Western Armenia national football team
The Western Armenia national football team (Armenian: Արեւմտյան Հայաստանի Ֆուտբոլի ազգային հավաքական, romanized: Arevmtyan Hayastani futbol azgayin havak'akan) is a football team representing the Armenians primarily from the historical region of Western Armenia, which is currently within the borders of Turkey.
 | ||
| Nickname(s) | The Highlanders[1] Լեռնաշխարհը | |
|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation of Western Armenia | |
| Confederation | Confederation of Independent Football Associations | |
| Head coach | Harutyun Vardanyan | |
| Top scorer | David Ghandilyan (5) | |
| FIFA code | n/a | |
| ||
| First international | ||
 Western Armenia 12–0 Chagos Islands  (Sukhumi, Georgia; 30 May, 2016) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
| Western Armenia 12–0 Chagos Islands (Sukhumi, Georgia; 30 May, 2016) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
 Cascadia 4–0 Western Armenia (Hayes Lane, England; 7 June, 2018) | ||
History
The governing body, the Football Federation of Western Armenia, was formed in 2015 and joined the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA) on 1 June of that year.[2] The team's first ever game was played on 6 January 2016, when a Western Armenia XI played against Olympique de Marseille (CFA), the reserve team of the leading French football club.[3] Vahagn Militosyan scored both goals in a 3–2 defeat.[4]
10 days after the team's first ever game, Western Armenia was selected at ConIFA's 3rd AGM to be one of the 12 participants in the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup, to be held in Abkhazia in May and June.[5] In the draw for the competition, the team was selected in Group A alongside the hosts and the Chagos Islands.[6] Western Armenia's first full international, against the Chagos Islands, ended with the team inflicting a record 12–0 defeat on the Chagossians,[7] before going down to a 1–0 defeat against Abkhazia in the final group game.[8] This though was enough for the team to qualify for the quarter-finals where they played the Panjab football team.
International matches
| 30 May 2016 ConIFA WFC Group A | Chagos Islands | 0–12 | Western Armenia | Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi |
| 20:00 GET | Report |  3', 20', 30', 34', 45', 53' David Ghandilyan 55' Tamaz Avolian 58', 81' Armen Kapikiyan 64' Ruslan Trapizoyan 69' Vahagn Militosyan 73' Hiraç Yagan |
| 31 May 2016 ConIFA WFC Group A | Abkhazia  | 1–0 | Western Armenia | Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi |
| 20:00 GET | Dmitri Kortava 9' |
| 2 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Quarter-Final | Western Armenia | 2–3 |  Panjab | Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi |
| 20:00 GET | Tamaz Avolian 67' Raffi Kaya 79' |
Amar Purewal 2', 36', 44' |
| 3 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Placement R. 1 | Kurdistan Region  | 0–0 (5–6 p) | Western Armenia | Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi |
| 20:00 GET | ||||
| Penalties | ||||
Miran Khesro  Farhan Shakor Hunar Ahmad  Farhang Wriya Diyar Rahman Aras Mustafa Znar Faizi (?) |
Hiraç Yagan Raffi Kaya Tamaz Avolian Loris Berberian Jules Tepelian Herant Yagan Denis Oz |
|||
| 4 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Placement R. 2 | Sápmi  | 3–0 | Western Armenia | Daur Akhvlediani Stadium, Gagra |
| 15:00 GET |
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Gevorg Kasparov | 25 July 1980 | 0 | 0 |  FC Gandzasar Kapan |
| 2 | DF | Arman Mosoyan | 24 April 1990 | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
| 3 | DF | Fabrice Guzel | 9 November 1990 | 5 | 0 |  US Le Pontet |
| 4 | DF | Massis Kaya | 15 September 1990 | 5 | 0 | Unattached |
| 5 | DF | Rafael Safaryan | 30 January 1986 | 0 | 0 | FC Ararat |
| 6 | MF | Gevorg Najaryan | 6 January 1998 | 0 | 0 |  Shakhter Karagandy |
| 7 | MF | Artur Yedigaryan | 26 June 1987 | 0 | 0 |  Proleter Novi Sad |
| 8 | MF | David Azin | 11 January 1990 | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
| 9 | FW | Vahagn Militosyan | 10 June 1993 | 3 | 2 |  FC Nitra |
| 10 | MF | Khoren Veranyan | 4 September 1986 | 0 | 0 | Retired |
| 11 | FW | David Hovsepyan | 15 January 1991 | 3 | 0 | KFC Komárno |
| 12 | GK | Khachatur Hovsepyan | 15 January 1991 | 2 | 0 | FC Ararat |
| 13 | DF | Jules Tepelian | 31 October 1987 | 7 | 0 | UGA Ardzv |
| 14 | DF | Hiraç Yagan | 3 January 1989 | 7 | 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Stade Nyonnais |
| 15 | MF | Zaven Varjabetyan | 12 November 1998 | 1 | 0 |  ESC Rellinghausen |
| 16 | MF | Norik Hovsepyan | 23 December 1998 | 0 | 0 | Shirak SC |
| 17 | DF | Raffi Kaya | 8 June 1994 | 5 | 1 | Lancy |
| 18 | MF | Herant Yagan | 1 October 1994 | 6 | 0 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} FC Suryoye |
| 19 | FW | Levon Kürkciyan | 2 November 1994 | 2 | 0 | 1. FC Kleve |
| 20 | MF | Emmanuel Odemis | 5 July 2000 | 2 | 0 | Stade Nyonnais |
| 21 | FW | Vicken Valenza-Berberian | 21 September 1992 | 1 | 0 | FC Bords-de-Saône |
| 22 | MF | Axel Tashedjian | 9 May 2000 | 1 | 0 | Paris FC |
| 23 | MF | Georgi Minasov | 21 August 1990 | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
Managers
| Manager | Period | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Catikoglu |
2015–2016 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.7 |
| Harutyun Vardanyan |
2018–2019 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 28.6 |
| Totals | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 25 | |
President
| President | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Hiraç Yagan | 2015–present |
References
- "Western Armenia member of ConIFA". ffowa.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- "Homepage". Football Federation of Western Armenia. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- "Western Armenia will have their very first match in early January!". Twitter. ConIFA. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- "Football Federation of Western Armenia Plays First Game". asbarez.com. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- "#Abkhazia2016 participants". ConIFA. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- "CONIFA World Football Cup 2016 Draw is Set!". ConIFA. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- "Western Armenia Beats Chagos Islands 12:0 in CONIFA World Cup". asbarez.com. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- Abkhazia 1–0 Western Armenia (Video). Abkhazia: WFC 2016. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.