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Shirak
Շիրակ

Full name	Football Club Shirak
Nickname(s)	Սև Հովազներ Sev Hovazner (Black Panthers)
Founded	1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Ground	Gyumri City Stadium
Capacity	4,500
President	Arman Sahakyan
Manager	Tigran Davtyan
League	Armenian Premier League
2023–24	8th of 10
Website	fcshirak.am
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Football Club Shirak (Armenian: Շիրակ Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ), commonly known as Shirak, is an Armenian professional sports club based in Gyumri. Shirak is known for its professional football team which is one of the oldest football clubs in Armenia, having been created in 1958. The club is the only team that participated in all seasons of the Armenian Premier League since its creation in 1992 until 2021. Shirak is one of the more successful clubs in Armenia, having won a total of 11 domestic titles including four Armenian Premier League titles, two Armenian Cup, and five Armenian Super Cup.

Shirak has yet to qualify for an international tournament playoff round, yet frequently plays UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying matches.

Shirak's home stadium is the 4,500 seater Gyumri City Stadium, the oldest venue in Armenia. Shirak's youth academy has also produced successful players, including Artur Petrosyan and Harutyun Vardanyan.

History

Shirak was founded in Gyumri in 1958, when Armenia was still a part of the Soviet Union. The club was originally named Shirak Leninakan, the latter being the name for Gyumri during the Soviet Union. From its creation to the fall of the Soviet Union, Shirak played all its matches in the Soviet third division First League.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union and the renaming of Leninakan, Shirak changed its name to Shirak Kumayri, and was placed in the Armenian Premier League with head coach Andranik Adamyan in charge.

1992 was the first Armenian Premier League season played in history, which ended with Shirak and Pyunik tied at the top with 37 points each. After failing to agree on a tie-breaking match, it was decided to award the title to both teams. Thus, Shirak managed to win the league in the first domestic league in Armenian history.

Shirak once again changed its name in late 1992 after the name Kumayri was changed for Gyumri. Therefore 1993 was the first appearance as Shirak Gyumri in the Armenian Premier League. After finishing second in the 1993 league season, Shirak qualified to the Armenian Cup final for the first time, yet failed to claim the title after losing 3–1 to Ararat.

Shirak went on to win the 1994 and 1995 seasons, however was not given the 1995 title due to it being a transitional spring season.

The next four seasons were not successful for the club, however Shirak managed to claim the league title again in 1999, with striker Arayik Adamyan scoring 16 goals. The league title would end up being the last title Shirak would win until the 2011-12 Armenian Cup.

Shirak would eventually go on to win the 2012-13 Armenian Premier League and the 2016-17 Armenian Cup final.

Domestic history since 1992

Season	League									National Cup	Top goalscorer		Manager
	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P		Name	League
1992	Armenian Premier League	1st	22	17	3	2	58	14	37	Semi-final	Grigor Grigoryan	19	Andranik Adamyan
1993		2nd	28	24	1	3	101	20	49	Runner-up	Abraham Khashmanyan	14
1994		1st	28	24	4	0	83	19	52	Runner-up	Artur Petrosyan	15
1995		1st	10	7	3	0	23	6	24	Semi-final	Hovhannes Tahmazyan Samvel Nikolyan Grigor Grigoryan	4
1995-96		2nd	22	16	3	3	67	23	51	Semi-final	Arayik Adamyan	15
1996-97		4th	22	15	2	5	57	11	47	Quarter-final	Artur Petrosyan	11
1997		2nd	18	12	5	1	46	8	41	Not held	Artur Petrosyan	18
1998		2nd	26	19	4	3	72	25	61	Quarter-final	Arayik Adamyan	13
1999		1st	32	23	4	5	93	29	73	Runner-up	Arayik Adamyan	16
2000		3rd	28	17	7	4	64	21	58	Quarter-final	Artur Petrosyan	15
2001		4th	22	14	5	3	52	19	47	Semi-final	Ararat Harutyunyan Tigran Davtyan	9
2002		2nd	22	16	3	3	49	15	51	Quarter-final	Ararat Harutyunyan	10
2003		3rd	28	17	2	9	63	34	53	Semi-final	Tigran Davtyan	15
2004		8th	28	4	9	15	27	49	21	Semi-final	Yervand Hakobyan	7
2005		8th	18	3	3	12	19	36	12	Quarter-final	Karen G. Khachatryan Andranik Barikyan	5	Zhora Barseghyan
2006		7th	28	4	7	17	21	64	19	Quarter-final	Ara Mkrtchyan	5
2007		6th	28	9	7	12	27	37	34	Quarter-final	Artyom Bernetsyan	7
2008		7th	28	5	4	19	15	40	19	Quarter-final	Andranik Barikyan	4
2009		6th	28	5	8	15	24	55	23	Quarter-final	Andranik Barikyan	8
2010		8th	28	2	4	22	22	68	10	Quarter-final	Mkrtich Nalbandyan	9	Vardan Bichakhchyan
2011		7th	28	6	7	15	27	42	25	Runner-up	Andranik Barikyan	10	Samvel Petrosyan
2011-12		Only Cup competition was held								Winner			Vardan Bichakhchyan
2012–13		1st	42	26	10	6	70	38	88	Runner-up	Yoro Lamine Ly	18
2013–14		2nd	28	13	8	7	48	31	47	Quarter-final	Serges Déblé	15
2014–15		3rd	28	14	7	7	51	32	49	Quarter-final	Jean-Jacques Bougouhi	21
2015–16		2nd	28	15	7	6	41	27	52	Quarter-final	Konan Odilon Kouakou	6
2016–17		3rd	30	16	5	9	31	24	53	Winner	Viulen Ayvazyan	8
2017–18		4th	30	14	8	8	37	31	38	Semi-final	Moussa Bakayoko	7
2018–19		7th	32	7	15	10	26	30	36	First round	Moussa Bakayoko Aram Muradyan	4
2019–20		4th	28	13	7	8	40	30	46	Second round	Mory Kone	23
2020–21		9th	24	2	7	15	19	53	13	First round	Artyom Mikaelyan, Igor Stanojević, Arman Aslanyan	2	Tigran Davtyan
2021–22	Armenian First League	2nd	28	22	3	3	83	19	69	First round	Artem Gevorgyan	12
2022–23	Armenian Premier League	7th	36	10	6	20	25	55	36	Runner-up	Moussa Bakayoko	7
2023–24		8th	36	8	9	19	28	46	33	Semi-final	Donald Kodia	6

European

As of match played 27 August 2020

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1995–96	UEFA Cup	PR	Zagłębie Lubin	0–1	0–0	0–1
1996–97	UEFA Cup	PR	Anorthosis Famagusta	2–2	0–4	2–6
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q	Malmö	0–2	0–5	0–7
1999–00	UEFA Cup	1Q	HJK Helsinki	1–0	0–2	1–2
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	1Q	BATE Borisov	1–1	1–2	2–3
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Tatabánya	1–3	3–2	4–5
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Santa Clara	3–3	0–2	3–5
2003–04	UEFA Cup	QR	Nordsjælland Farum	0–2	0–4	0–6
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1Q	Tiraspol	1–2	0–2	1–4
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Rudar Pljevlja	1–1	1–0	2–1
		2Q	Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv	0–1	0–2	0–3
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Tre Penne	3–0	0–1	3–1
		2Q	Partizan Belgrade	1–1	0–0	1–1
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Shakhter Karagandy	1–2	0–4	1–6
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	HŠK Zrinjski Mostar	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q	AIK Fotboll	0–2	0–2	0–4
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Dila Gori	1–0 (aet)	0–1	1–1 (4–1 p)
		2Q	Spartak Trnava	1–1	0–2	1–3
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Gorica	0–2	2–2	2–4
2020–21	UEFA Europa League	1Q	FCSB	—	0–3	—

Kit and badge

For most of the club's history, the team's colours were orange and black, inspired on the dominant colours present in Gyumri's architecture, specifically the Holy Saviour's Church, located in the city.

As of 2019, Shirak has reached an agreement with Swiss sportswear company Fourteen to provide all match and training apparel.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Badge

The club's current badge design was inspired by Gyumri's seal, with the main feature being the lion and cross which were present on the flag of the Bagratuni dynasty, which ruled Bagratid Armenia during the Middle Ages.

Stadium

Shirak's home stadium has always been the Gyumri City Stadium, built in 1924 and currently the oldest football stadium in the country. Following renovation works in 1999, the stadium became an all-seater stadium with a capacity for 2,844. The stadium pitch and facilities were upgraded in 2012 to meet all UEFA stadium regulations, allowing Shirak to play its UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying matches at home.

The stadium capacity was once again increased, this time to the current 4,500 capacity following a second round of renovations in 2019. These renovations included new seating in the south end of the stadium.

List of stadiums used by the club

• Gyumri City Stadium: 1958-

Supporters

Shirak's fans are known as the Black Panthers, in honor of the panther that appears on the flag of the Bagratid dynasty. Shirak's supporters are also considered to be one of the best in Armenian football, with high match attendance and active supporters during matches. Supporters have rioted against club management when the club failed to reach desired results in the past.

Rivalries

Shirak's main rival is considered to be Gandzasar. This rivalry grew as both teams were the only teams in the league that weren't from Yerevan, and thus competed to be the best team from the provinces.

Players

Current squad

As of 11 August 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SRB Darko Vukašinović 2 DF  ARM Hovhannes Pahlevanyan 4 DF  ARM Hamlet Mnatsakanyan 5 DF  ARM Hrayr Mkoyan (captain) 6 MF  ARM Rafik Misakyan 7 DF  ARM Seryozha Urushanyan 8 MF  ARM Levon Darbinyan 9 FW  ARM Lyova Mryan 10 FW  ARM Razmik Hakobyan 11 MF  ARM Sergey Manukyan 18 MF  ARM Samvel Ghukasyan 19 MF  CIV Junior Magico Traore 20 MF  ARM Rudik Mkrtchyan

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW  CIV Donald Kodia 23 FW  ARM Emil Papikyan 25 DF  ARM Gagik Akulyan 26 DF  SRB Aleksa Vidić 44 DF  ARM Tigran Sumbulyan 47 MF  ARM Albert Darbinyan 55 GK  ARM Lyova Karapetyan 57 FW  ARM Albert Gareginyan 77 FW  CIV Mory Kone 88 DF  ARM Yuri Vardanyan 96 GK  ARM Sokrat Hovhannisyan 97 FW  CIV Cedric Doh 99 DF  ARM Robert Darbinyan

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ARM Mher Tarloyan (at BKMA until 30 June 2025)

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Vardan Bichakhchyan
First Assistant Coach	Felix Khojoyan
Assistant coach	Hovhannes Tahmazyan
Goalkeepers Coach	Artur Hovhannisyan
Team Manager	Ararat Harutyunyan
Masseur	Armen Sukiasyan
Translator	Harutyun Harutyunyan
Shirak-2 Coach	Tigran Davtyan

Institutional

Executive board

Arman Sahakyan has been the President of Shirak since he purchased the club in 2010.

Staff

• Technical director: Georgi Matevosyan
• Sporting director: Andranik Adamyan
• Press Secretary: Arman Maloyan
• Administrator: Suren Simonyan

Honours

Domestic

League

• Armenian Premier League
  • Champions (4): 1992, 1994, 1999, 2012–13

Cup

• Armenian Cup
  • Winners (2): 2011–12, 2016-17
• Armenian Super Cup
  • Winners (6): 1997, 2000, 2003, 2013, 2017, 2023

Other sports sections

Football reserves and academy

Shirak's youth academy has produced several notable players throughout its history. Artur Petrosyan is the most prominent academy product, having a successful career in Armenia and European football.

Shirak's reserves compete in the Armenian First League, the second division in Armenian football. The reserves are currently coached by Tigran Davtyan and also play their matches at the Gyumri City Stadium.

Futsal

On 8 September 2017, prior to the beginning of the 2017-18 Armenian Futsal Premier League season, Shirak Sports Club took over the Gyumri Futsal club, who were a founding member of the domestic futsal championship in Armenia which began in 1998. As a result, the futsal team was re-branded as Shirak SC Futsal.

Basketball

On 19 September 2017, Shirak announced the creation of a basketball team that would compete in the newly created Armenia Basketball League A.

See also

• Football in Armenia
• Football Federation of Armenia

References

1. http://fcshirak.am/
2. "Armenia - List of Champions". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
3. "FC Shirak achievements". Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
4. "Soviet Union 1958". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
5. "Armenia 1992". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
6. "Armenia 1995 Transitional Spring Season". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
7. "Armenia. 1999 Premier League". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
8. "hy:Գյումրին պատրաստ է ընդունել ֆուտբոլային տոնը". Retrieved July 7, 2012.
9. "Championship of Derbies – The Armenian Premier League After the Winter Break". 4 March 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
10. "Bank VTB (Armenia) to sponsor Shirak football club". Retrieved 21 June 2019.
11. "Գյումրիի "Շիրակ"-ը հայտարարել է ֆուտզալի թիմ հիմնելու մասին". Sportal.Am. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
12. "We continue to extend our Sport family!". FC Shirak at Instagram. 19 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 4 November 2017.

External links

• Official website

• Shirak SC
• Football clubs in Armenia
• Association football clubs established in 1958
• 1958 establishments in Armenia