Pashinyan's Hopes Remain Unfulfilled: Prime Minister Meets with Olympians

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the athletes from Armenia’s national team who participated in the Paris Olympic Games, along with their coaches and heads of federations. The Prime Minister expressed gratitude for their honorable representation of Armenia at the Olympic Games and added that the government made every effort to create comfortable conditions for the team’s participation.

“Of course, we all hoped that we would also have Olympic gold medals, but sports is sports, and not all desires become reality. We need to form the right attitude towards this situation, analyze our work from the previous period, understand what was effective, what was less effective, what we did right, what was wrong, and prepare for the next Olympic Games,” said the Prime Minister, adding that analytical work would be carried out soon to clarify future steps.

Pashinyan emphasized that the government’s policy remains unchanged. He noted that one of the fundamental problems facing Armenian sports is the obvious absence or low quality of sports infrastructure. “I am pleased to say that large-scale sports infrastructures are being created in the Republic today, including in collaboration with well-known athletes in the field. Our commitment to have a sports school named after an Olympic champion remains in place,” stated Nikol Pashinyan.

He informed that sports facilities would be established in the regions through public-private partnerships. According to Pashinyan, the government will build sports centers in the regions, and management will be entrusted to professional companies. “We will also finance the visits of children to these centers just as we fund schools based on the number of children. A specific quota will be allocated for each center so that we can finance the participation of children,” said the government leader, adding that sports must be regarded as an industry.

The Prime Minister believes that the most important economic component is as follows: if there is investment and proper management, there will be results; if there is no investment and no proper management, there will be no results.

At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan underscored the importance of effective cooperation between the government and sports federations. He noted that quite a number of young athletes from Armenia's team participated in the Paris Olympic Games, with whom hopes are pinned. The government leader emphasized that the support programs will continue as planned. “In conclusion, I want to once again thank all of you for your dedication, your performances, and your efforts. I believe you know and imagine what great excitement we all felt awaiting the news,” said the government leader.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Zhanna Andreasyan, also expressed gratitude to the Olympic team’s athletes, federations, and coaches for their effort and dedication, adding that fans had the opportunity to follow the athletes' performances at