View source for Football Federation of Armenia

{{Short description|Association football governing body in Armenia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox football association
| Logo                  = Football Federation of Armenia logo.svg
| Badge size            = 200
| Founded               = {{Start date and age|1992|1|18|df=y}}
| FIFA affiliation      = 1992
| Region                = [[UEFA]]
| Region affiliation    = 1992
| Subregion             = 
| Subregion affiliation = 
| President             = Armen Melikbekyan
| Vice-President        = 
| Website               = {{URL|http://www.ffa.am}}
}}

The '''Football Federation of Armenia''' ('''FFA''') ({{langx|hy|Հայաստանի Ֆուտբոլի Ֆեդերացիա}}, ''Hayastani Futboli Federats’ia'') is the governing body of [[association football]] in [[Armenia]]. Its headquarters are located in [[Yerevan]].

The Federation organizes the [[Armenian Premier League]], the [[Armenian First League]], the [[Armenian Super Cup]], the [[Armenian Cup|Armenian Independence Cup]], and the [[Armenian Futsal Premier League]]. It is responsible for appointing the management of the [[Armenia national football team]], and the [[Armenia women's national football team]]. The [[Armenia national futsal team]] is also managed by the Federation.

The FFA was awarded a synthetic football turf pitch by [[FIFA]] through its GOAL programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/newscentre/features/news/newsid=2275673/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303152857/http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/features/news/newsid=2275673/|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2014|title=Goal supporting Armenia|publisher=FIFA|access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref>

==History==
Armenia's official football history began in the early 1990s, but its traditions with the sport dates back further. The collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] and Armenia's [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia|declaration of independence]] in 1991 were significant moments in the country's sporting development, as well as in its political history. From a footballing perspective, those events prompted the founding, on 18 January 1992, of the Football Federation of Armenia.

The FFA duly became a member of the game's world and European governing bodies, [[FIFA]] and [[UEFA]], in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ffa.am/en/About-FFA|title=About FFA|publisher=Football Federation of Armenia|access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/member-associations/association=arm/index.html|title=Armenia always a football hotbed|publisher=UEFA|language=en|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref> The national team made their competitive debut in qualification for the [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996 UEFA European Championship]]. Armenia kicked off with a 2–0 defeat against [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] on 7 September 1994 yet also made history in that EURO '96 campaign. The team recorded their first competitive victory when they won 2–1 against [[North Macedonia national football team|FYR Macedonia]] on 6 September 1995. Since then, Armenia has been a permanent fixture in EURO and World Cup qualifying tournaments, earning the notable achievement of finishing third in their [[UEFA Euro 2012]] group, during which, talismanic attacking midfielder [[Henrikh Mkhitaryan]], who then played in [[FC Shakhtar Donetsk]], emerged as a player of top international caliber.

On an infrastructure level, work began in 2007 on a national-team training center and academy with residential facilities. The center opened in September 2010. The [[Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium|Yerevan Republican Stadium]] has also been partly redeveloped, with one particular benefit of this initiative being its impressive new playing surface.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://armenianow.com/sports/soccer/48311/armenia_soccer_hrazdan_stadium_denmark_match|title=Soccer: Armenia fans gear for home match after Havakakan's two away wins|publisher=ArmeniaNow|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-date=13 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913010422/http://armenianow.com/sports/soccer/48311/armenia_soccer_hrazdan_stadium_denmark_match|url-status=dead}}</ref> In recent years, around 90 small stadiums have been built throughout Armenia with the support of FIFA and the [[Government of Armenia]]. 

On 15 June 2022, [[President of FIFA]] [[Gianni Infantino]] paid an official visit to Armenia to participate in events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Football Federation of Armenia. Infantino pledged his support to develop football in Armenia. Infantino met with Prime Minister [[Nikol Pashinyan]] and advised that FIFA will continue to support Armenia in the development of football infrastructure, including with the construction of a new national stadium.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/06/15/fifas-infantino-pledges-support-to-the-construction-of-new-national-stadium-in-armenia/|title=FIFA's Infantino pledges support to the construction of new national stadium in Armenia|publisher=armradio.am|access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref>

==Structure==
===Presidents===

*[[Nikolay Ghazaryan]] (1992–1994)
*[[Armen Sargsyan (footballer)|Armen Sargsyan]] (1994–1998)
*[[Suren Abrahamyan]] (1998–2002)
*[[Ruben Hayrapetyan]] (2002–2018)
*[[Artur Vanetsyan]] (2018–2019)
*[[Armen Melikbekyan]] (2019–present)

==See also==
* [[Armenian Table Soccer Federation|Armenian Table Football Federation]]
* [[List of football clubs in Armenia]]
* [[List of football stadiums in Armenia]]
* [[Yerevan Football Academy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ffa.am/ Football Federation of Armenia]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070604201529/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=arm/index.html  Armenia] at FIFA site
*[http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=ARM/index.html  Armenia] at UEFA site

{{Football in Armenia}}
{{Futsal in Armenia}}
{{UEFA associations}}
{{Sports governing bodies in Armenia}}
{{Sports in Armenia}}
{{Football venues in Armenia}}

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[[Category:National members of UEFA|Armenia]]
[[Category:Football in Armenia]]
[[Category:Futsal in Armenia]]
[[Category:Sports governing bodies in Armenia|Football]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1992]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Armenia]]
[[Category:Association football governing bodies in Europe|Armenia]]