Football Will Return to Kapan: Nikol Pashinyan Promised

Certain areas in the city of Kapan will be recognized as having public interest.

“It is proposed to recognize the existing property at the Kapan stadium, part of which is owned and the land is communal, as public interest so that we can manage, renovate, and improve it further,” said Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan during a government meeting.

According to him, there is a need to rehabilitate the infrastructures. “It is quite a good complex, but this mixed situation does not seem to allow for development so that it serves the purpose of establishing a modern regional complex in Kapan, meaning not only a football field but also accompanying sports infrastructures,” the minister added.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that this matter dates back to 2018. “In 2018, when I went to Kapan, the people of Kapan asked to do everything possible to bring football back to Kapan, and the issue was that the legal statuses of the Kapan stadium and auxiliary structures, different owners, and conflicts among them had interrupted football matches,” Pashinyan elaborated.

He promised that this would happen, but it has had quite a complex process. “We had to ask different partners, explain, so that we could find a solution and eventually create a certain opportunity for football matches to be restored at the stadium. In the meantime, two football teams were formed in Kapan,” he said.

The Prime Minister stated that property must remain state-owned in the foreseeable future, but it is also necessary to understand with the clubs, the provincial governor's office, and other partners how to participate in the management.