HFF President Armen Melikbekyan attended the opening ceremony of Juventus Academy Armenia

On September 30, the official opening ceremony of Juventus Academy Armenia took place. The ceremony was attended by FFA President Armen Melikbekyan, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis, Juventus Chief Business Officer Peter Silverstone, club legend Fabrizio Ravanelli, and other guests.

The opening ceremony began at the Academy’s Avan training facility. The guests toured the facility, familiarized themselves with the work carried out and the infrastructure, and watched the children’s training sessions. The Avan training facility includes accommodation for coaches and children who require it, a gym, medical examination and rehabilitation areas, an analysis room equipped with the latest technologies, a club shop, and other infrastructure. The facility was constructed in accordance with modern “green building” standards.

The guests then visited the Nor Hachn community in Kotayk Province, where construction work officially began on the Academy’s third branch and a new sports district.

The second part of the day featured the official opening ceremony of Freedom Arena, which meets UEFA Category 2 standards, and the Kentron training facility. In addition to football matches, Freedom Arena will be able to host sporting and other events. The stadium will have approximately 2,000 seats. The sports complex will also house Armenia’s first specialized sports medicine clinic and rehabilitation center, Medicina Dello Sport.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone who has been involved in the process of opening Juventus Academy Armenia. This is an excellent example of cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Football Federation of Armenia, private investors, and our partners at UEFA. What we saw today exceeded our expectations. A club with rich traditions and its own academy is coming to Armenia, bringing new methodology to our country and contributing to the development of Armenian football. I believe this is only the beginning, and in the coming years we will see new initiatives that will be equally important,” said FFA President Armen Melikbekyan.

Hundreds of children are already training at Juventus Academy Armenia. They are coached by 15 foreign coaches from the Juventus system, who have brought the club’s modern coaching methodology and knowledge-based approach to Armenia. Hundreds of academy players are already participating in Armenia’s youth championships.

The academy’s top players will have the opportunity to travel to Turin and train at Juventus’ main academy, as well as participate in the Juventus World Academy Championship and potentially pursue opportunities at European clubs.