Armenian premier on steps to institutionalize sports 

ArmInfo.  Yesterday, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the awards ceremony for the winners of the "Best Athletes of 2025" competition, organized as part of the event dedicated to International Sports Day. 

According to the government press service, the event was also attended by President Vahagn Khachaturyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, heads of  various sports federations, athletes, and coaches.

Before the awards ceremony, the Prime Minister congratulated everyone  on International Sports Day and thanked the athletes who spared no  effort to represent the Republic of Armenia with honor at various  competitions. "The budget figures speak for themselves. We strive to  provide ever-increasing support to our sports, but analyzing the  results of this support has further strengthened our conviction that  the institutionalization of sports is an important, profound step we  must take to consolidate current successes and formulate new  ambitions for our sport. Today, we are taking very serious steps  toward the institutionalization of sports," the Prime Minister noted.

Nikol Pashinyan added that everything began with simple programs, and  now serious, large-scale projects are being implemented. "For  example, in Yerevan, the construction of the Hrant Shahinyan Sports  School is currently underway; it is in its final stages, while the  construction of the Albert Azaryan Sports School is progressing very  rapidly. We recently made the necessary decisions regarding the  construction of the Artur Abraham Sports School, and the Artur  Aleksanyan Sports Complex is underway in Gyumri. We are now  relaunching the project with Nazik Avdalyan in the Shirak region. In  the Lori region, we are beginning construction of the Vik Darchinyan  Sports School, the Yuri Sargsyan Sports School, and the Stepan  Sargsyan Sports School. In the Aragatsotn region, we are beginning  construction of the Roman and Malkhas Amoyan Sports School, and the  Simon Martirosyan Sports School is already successfully operating. We  consider these projects very important, as we are transforming the  values established in the field of sports into more institutional and  tangible assets," the head of state continued.

The Prime Minister also spoke about a project being implemented in  Yerevan jointly with the Juventus Football Club and noted the idea of  expanding this project to the regions. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized  that stadium construction is planned in the cities of Ijevan,  Yerevan, Vanadzor, and the Academic City.

"It is very important to note that the '300 Schools' program is of  great importance in terms of sports development, as we have noted  that a school should be understood as a structure, a territory, with  a mandatory gym and an outdoor sports field," Nikol Pashinyan said,  emphasizing that work on building gyms is underway in 25 schools  across the country. For the 300 newly built schools, the mandatory  requirement is a gym that meets modern standards and outdoor sports  fields.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the election program already  includes the construction of sports and art schools as needed.  Construction has also begun on 100 multifunctional sports grounds in  various communities, which will include at least futsal, football,  and basketball courts. "But I also promised, and we have already made  the decision, that in the near future we will build a sports school  named after the Armenian futsal team to commemorate our team's  historic achievement and also to use this momentum to enhance the  institutional popularity of this sport in the Republic of Armenia,"  the head of government emphasized.

In his speech, the prime minister mentioned the European  Championships that Armenia has hosted in recent years. "We've already  held several very successful European Championships: in boxing,  weightlifting, shooting, and the World Sambo Championships. In the  near future, news will emerge that we will also be included in the  international cycling competition calendar, and one of the  prestigious international tournaments will be held in the Republic of  Armenia. The Francophonie Games, the European Gymnastics  Championships, and the World Weightlifting Championships are also  planned for the Republic of Armenia," Nikol Pashinyan announced.

The head of state emphasized, however, that the most important  observation today is that children, who are increasingly getting  involved in sports, are inspired by the athletes present in this  hall. "I want to thank everyone for the inspiration they give to our  youth and, in general, to all of us. Today's event is a great honor  for us. We want to pay tribute to all our athletes who, in 2025 or in  the previous sporting year, which we are summing up today, on the  International Day of Sport, ultimately enhanced and strengthened the  sporting reputation of the Republic of Armenia with their successes  and, of course, gave indescribable moments of joy, happiness and  pride to all citizens of the Republic of Armenia and all Armenians  who followed the performances of our athletes in different parts of  the world and were proud of these achievements. Once again, I would  like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all athletes, all  coaches, all federations, all those people who made a specific  contribution, who spare no effort and energy, who invest their  physical and emotional strength in the name of the Republic of  Armenia, because the greatest symbol of sporting life is, in the end,  what we began our event with today: when the national anthem of the  Republic of Armenia is played. This is an important goal that we, in  essence, "We pursue this in all areas, but sports in particular make  this process much more visible, much more tangible, much more  emotional, and these emotions are priceless," the Prime Minister  said, assuring that the Armenian government will not slow down this  pace, but, on the contrary, will make it more focused and effective.

On the occasion of the fourfold increase in sports funding, the head  of state expressed gratitude to all people working in the Republic of  Armenia, achieving results, paying legally established taxes, all  citizens, all those who subscribe to cash registers, and all those  who demand cash registers, because this fourfold increase in funding  is the result of their efforts.

It should be noted that the winners were awarded prizes in the amount  of 6,250,000 drams and souvenirs.  The winners in the "Best Athletes"  nomination were Varazdat Lalayan (weightlifting), Artur Davtyan  (gymnastics), Malkhas Amoyan (Greco-Roman wrestling), in the "Best  Female Athlete" category - Alexandra Grigoryan (weightlifting), "Best  Athlete with Disabilities" - Sargis Sargsyan (chess), "Best Team" -  the Armenian futsal team, "Best Young Athlete" - Gaspar Terteryan  (Greco-Roman wrestling), "Return to Great Sport and/or Discovery" -  Suren Harutyunyan (karate), "Most Popular Athlete of the Republic of  Armenia" - Hamlet Manukyan (gymnastics), "Best Coach" - Pashik  Alaverdyan (weightlifting) and others.