Varazdat Haroyan compares Armenian and Kazakhstani leagues

The captain of the Armenian national team and Yerevan’s Pyunik, Varazdat Haroyan, shared his opinion about the differences between the Armenian and Kazakhstani leagues in an interview with FastSports TV channel.

Throughout his career, Haroyan played twice in the Kazakhstan Premier League with FC Astana — in 2021 and 2023.

“In Kazakhstan, where I played for about a year and a half, there were really good, high-level foreign players. That’s probably due to the high salaries,” Haroyan noted. “When I was there, there were no financial issues. Quality foreign players demand high wages — that’s normal, and in Kazakhstan, they were paid accordingly.

There are good foreign players in Armenia too, but significantly fewer of them, and that affects the overall level of the league. We need to improve the level of foreign players so that young Armenian footballers can learn from the best and play alongside them,” added the Pyunik captain.

Haroyan returned to his home club Pyunik in 2025 and became the team’s captain.