ArmInfo.A new model of football management and development is being tested in Armenia, which had no precedent in the country. On December 24, accepting the newly elected President of the Football Federation of Armenia Armen Melikbekyan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated.
According to the press service of the RA government, congratulating the newly elected head of the FFA, Nikol Pashinyan noted that there are many fans in Armenia, and, of course, "we are not indifferent to the processes taking place in football and the Football Federation". Football, according to the prime minister, is very important for three reasons. Firstly, the development of football is of strategic importance for the country, since changes in the content in Armenia should also affect football. "In a sense, football and the national football team will reflect our national and state aspirations, and the results will be equivalent to our ambitions. Secondly, I think that yesterday's election of the president of the Football Federation is important, because in the context of the fight against corruption, the decriminalization of sports from corruption is extremely important for the government. Unfortunately, in many cases, we fix that subcultures and corruption circles penetrate the sector of sports, football, and we need to ensure the exclusion of criminal relations and corruption. Knowing your path, I am convinced that you will be consistent in this direction, "the head of government emphasized.
Thirdly, according to him, the development of football is important from the point of view of capacity development, which is often referred to in relation to building the capacity of citizens of the country. "Football is one of the areas in which many young boys and girls can find inspiration for development, use their opportunities. And it is very important that we develop football infrastructure in the Republic of Armenia as an important attribute of public life," said Nikol Pashinyan.
He stated that the Football Federation operates independently of the government. "But I also think that a common understanding creates great opportunities for cooperation, since the Football Federation of Armenia has opportunities for cooperation with both the Armenian government and state bodies, as well as with the international football community. I am convinced that not all potential is used here, and I wish you all the best in maximizing the use of this potential, "the head of government said. In turn, newly elected FFA President Armen Melikbekyan noted that he accepts congratulations not on his own behalf, but on behalf of the entire football family. "For many years we did not have competitive elections in the Football Federation of Armenia. This happened, and this is an important sign that football in Armenia should go to healing. As for the mechanisms to fight corruption, you know, and recently the public has been monitoring these positive events in European and world football. Both UEFA and FIFA have had scandalous events with the resignation of the FIFA President, and the reconstruction process is continuing there. Of course, we also cooperate with international organizations in this regard - UEFA and FIFA, and we will do our best to avoid such events in Armenia. We have a vision, our strategy determines our vision until 2025 to make Armenia more recognizable through football. This is our vision, and we will follow this path. The vision also emphasizes a successful performance various national teams and the national team in the finals of the European and World Championships. Of course, this is an ambitious plan until 2025, but we will do our best to develop the infrastructure in Armenia, and football really become a national game, which will be for "but not for people of a narrow circle," said the head of the FFA.
The Prime Minister noted that in the modern world, football has begun to be perceived not only as a sport, but also as a branch of the economy. Football in Armenia did not develop as a branch of the economy for the same reason as the other sectors of the economy - monopoly, abuse, and limited opportunities. Touching upon the competitive nature of the FFA presidential election, Nikol Pashinyan noted: "In fact, this is a very positive change. In fact, we may not even have noticed. For many years I don't remember the presidential election of the Football Federation with more than one candidate."