“For the First Time in History”: A Year of Historic Results for Armenia

“For the first time in history” — this phrase has recently been heard and seen more and more often in the context of Armenian sports achievements. In 2025 and already in 2026, Armenian sport recorded a series of results that became historic for the country. These achievements span both team and individual sports.

Futsal
The Armenia national futsal team qualified for the final tournament of the European Championship — EURO 2026 — for the first time in history. This is the first time an Armenian team in a team sport has qualified for a final tournament of this level. In addition, Armenia’s futsal team reached the UEFA Futsal EURO playoffs for the first time.

Club Football
Armenian club FC Noah reached the European cup playoffs for the first time in history and will play in the UEFA Conference League Round of 32.

Weightlifting
Armenia’s national weightlifting teams finished first in the team standings of the European Championship for the first time in history — both in the men’s and women’s competitions.

Karate (WKF)
Suren Harutyunyan won a bronze medal at the WKF World Championship — Armenia’s first-ever medal at a karate world championship.

Diving
Alexandra Bibikina secured Armenia’s first-ever podium finish at the European Diving Championships.

MMA
Spartak Mikaelyan became Armenia’s first-ever senior MMA world champion under the IMMAF.

Alpine Skiing
Gleb Mosesov became the first Armenian alpine skier to qualify for a World Championship final run — in both slalom and giant slalom.

Football — Champions League

Henrikh Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian footballer to play in a UEFA Champions League final (2024/25 season). He also played in the 2023 final, but was injured and only came on late in the tie against Manchester City. He played the full match against PSG in 2025.

Judo
Vahe Aghasyan won gold at the European U23 Championship — Armenia’s first title in this age category in 22 years.

These results marked major milestones in the history of Armenian sport and expanded the country’s presence on the international sports stage.