FC Ararat-Armenia has announced it will vote against proposed amendments to the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) statutes, accusing those behind the changes of attempting to rewrite election rules to benefit a specific candidate ahead of the federation’s upcoming presidential election.
In an official statement, the club questioned both the timing and purpose of the amendments, arguing that they were not part of broader reforms aimed at improving Armenian football.
The proposed changes would:
* Remove the requirement for FFA Executive Committee candidates, including presidential and vice-presidential candidates, to have permanently resided in Armenia for the preceding year.
* Eliminate the requirement for candidates to speak Armenian.
* Change term-limit calculations so that officials serving less than two years would not have that period counted as a full term, while service of two years or more would count as one term.
Ararat-Armenia acknowledged that removing the residency requirement could be justified in certain circumstances, particularly for Armenian citizens who have worked abroad. However, it strongly opposed eliminating the Armenian-language requirement.
The club argued that Executive Committee members must understand the realities of Armenian football, communicate with local stakeholders and carry out administrative responsibilities that require knowledge of Armenian.
More significantly, Ararat-Armenia alleged that the amendments were designed around an individual rather than the federation’s institutional needs.
“Why now, and why these particular changes?” the club asked, arguing that the statutes were being adjusted to accommodate a specific candidate ahead of the presidential election.
It also questioned the proposed changes to term limits, asking which current Executive Committee member had served less than two years and stood to benefit from the revised rules.
The club further clarified that, although the extraordinary FFA assembly was formally convened at the initiative of member clubs, the clubs themselves had not drafted or initiated the proposed amendments, at least to Ararat-Armenia’s knowledge.
Ararat-Armenia said it had signed the request for the assembly only after learning that the necessary quorum had already been secured, intending to hear other clubs’ positions and participate in discussions rather than endorse the amendments.
The club’s management will be in Leiria, Portugal, on November 4 for Ararat-Armenia’s UEFA Europa League fixture against Torreense, preventing its representatives from attending the assembly in person.
Ararat-Armenia concluded that the proposed changes undermine the principles of fairness, equal opportunity, competition and transparency, confirming that it will vote against the amendment package.
