Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the solemn ceremony of awarding and honoring the winners of the "Selection of the Best in Sports in the Year of 2025" competition, which was organized within the framework of the event dedicated to the International Day of Sports.

The event was also attended by President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, heads of federations of various sports, athletes, coaches.

Before the award ceremony, Prime Minister Pashinyan made a speech, congratulated everyone on the occasion of the International Day of Sports, and thanked the athletes who spared no effort to properly represent the Republic of Armenia in various competitions.

“The budget numbers speak for themselves: we are trying to provide more and more support to our sport, but also analyzing the results of this support, our conclusion has been strengthened that the institutionalization of sport is an important deep step that we need to take in order to consolidate the current successes and formulate new ambitions for our sport. Today, we are taking very serious steps towards the institutionalization of sport,” the Prime Minister noted.

Nikol Pashinyan added that everything started with simple programs, and now serious deep projects are being implemented. “For example, in Yerevan, the Hrant Shahinyan Sports School is currently under construction, it is in the final stage, the construction of the Albert Azaryan Sports School is proceeding at a very fast pace, recently we made the necessary decisions regarding the construction of the Arthur Abraham Sports School, the construction of the Arthur Aleksanyan Sports Complex is underway in Gyumri.

We are now launching a joint project with Nazik Avdalyan again in Shirak region, in Lori region we are launching the construction of a sports school named after Vic Darchinyan, a sports school named after Yuri Sargsyan, a sports school named after Stepan Sargsyan, in Aragatsotn region we are launching the construction of a sports school named after Roman and Malkhas Amoyans, the sports school named after Simon Martirosyan is already operating successfully. We consider these projects very important, as we are transforming the values formed in the field of sports into more institutional and more material values,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the project being implemented in Yerevan jointly with the Juventus football club and noted that there is an idea to expand this project to the regions. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the construction of stadiums is planned in the cities of Ijevan, Yerevan, Vanadzor and in the Academic City.

"It is very important to note that the program of 300 schools is of significant importance in terms of sports, because we have noted that by saying school, we must understand a structure, an area where there is a physical education gym and an outdoor sports field," said Prime Minister Pashinyan and emphasized that work has been undertaken to construct physical education halls in 25 schools in the Republic, and in the case of 300 newly built schools, a physical education hall that meets modern standards and open sports fields are a mandatory condition.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the pre-election program has already included the construction of sports schools and art schools as needed. The construction of 100 combined sports fields in different communities, which will include at least the capacities of a futsal, football and basketball court, is also being initiated. "But I have also promised, and we have already made that decision, that in the near future we will build a sports school named after the Armenian futsal team to commemorate that historic achievement of our futsal team and also to use this moment to make this sport more popular in a more institutionally way in the Republic of Armenia."

In his speech, the Prime Minister referred to the European Championships held in Armenia in recent years: "We have already held several very successful European Championships: boxing, weightlifting, shooting, and also the Sambo World Championship. There will be news in the near future when we will also have our place in the calendar of international cycling competitions and one of the prestigious international tournaments will hold a round in the Republic of Armenia. The Francophonie Games are coming up soon, the European Gymnastics Championships are planned, and the World Weightlifting Championships are planned to be held in the Republic of Armenia."

The Prime Minister emphasized that, however, the most important observation today is that children, who are increasingly involved in sports, are most inspired by the athletes present in this hall. “I want to thank everyone for the inspiration they give to our youth and, in general, to all of us. Today’s event is a great honor for us. We want to pay tribute to all our athletes who, in 2025 or in the previous sports year, which we are summing up today, on International Sports Day, ultimately increased and strengthened the sports reputation of the Republic of Armenia with their successes and, of course, gave indescribable moments of joy, happiness and pride to all citizens of the Republic of Armenia and all Armenians who followed the performances of our athletes in different corners of the world and were proud of those performances.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the athletes, all the coaches, all the federations, all the people who have made a concrete contribution, who spare no effort and energy, who invest their physical and emotional strength for the sake of the Republic of Armenia, because the greatest symbol of sports life is, after all, what we started our event with today: when the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia is performed and the flag of the Republic of Armenia is raised. That is the important goal that we, in fact, pursue in all spheres, but especially sport makes this process much more visible, much more appreciable, much more emotional, and these emotions are invaluable,” the Prime Minister said.

Nikol Pashinyan assured that the Government of the Republic of Armenia will not only not slow down this pace, but, on the contrary, will make it more targeted and effective.

On the occasion of the quadrupling of funding for sports, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to all people working in the Republic of Armenia, creating results, paying taxes prescribed by law, all citizens, all those who issue cash registers and all those who demand cash registers, because this quadrupled funding is formed as a result of the efforts of these people.

The winners in 11 categories of the competition were awarded 6,250,000 drams and souvenirs. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the awards to the winners.

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On the occasion of International Sports Day, the goal of the "Selection of the Best in Sports in the Year of 2025" competition is to encourage and honor Armenian athletes and coaches who have made achievements or achieved significant success in the current year, as well as those who, through their competitive performances, have contributed to the recognition and prestige of the Republic of Armenia, the popularization of Armenian state symbols and national values.