When Armenia started losing during yesterday’s game, I was totally heartbroken at first. But than I looked and saw, that in reality, we’re not losing. The score is nothing – our team was playing so good, that I don’t care about the score anymore. Armenia finally has a great football team for the whole world to see and for us – fans, to enjoy. That was a great game, guys! Go Armenia, you’re super! Continue reading
Georgia -- Watching Armenia - Macedonia "Euro 2012" qualifier match in a hotel room, Tbilisi, 07Oct2012
There were no Russian or Armenian (nor Macedonian) channels on the hotel’s list of channels in Tbilisi. So we were moving around with lost and troubled faces since Tuesday. “Where are we going to watch the match?” was everyone’s question when coming across in the hotel lobby in our free time. Continue reading
Armenia beat Slovakia 4:0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier, moving into the frame for qualification. We’re 3rd in our group and we’ve scored more than any other team. Continue reading
A draw with Ukraine helped Armenia win the first place in 2011 World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China. Continue reading
There are quite a few high-quality swimming pools, which offer a rare escape from inhuman summer heat in Yerevan. The following table may be useful, if you’re trying to compare terms and conditions and look for pool locations near you.
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Posted in Armenia, Environment, Sport
Tagged Health, Lifestyle, pool, recreation, Yerevan
Chess superstars Levon Aronian and Arianne Caoili
Having won two World Chess Olympiads in 2006 and 2008, tiny Armenia has every reason to proudly claim the title of World Chess Superpower, beating Russia, U.S., China, India… Continue reading
Just like the old days, Armenia’s ex-president Robert Kocharian likes skiing. RFE/RL’s film-crew caught sight of him in Tsakhadzor on January 6th. And just like in the old days – Kocharian avoids journalists as much as he can. Times change, presidents change, Kocharian doesn’t… Continue reading
Armenia won a surprise victory against Belgium in World Cup Qualifying game on September 9. The much needed first victory in this World Cup Qualifying round comes ahead of the anticipated football match with Turkey in October, which has become more of a political event, rather than sport. Continue reading
Armenia-Turkey Match in Yerevan
The FIFA Fair Play Award for 2008 has gone to the Football Associations of Armenia and Turkey for their part in encouraging dialogue between two countries which otherwise do not have any form of diplomatic relationship.
On 6 September 2008, the President of Turkey, Abdula Gul, spent eight hours in Yerevan, on the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsian, in order to attend the two countries’ encounter in a qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country was holding the EU Presidency at the time, dubbed the meeting a “historic and brave initiative”. The visit was also heartily applauded by the international press, while 70 per cent of the Turkish public expressed their approval in opinion polls.
As a result, sport, and more specifically football, has helped alleviate a situation where traditional diplomacy had failed since 1991, the year Armenia gained independence. Indeed, President Gul’s trip was backed by nearly two-thirds of the Turkish population, according to a poll carried out by the research centre MetroPOLL, who found that six out of ten members of the Turkish public were in favour of re-establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
As for the match itself, 10,000 fans were in the stands to witness this historic encounter first-hand. Visitors Turkey came through to win the game 2-0, but more importantly the match passed by without crowd trouble.
The Turkish President announced that he did not wish the dispute between the two nations to be part of his legacy for future generations. President Gul also invited his Armenian counterpart to attend the FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the two sides in Istanbul on 14 October 2009.
It is also worth noting that two other meetings between nations that do not currently enjoy diplomatic relations took place on 6 September 2008, both of which were also part of the South Africa 2010 preliminary phase. These were Cuba-United States in the North, Central America and Caribbean Zone and Sudan-Chad in the African Zone, two further examples of how decisive a diplomatic role football can play.
The award was presented by UEFA President and FIFA Executive Committee member Michel Platini and his fellow FIFA Executive Committee member Senes Erzik.
