Unhealthy Atmosphere at the Football Federation of Armenia: It is Becoming Like a Closed Club

The newspaper "Zhoghovourd" writes that it has repeatedly addressed the unhealthy developments at the Football Federation of Armenia, as it continually receives applications from many football fans complaining that not only has nothing changed at the federation, but it is increasingly resembling a closed club where everything seems murky.

We would like to add that the Football Federation of Armenia has adopted the damaging practice of not responding to inquiries, which gives grounds to publish information without listening to the other side.

We have received information that the upcoming elections for the Executive Committee of the FFAr at the end of December are entirely under the control of Armen Nikoghosyan, who previously worked as a sports journalist at a newspaper belonging to Nikol Pashinyan and was later appointed as an advisor to Ruben Hayrapetyan. There has been no shortage of media mentions about him. He even did not respond regarding how he managed to exempt his son from mandatory military service.

In any case, Armen Nikoghosyan personally receives instructions from "above" about whom to include in the Executive Committee and whom not to, and he personally manages the process. Our sources assert that Nikoghosyan contacts some of his "favorite clubs" and informs them that he will call two days before the voting and say who should not be voted for under any circumstances.

That he is the real leader of the federation is no secret. We have been informed that the non-football climate prevailing at the federation has also begun to concern the authorities, who, despite being connected to the federation through various means, especially in construction and other issues, want there to be no leaks from there, which, however, is not happening.

Recently, serious accusations were made against the federation by the owner of one of the strongest Armenian clubs, "Pyunik". Prior to that, clubs such as "Lori", "Noravank", "Sevan", and others had announced the suspension of their activities, with most of their complaints related to the federation's working style.

We will still address how individuals will be positioned in the federation's Executive Committee and who is winning construction competitions through whom...

In the meantime, there are reports that FFAr Vice President Armen Nikoghosyan also wants to be in the Executive Committee, and one of his nominators is the "Ararat Armenia" club. It is interesting to note whether the decision of this club, owned by benefactor Samvel Karapetyan, was coordinated with him or not.

Incidentally, there are rumors circulating that Armen Nikoghosyan is associated with the actual management of the wholesale flower market in Yerevan, which is being conducted with one of Nikol Pashinyan's family members. Of course, we were unable to verify this information directly from the FFAr, as, as we noted, they have adopted a non-transparent and unaccountable working style.

Details in today's issue of the newspaper.