10 New Players in Ararat-Armenia’s Conference League Squad

FC Ararat-Armenia has released its squad list for the second qualifying round of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League, where the Armenian vice-champions will face Romanian side Universitatea Cluj. The club went through a major summer rebuild under its new Portuguese head coach, Tulipa.

Several key players from last season have left, and this Thursday we will see the renewed version of Ararat-Armenia. It’s still difficult to predict what Tulipa’s team is capable of, but experienced leaders remain in the squad — including Armen Ambartsumyan, Karen Muradyan, Jonathan Duarte, Junior Bueno, and Kamo Oganesyan.

Most newcomers are former players from Portugal’s second division, along with a few representatives of Armenia’s U21 national team.

Official Ararat-Armenia squad for the Conference League
* New players are marked with an asterisk.

Goalkeepers:

• Arman Nersesyan (Armenia)*

• Shirak Badalyan (Armenia)

• Bruno Pinto (Portugal)*

Defenders:

• Hugo Oliveira (Portugal)*

• Junior Bueno (Colombia)

• Joao Queiros (Portugal)

• Hakob Hakobyan (Armenia)

• Kamo Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

• Edgar Grigoryan (Armenia)

• Alexandros Melis (Greece)*

Midfielders:

• Juan Balanta (Colombia)*

• Armen Ambartsumyan (Armenia)

• Karen Muradyan (Armenia)

• Alvin Tera (Kenya)

• Welton (Brazil)*

• Joao Lima (Brazil)*

Forwards:

• Jirair Shaghoyan (Armenia)

• Araik Eloyan (Armenia)*

• Jonathan Duarte (Colombia)

• Matthew Gbomadu (Nigeria)

• Misak Hakobyan (Armenia)*

• Paul Ayongo (Ghana)*

Head coach: Tulipa

The first match against Universitatea Cluj will take place on July 24 in Yerevan, starting at 20:00 local time. The game will be played at the Avan Football Academy stadium, with free entrance for spectators.

Ararat-Armenia is the last Armenian club to kick off in European competitions this season — making their refreshed lineup especially interesting to follow given the team’s high ambitions.