Urartu Joins Court Case Over Armenia’s New Foreign Player Limit

Urartu Football Club has issued an official statement regarding the court proceedings related to the Football Federation of Armenia’s regulations for professional competitions in the 2026/27 season.

Earlier, FFA Executive Committee member and FC Noah Development Director Anna Oganyan filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Football Federation of Armenia Executive Committee’s decision of June 27, 2026, which approved the new competition regulations.

One of the key provisions of the document is a new limit on foreign players. Under the regulations, the total number of players with foreign-player status in Premier League and First League club squads may not exceed 15.

Amid the court proceedings, Urartu filed a motion to participate in the case and was admitted to the proceedings as a third party.

Why Urartu Supports the New Limit

The club believes that limiting the number of foreign players should help promote the development of local footballers.

According to Urartu, the new limit will give Armenian players and graduates of local academies more opportunities to make the transition to senior professional football and receive more playing time.

The club stressed that it is not opposed to foreign players as such. Urartu acknowledges that high-quality foreign footballers raise the level of the championship and increase competition.

At the same time, the club believes it is important to maintain a balance in which teams’ pursuit of short-term results does not restrict opportunities for the development of young players trained in Armenia.

The statement pays particular attention to the work of football academies. Urartu noted that hundreds of children are being trained within the club’s system and should be able to see a realistic pathway from youth football to the professional game.

Urartu Raises the Issue of Football Autonomy

Another part of the statement concerns the very fact that football regulations are being reviewed by a civil court.

Urartu believes that disputes related to internal sporting decisions have specific characteristics and should not be treated exclusively as ordinary civil-law disputes.

The club noted that international football has its own governance and dispute-resolution system involving national federations, FIFA, UEFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

According to Urartu, the current case could have consequences not only for the specific foreign-player limit or the 2026/27 season, but could also establish an important precedent for the entire governance system of Armenian football.

At the same time, the club specifically emphasized that its participation in the court proceedings does not mean that it supports the Football Federation of Armenia as one of the parties to the dispute.

Urartu stated that it is defending the principles of independent football governance, legal predictability, healthy competition and the creation of opportunities for Armenian footballers to develop.

Thus, the club has effectively backed the preservation of the new regulations and the 15-player foreign-player limit, while also opposing excessive intervention by civil courts in internal sporting decisions.

Urartu will now present its position and legal arguments directly as part of the court proceedings.