Premier: Football in Armenia as a branch of the economy did not  develop for the same reason as the other sectors of the economy -  monopolies, abuse

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."