Pashinyan names Noah a pioneer of a new stage in Armenian football development

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that football is gradually becoming a separate sector of the country’s economy, highlighting major private investment in the development of football infrastructure.

As examples, the head of government pointed to the projects of FC Noah and the Juventus Academy, both of which he visited over the past two weeks.

According to Pashinyan, football clubs and academies in Armenia had previously developed largely through fragmented support — someone would provide boots, someone else balls, while part of the funding would be requested from municipalities or the government, with benefactors also involved. The Prime Minister said such a model could not ensure the sustainable development of football.

He noted that the situation is now gradually changing, as significant private investment is being made in Armenian football.

“Football is becoming a separate branch of Armenia’s economy because there are people making major investments in football,” Pashinyan said.

At the same time, the Prime Minister singled out Noah as one of the pioneers of this new approach, followed by the major Juventus Academy project in Armenia.

“There have to be pioneers. First of all, Noah became one, and then Juventus followed. In this way, they started the process,” Pashinyan said.

On September 19, the Prime Minister attendedthe opening of Noah’s youth football centre. The academy is designed to accommodate up to 1,500 children and teenagers. During the visit, Pashinyan was also presented with plans for the further development of the Noah Park complex and the club’s future stadium.

Eleven days later, on September 30, Pashinyan attended the official opening of the Juventus Academy in Armenia. Around $20 million has been invested in the development of the project’s two training centres in Yerevan.

The Prime Minister stressed that such private initiatives can also expect support from the government. According to him, in the cases of Noah and Juventus, the government should show flexibility in helping the projects obtain the necessary land and develop their infrastructure.

Pashinyan also described such football projects as socially important and expressed confidence that more academies would be established in Armenia in the future.

FC Noah is also implementing a major infrastructure project in Vagharshapat. In September, the club announced the start of the main preparatory works for the construction of its own stadium as part of the Noah Park project. The future arena is expected to meet UEFA Category 4 requirements and form part of a larger complex that will also include a football academy and other sports infrastructure.

At the Armenian government meeting on October 1, Pashinyan once again highlighted the growing level of investment in football, saying that the sport is becoming one of the areas of Armenia’s economic development.