Full Information on the four football schools in Yerevan and the regions

On August 17, National Assembly MP Gegham Manukyan addressed a question to Sisak Gabrielyan, a candidate for Chair of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sports of the National Assembly, regarding the football school construction program being implemented by the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) and the progress of its implementation.

Given that the issue concerns the activities of the FFA and that the information presented in the National Assembly was not comprehensive, we consider it necessary to provide detailed information on the progress of the football school construction program.

We would also like to emphasize that the FFA regularly submits all details regarding the progress of the Program to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (ESCS) and operates under the supervision of the state body.

Thus, within the framework of Government Decision No. 2080-N of December 29, 2022, and the agreement signed on December 30, 2022, between the Football Federation of Armenia NGO and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, a program is being implemented to construct four football schools in Yerevan and the communities of Martuni, Ijevan and Artashat.

The total budget allocated for the implementation of the Program is AMD 5 billion. Fifty percent of this amount, AMD 2.5 billion, has been transferred to a separate bank account of the FFA and is used exclusively for the Program and only with the authorization of the Ministry of ESCS. This excludes the possibility of non-targeted or inefficient use of these funds.

The Program is implemented strictly in accordance with the procedures established by the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Procurement. Information on the procurement procedures is published on the official state procurement website, gnumner.minfin.am. In order to fully comply with the procedures stipulated by the procurement legislation, the FFA has engaged appropriately qualified specialists using its own resources.

The design and cost-estimate documentation for three football schools — in Ijevan, Artashat and Yerevan — was submitted to the Ministry within the timeframe stipulated by the agreement, on May 29, 2026.

With regard to the construction of the football school in Martuni, under the agreement signed between the Ministry and the FFA, following the allocation of the land plot, the FFA is required to submit the design and cost-estimate documentation justifying the project cost within nine months. The aforementioned land plot was transferred to the Martuni community on December 25, 2025, only after which it became possible to begin implementing the project. The ongoing work is proceeding in accordance with the established schedule, and the design and cost-estimate documentation for the Martuni football school will be submitted to the Ministry within the prescribed timeframe.

Gegharkunik Province, Martuni

The site selected for the construction of the football school in Gegharkunik Province is the former stadium area located at 19 Getapnya 2nd Street, Martuni.

During the implementation of the necessary procedures, it became clear that the Martuni stadium had been privatized. The FFA informed the Ministry of ESCS about this and noted that numerous negotiations had been held with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the heads of the Martuni community. Taking into account the lack of alternative options, it was ultimately decided to repurchase the stadium land from the private owner.

On April 12, 2023, the FFA sent a letter to Karen Giloyan, Deputy Minister of ESCS, presenting proposals concerning the acquisition of the Martuni stadium land.

Subsequently, the issue concerning the Martuni stadium land became the subject of examination within the framework of criminal proceedings, as a result of which the FFA's acquisition process was suspended. According to information published by the Prosecutor General's Office, based on a motion submitted by the prosecutor, ownership of the 6.5-hectare land plot of the Martuni stadium was registered in the name of the Martuni community.

As a result, on May 12, 2025, the Martuni community's ownership rights over the property located at 22 Getapnya 2nd Street were restored.

After being informed of the above, on July 1, 2025, the FFA submitted a letter to the Ministry of ESCS stating that, due to legal obstacles concerning the land plot over the previous three years, it had been unable to commence construction of the football school. The letter also stated that the land had been returned to the possession of the Martuni community and that all existing legal obstacles had been removed. In view of this, the FFA requested the Ministry of ESCS to facilitate permission for the FFA to begin the design work for the football school planned for the site within the framework of the Agreement.

On July 25, 2025, the Ministry responded that the construction of a football school at 19 Getapnya 2nd Street in Martuni was under consideration and that additional information would be provided to the FFA regarding the outcome of the discussions.

On January 8, 2026, the Ministry provided the FFA with the ownership certificate for the land belonging to the Martuni community and proposed that the design work for the football school be carried out at the specified address.

Two procurement procedures announced in 2026 for consulting services for the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation were unsuccessful due to the absence of bids.

On June 2, 2026, the procurement procedure was announced for the third time. As a result, on June 26, 2026, a state procurement contract was signed for the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation. The design work stipulated by the contract is currently underway, with the completion deadline set for December 23, 2026.

Tavush Province, Ijevan

The site selected for the construction of the football school in Tavush Province is the area of the “Arnar” Stadium, located at 94/1 Artsakhyan Street, Ijevan.

On April 12, 2023, the FFA sent a letter to Karen Giloyan, Deputy Minister of ESCS, informing him that the stadium owner was willing to sell the land. At the same time, it was proposed to obtain a valuation report prepared by a licensed appraiser in accordance with Armenian legislation in order to determine the market value of the land and, on that basis, establish the maximum purchase price.

The market value of the land was assessed in accordance with the procedure established by Armenian legislation, and the price proposed by the owner was deemed acceptable. On December 5, 2023, the FFA informed the Ministry that the stadium owner was willing to sell the land.

With the Ministry's approval, on February 29, 2024, a sale and purchase agreement was signed for the buildings located on the land.

In accordance with the single-source procurement procedure established by Armenian legislation, an invitation was sent to “Center for Expertise of Urban Development Programs” CJSC on July 8, 2024. In order to ensure the seismic safety of the buildings and reduce seismic risks, the FFA initiated a procurement procedure for seismic assessment services.

On July 29, 2024, the relevant contract was signed with “Center for Expertise of Urban Development Programs” CJSC. The results of the seismic assessment were received on December 10, 2024.

The service was provided in violation of the procurement schedule established by the contract: instead of the contractual deadline of August 28, 2024, it was actually completed on December 10, 2024. Contractual penalties were applied for the delay.

In April 2025, the first procurement procedure for consulting services for the preparation of design and cost-estimate documentation was announced. One bid was submitted, but it did not meet the established criteria, and the procedure was therefore unsuccessful.

The next procedure, announced on July 28, 2025, was also unsuccessful due to the absence of bids.

On October 16, 2025, the procedure was announced for the third time, resulting in the signing of a contract for the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation on November 21, 2025.

The design was submitted to the FFA within the contractual deadline, on April 1, 2026.

Subsequently, on June 29, 2026, a procurement procedure was announced for the examination of the design and cost-estimate documentation. As a result, the relevant contract was signed on July 30, 2026. The contractual deadline for providing the services was set for August 20, 2026.

Yerevan

The site selected for the construction of the football school is a municipally owned land plot located at 109/10 A. Mikoyan Street, Davtashen.

As the aforementioned area had been assigned to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the FFA sent a letter on December 28, 2022, to then Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan, requesting information on the conditions for transferring the necessary land to the FFA for gratuitous use.

In response, by letter dated January 4, 2023, the Minister of Emergency Situations informed the FFA that the property at the aforementioned address had been transferred to the Ministry for gratuitous use. Therefore, the Ministry could only return the municipally owned land to the Yerevan Municipality.

Following lengthy negotiations, the Ministry returned the land to the Yerevan Municipality. The FFA then financed the geodetic survey of the land from its own resources and, by letter dated April 14, 2023, appealed to Yerevan Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinyan, requesting that the necessary land plot in the Davtashen administrative district be allocated to the FFA for gratuitous use for the construction of a football school. The FFA informed the Ministry of ESCS about this by letter dated May 31, 2023.

In order to implement Yerevan Council Decision No. 32-A of December 26, 2023, the Mayor of Yerevan issued Decision No. 421-A on February 5, 2024, concerning the designation of the intended and functional uses and the assignment of addresses to the municipally owned land plots located at 111/12 Anastas Mikoyan Street and 48/5 Davtashen 4th District, as well as the adjacent municipal land plots.

On March 25, 2024, a design permit was obtained from the Yerevan Municipality, after which the procurement process for consulting services for the preparation of design and cost-estimate documentation was initiated. The first two tenders did not result in a contract being signed due to the absence of a suitable price offer and the required guarantees. Following the third procedure, a contract for the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation was signed on February 25, 2025.

The service was provided in violation of the procurement schedule established by the contract: instead of the contractual deadline of July 25, 2025, it was actually completed on September 10, 2025. Contractual penalties were applied for the delay.

On October 22, 2025, a procurement procedure for examination services was announced. On October 29, 2025, it was declared unsuccessful due to the absence of bids.

A second procedure for examination services was announced on November 4, 2025, but was again declared unsuccessful on November 11 due to the absence of bids.

On November 26, 2025, the procedure was announced for the third time, resulting in the signing of a contract for the provision of examination services on January 19, 2026.

Following the completion of the preliminary examination, the necessary documents, including the Environmental Impact Assessment conclusion, were submitted for comprehensive examination on April 16, 2026.

Based on the comments received on June 23, 2026, the documentation package was revised and resubmitted to the relevant state body on July 1, 2026, for the continuation of the comprehensive examination.

On August 17, 2026, a positive comprehensive examination conclusion was received. Following this, work has already begun on obtaining the construction permit and launching the procurement procedure for the construction works.

Artashat

For the construction of the football school in Ararat Province, a municipally owned land plot located at 104 Orbeli Street, Artashat, was selected.

On January 9, 2023, the FFA applied to the Mayor of Artashat with a request to provide the land plot for gratuitous use.

On January 11, 2023, the Artashat Community Council adopted Decision No. 3-A, granting the municipally owned land plot to the FFA for gratuitous use for a period of 25 years.

Based on the above, on March 23, 2023, the Mayor of Artashat issued Decision No. 1348-A with the same content. On April 27, 2023, an agreement on the gratuitous use of the property was signed between the administrative institution of the Artashat Municipality staff and the FFA. On May 5, 2023, the corresponding right was registered in the state register of property rights.

Following discussions with the Ministry of ESCS, it was clarified that the land plots designated for the construction of football schools could not be owned or controlled by the FFA. On this basis, the agreement on the gratuitous use of the property signed with the Artashat Municipality was terminated.

The subsequent land allocation process was carried out by the Ministry, after which the Ministry informed the FFA that it could proceed with the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation.

On March 19, 2024, a contract was signed for the provision of services for the preparation of the design and cost-estimate documentation. The service was provided in violation of the procurement schedule established by the contract: instead of the contractual deadline of August 16, 2024, it was actually completed on December 25, 2024. Contractual penalties were applied for the delay.

The technical conditions required to organize the examination were obtained in August 2025.

On September 30, 2025, a procurement procedure for examination services was announced. On October 7, 2025, it was declared unsuccessful due to the absence of bids.

On November 3, 2025, the procedure was announced for the second time, but on November 10, 2025, it was again declared unsuccessful due to the absence of bids. On December 17, 2025, the procedure was announced for the third time.

Following the third procedure, a decision was made on January 14, 2026, to sign a contract with the selected company. On February 17, 2026, a contract for the provision of examination services was signed. The expert conclusion was submitted on June 26, 2026, in violation of the contractual deadlines. Contractual penalties were applied for the delay.

Following receipt of the expert conclusion, the process of obtaining the construction permit was initiated.