

 

National team history

1966 Armenia’s Eduard Margarov competes for the USSR in the 1966 FIFA World Cup finals; Khoren Hovhannisyan does the same in the 1982 edition. 1972 Armenia’s Hovhannes Zanazanyan and Arkadi Andriasyan help the USSR to win footballing bronze medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich; Hovhannisyan matches that achievement at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. 1994 Armenia make their competitive debut as an independent nation with a 2-0 loss to Belgium in a 7 September qualifier for EURO ’96. 1995 Armenia record their first competitive victory when they win 2-1 in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 6 September. 2011 Armenia reach a new high when they finish third in their UEFA EURO 2012 group, talismanic Shakhtar Donetsk forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan emerging as a player of top international calibre. Present day

President

Armen Melikbekyan

Nationality: Armenian
Date of birth: 10 May 1980
Association president since: 2019

 

Armen Melikbekyan
Armen Melikbekyan©Hakob Berberyan, FFA

General secretary

Artur Azaryan

Nationality: Armenian
Date of birth: 19 January 1987
Association general secretary since: 2020

Artur Azaryan
Artur Azaryan©Hakob Berberyan, FFA

Football Federation of Armenia website