FC Ararat Yerevan

Ararat Yerevan

Full name	Football Club Ararat
Nickname(s)	White Eagles
Founded	10 May 1935; 89 years ago (1935-05-10)
Ground	Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
Capacity	14,403
Owner	Vartan Sirmakes & Hrach Kaprielian
President	Hrach Kaprielian[1]
Manager	Tigran Yesayan
League	Armenian Premier League
2023–24	Armenian Premier League, 6th
Website	http://www.fcararat.am/
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Football Club Ararat Yerevan (Armenian: Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Արարատ Երևան), commonly known as Ararat Yerevan, is an Armenian professional football club based in Yerevan that plays in the Armenian Premier League.^[2]

Since 1999 the club has been owned by the Swiss-Armenian businessman Vartan Sirmakes. The badge shows a white eagle standing on a football and is a reference to the club nickname. The badge also displays the name of Ararat in both Latin (Ararat) and Armenian (ԱՐԱՐԱՏ) text.

In 1935, a football team was established in Yerevan by Spartak sports society. The first time the team participated in the competitions of the national level. The first trophy of the club was the Armenian SSR Cup in 1940. In the next four years football was not played because of World War II.

In 1944, games of USSR Cup were resumed, and Spartak participated. A match was set up with their main rivals, fellow FC Dinamo Tbilisi. However, the match was not played through the fault of Yerevan.^[3][4] In 1947, the team becomes silver medalist in the second league of the Transcaucasian region. The team finished just one point behind the ODL from Tbilisi. In this championship, Spartak, in a home match against Tbilisi Wings of the Soviets, showed the best result at the time, beating them by the score 7:1.^[5][6] In Season 1948 Spartak was to start in the first group (the Premier League at the time), but after 30 games along with 15 other clubs had been withdrawn. All 16 clubs have continued to participate in the league below. Spartak have spent the next season in the second group, improved their performance and won the competition in the South Zone. The team won 13 matches out of 18. However, the first place in the zonal group did not guarantee promotion. According to the regulations of the USSR Championship, the winners of zones in the second league should have played each other in the final stage. At this stage, 6 teams participated. Games between the teams went into a circle. After 5 games Spartak has settled on the third place, which ensured the club a place in the first group.^[7][8]

In 1949 at Spartak participated for the first time in the Soviet Top League. The team performed poorly, finishing 12th. In the first two rounds the team lost, but in the 3rd round victory was recorded in a home game against the Air Force (Moscow).^[9] To beat the team was able representatives of the second half of the table, and twice on the road. There were three major defeats: the double-0–6 from Moscow Lokomotiv and CDKA, and once 1–6 – from Tbilisi "Dynamo". However, despite the poor performance, the club remained in the top league for next season, as the latter two dropped out of the club, ranked 17th and 18th place in the standings.^[10][11] Cup battles ended at the first stage, against the Dynamo "from Stalinabad.^[12] In 1950 season, Spartak began to act more liberated. The first lesion was detected only in the fourth round of the Leningrad "Zenit". The team scored 31 points with team-mates from Kiev, but on goal difference in the Class "B" sunk Spartak. In the Soviet Cup team started with a 1/128 final. Having weak rivals in 1/16-oy stumbled on rivals in the face Dynamo Kiev. In the hard game, which was held in Kiev, Spartak celebrated victory 3–2. In 1/8 final meeting with "Dynamo," Moscow and lost with a score of 0–7.^[13]

Between 1960–63 and later in 1966–91, the team participated in the Soviet Top League. In 1973, Ararat won the Top League as well as the Soviet Cup. In 1971 and 1976 (spring) seasons, they were runner-up at the top league, and in 1975 they won the Soviet Cup for the 2nd time.

In total the team participated in 33 Soviet Top League seasons, playing 1,026 matches, of which they won 352, drew 280, lost 394, scored 1,150 goals and conceded 1,306. By 1975 the team participated in the lottery three European Cups. In the last USSR Championship in 1991, the team was finished in seventh place.

By 1945–47, Ararat swept the Armenian SSR League and by 1949 had won promotion into the Soviet Top League. The team played in the Top League in 1949–50, 1960–63, and 1965–91. In 1971, Ararat finished second in the Top League. In 1973, they won the Top League and the Soviet Cup (in a memorable final game against Dynamo Kyiv). They won the cup again in 1975. In 1971 and 1976 Spring (there were two Soviet championships in 1976 — Spring and Autumn) they were the league runners-up. In 1974–75 Ararat competed in the European Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to defending and eventual champions Bayern Munich 2–1 on aggregate (0–2 in Munich and 1–0 in Yerevan). Since their debut in the European tournaments in 1972, they have won 16 of their 36 matches with 4 draws.

Ararat in 1973 final	Ararat in 1975 final

Since the 1991 dissolution of Soviet Union, Ararat has attained the Armenian Championship only once in 1993 and won four silver prizes (1997, 1999, 2000 and 2008) and one bronze prize (1994). In addition, the club has won the Armenian Cup five times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2008) and were finalists in 2001 and 2007. They also were very close to taking the Armenian title in 2007, however the unexpected resignation of head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan changed the atmosphere on the team and the club ended up in fourth place. In March 2008, former coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan returned to take charge of the team again. After failing to take the title from Pyunik in 2008, Varuzhan Sukiasyan left the club.

The club headquarters are located on Agatangeghos Street 2, Yerevan.^[14] The club's Dzoraghbyur Training Centre is located in the Dzoraghbyur village of Kotayk Province, at the eastern outskirts of Yerevan.

In August 2016, Arkady Andreasyan became the head coach.^[15] However, in August 2017, Albert Safaryan was appointed as a head coach, while Arkady Andreasyan became the club's sports director. As of 2018–2019 season, Abraham Khashmanyan is the head coach of the team.

On 16 July 2018, Ararat Yerevan released a statement against the naming of Ararat-Armenia.^[16]

On 29 July 2019, Sergei Bulatov resigned citing family circumstances, with Sergei Boyko being appointed as interim-manager the same day.^[17] On 16 September 2019, Boyko resigned with Gagik Simonyan being placed in interim charge.^[18] On 6 January 2020, Igor Kolyvanov was announced as the new manager of Ararat Yerevan.^[19] On 1 June 2022, Edgar Torosyan left his role as Head Coach after his contract expired, with Aram Voskanyan being announced as his replacement the same day.^[20][21]

• Due to the 1995 season being a transitional season, there was no official winner of championship.
• Ararat Yerevan were expelled before start of the season..

^[22]

As of match played 14 July 2022

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1972–73	UEFA Cup	1/32	EPA Larnaca	1–0	1–0	2–0
		1/16	Grasshopper Zürich	4–2	3–1	7–3
		1/8	Kaiserslautern	2–0	0–2	2–2 (4–5 p)
1974–75	UEFA European Cup	1/16	Viking Stavanger	4–2	2–0	6–2
		1/8	Cork Celtic	5–0	2–1	7–1
		QF	Bayern Munich	1–0	0–2	1–2
1975–76	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1/16	Anorthosis Famagusta	9–0	1–1	10–1
		1/8	West Ham United	1–1	1–3	2–4
1994–95	UEFA Cup	1/16	CSKA Sofia	0–0	0–3	0–3
1995–96	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1/32	GKS Katowice	2–0	0–2	2–2 (5–4 p)
		1/16	Dynamo Moscow	0–1	1–3	1–4
1997–98	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1/32	Dinamo Batumi	0–2	3–0[a]	3–2
		1/16	Copenhagen	0–2	0–3	0–5
1999	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1/16	Bacău	1–0	1–0	2–0
		1/8	Sint-Truiden	0–2	1–3	1–5
2000–01	UEFA Cup	Q	Košice	2–3	1–1	3–4
2001–02	UEFA Cup	Q	Hapoel Tel Aviv	0–2	0–3	0–5
2007	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	2–0	1–4	3–4
2008–09	UEFA Cup	1Q	Bellinzona	0–1	1–3	1–4
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	Fehérvár	2–0	1–1	3–1
		2Q	Śląsk Wrocław	2–4	3–3	5–7
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	Shkëndija	2–2	0–2	2–4

• Biggest Win in UEFA Competition: 17 September 1975, Ararat 9–0 Anorthosis, in Yerevan
• Biggest Defeat in UEFA Competition: 23 June 2007, Shakhtyor 4–1 Ararat, in Soligorsk
• Club Appearances in UEFA Competition: 12
• Player with Most UEFA Appearances: Aleksei Abramian and Norik Mesropian – 16 appearances
• Top Scorer in UEFA Club Competitions: Eduard Markarov – 12 goals

Ararat Yerevan run their own youth training academy in the village of Dzoraghbyur at the eastern outskirts of the capital Yerevan. Occupying an area of 48,000 m², the centre was opened by the club in 2007. It is home to natural-grass as well as artificial-turf training pitches, in addition to an indoor training centre.

• Soviet Top League (1):

1973

• Armenian Premier League (1):

1993

• Soviet First League (1):

1965

• Soviet Cup (2):

1973, 1975

• Armenian Cup (6):

1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2008, 2020–21

• Armenian Supercup (1):

2009

• IFA Shield^[b] (1):

1978 (shared)^[23]

• European Cup

Quarter-finalist: 1974–75

• European Cup Winners' Cup

1/8 finalist: 1975–76

• UEFA Cup

1/8 finalist: 1972–73

As of 9 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  ARM Albert Khachumyan 4 DF  ARM Volodya Samsonyan 5 MF  TUN Rayane Mzoughi 6 MF  SEN Alassane Faye 9 MF  ARM Gor Lulukyan 10 MF  ARM Artur Grigoryan 11 MF  ARM Armen Nahapetyan 12 DF  GHA Clinton Dombila 13 GK  ARM Poghos Ayvazyan 15 FW  MLI Kalifala Mamadou Doumbia 18 DF  MLI Malick Aziz Berte 20 MF  SEN Moussa Kante 21 MF  ARM Serob Galstyan 23 MF  ARM Gor Malakyan (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 MF  ARM Alen Vardanyan 33 MF  ARM Gor Ghukasyan 34 DF  MAD Sandro Trémoulet 38 MF  CIV Moussa Kante 45 FW  CIV Bi Christ Hyllarion Goore 54 DF  BRA Marcello Gesteira de Souza 55 DF  ARM Narek Hambardzumyan 70 MF  ARM Alen Mkrtchyan 73 DF  ARM David Ghazaryan 77 MF  ARM Aleksandr Aleksanyan 81 MF  COM Kassim Hadji 82 GK  BRA Tiago Gomes 91 MF  ARM Suren Kirakosyan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  CMR Hadji Issa Moustapha (at S.K. Beveren until 30 June 2025)

Ararat Yerevan-2

Nickname(s)	White Eagles
Founded	2007; 17 years ago (2007)
Ground	Dzoraghbyur Training Centre, Dzoraghbyur
Owner	Vartan Sirmakes & Hrach Kaprielian
President	Hrach Kaprielian
League	Armenian First League
2016–17	3rd
Website	http://www.fcararat.am/
Home colours Away colours

Ararat Yerevan's reserve squad play as Ararat Yerevan-2 in the Armenian First League. They currently play their home games at the training field with artificial turf of the Dzoraghbyur Training Centre in Dzoraghbyur village near Yerevan.^[24]

Also FC Ararat-2 Yerevan played in 1990 Soviet Second League B and 1991 Soviet Second League.

Position	Name
Head coach	Aram Voskanyan
Assistant coach	Vacant
Assistant coach	Vacant
Goalkeepers Coach	Edik Yeritsyan
Masseur	Karen Mkrtchyan
Ararat Yerevan-2 Coach

Position	Name
Owners	Vartan Sirmakes, Hrach Kaprielian
President	Hrach Kaprielian
Executive Officer	Artyom Hakobyan
Sporting director	Tigran Gharabaghtsyan
Press Secretary	Grigor Grigoryan

Name Nat From To Vramshapuh Merangulyan 1935 1938 Suren Atanesyan March 1939 Oct 1939 Yuri Yesenin March 1940 Oct 1944 Viktor Andreev March 1945 Oct 1945 Mikhail Sushkov March 1946 Oct 1946 Viktor Grechishnikov March 1947 Oct 1947 Hayk Andreasyan March 1948 9 June 1949 Boris Apukhtin June 1949 July 1949 Viktor Filipov July 1949 Oct 1949 Gleb Ryabikov March 1950 7 June 1951 Ilya Evranov 8 June 1951 Dec 1951 Hayk Andreasyan March 1952 Oct 1954 Abraham Dangulov March 1955 Oct 1956 Hayk Andreasyan March 1957 Oct 1957 Boris Smyslov March 1958 Oct 1960 Hayk Andreasyan March 1961 July 1961 Anatoliy Akimov Aug 1961 July 1962 Arutyun Kegeyan Aug 1962 Dec 1962 Hayk Andreasyan Jan 1963 28 September 1963 Alexander Abramov 2 October 1963 Dec 1963 Georgiy Zharkov March 1964 Oct 1964 Artyom Falyan 1 March 1965 2 January 1968 Eduard Grigoryan March 1968 Oct 1968 Oleksandr Ponomarov March 1969 Oct 1970 Nikolay Glebov March 1971 Oct 1972 Nikita Simonyan 1 January 1973 31 December 1974 Victor Maslov March 1975 Oct 1975 Eduard Markarov March 1976 Oct 1977 Nikolay Gulyayev March 1978 July 1978 Leonid Zakharov Aug 1978 Oct 1978 Yozhef Betsa March 1979 Oct 1981 Arkady Andreasyan March 1982 Oct 1983 Nikita Simonyan 1 January 1984 30 June 1985 Leonid Zakharov June 1985 June 1986

Name Nat From To Arkady Andreasyan July 1986 June 1989 Nikolay Kazaryan July 1989 Oct 1989 Armen Sarkisyan March 1990 Oct 1994 Samvel Darbinyan March 1995 Oct 1995 Arkady Andreasyan Jan 1996 Nov 2003 Sevada Arzumanyan Nov 2003 Nov 2004 Abraham Khashmanyan Nov 2004 June 2006 Varuzhan Sukiasyan June 2006 July 2007 Dušan Mijić July 2007 March 2008 Varuzhan Sukiasyan March 2008 31 December 2008 Ashot Kirakosyan Dec 2008 March 2009 Arkady Andreasyan March 2009 Jan 2010 Tigran Yesayan Jan 2010 Dec 2010 Arkady Andreasyan Jan 2011 Feb 2012 Albert Safaryan Feb 2012 July 2012 Abraham Khashmanyan July 2012 26 April 2014 Dušan Mijić 4 July 2014 26 September 2014 Samvel Darbinyan 26 September 2014 1 December 2014 Suren Chakhalyan 13 December 2014 14 April 2015 Varuzhan Sukiasyan 28 April 2015 August 2016 Arkady Andreasyan August 2016 5 August 2017 Albert Safaryan 6 August 2017 30 July 2018 Armen Stepanyan 30 July 2018 30 September 2018 Abraham Khashmanyan 1 October 2018 12 April 2019 Tigran Yesayan 19 April 2019 31 May 2019 Sergey Bulatov 1 July 2019 29 July 2019 Sergei Boyko (Interim) 29 July 2019 16 September 2019 Gagik Simonyan (Interim) 16 September 2019 14 October 2019 Vadym Lazorenko 14 October 2019 28 December 2019 Igor Kolyvanov 6 January 2020[19] 23 July 2020 Vardan Bichakhchyan 23 July 2020[25] 11 January 2022[26] Edgar Torosyan 25 January 2022 1 June 2022[20] Aram Voskanyan 1 June 2022[21]

• Football in Armenia
• Football Federation of Armenia
• The Invincibles (football)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Ararat Yerevan.

• Official website (in Armenian)