From an Amateur League to EURO 2026: The Journey of Armenia’s Futsal National Team

Head coach of Armenia’s national futsal team Ruben Nazaretyan, sporting director Khoren Zargaryan, and team captain Vladimir Sanosyan spoke to the press service of the Football Federation of Armenia about the long and challenging road the team traveled to qualify for the UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 for the first time in history.

Ruben Nazaretyan: “Futsal in Armenia started to grow about ten years ago”

According to the head coach, the turning point in the development of futsal in Armenia came at the end of 2015.

“Since late 2015, futsal in Armenia has been on the rise. With the change in the federation, people came who began paying attention to futsal — something that hadn’t existed before. In January 2020, after a 23-year break, Armenia played an international friendly match in Yerevan,” Nazaretyan noted.

However, the path was far from easy.

“Nobody likes futsal?”: The story behind the league’s creation

Nazaretyan recalled the initial skepticism toward futsal within the Football Federation of Armenia.

“They told me that nobody likes futsal. They wanted to start the Armenian championship with three teams. I asked how it was possible to run a national championship with only three teams. The answer was that futsal was not interesting to anyone.”

That moment became a turning point.

“On the same day, I met with Khoren Zargaryan, and we decided to create an amateur league on our own, which would later become professional. That year, 76 teams took part in the Armenian championship.”

Today, the results are evident.

“Currently, 6–7 players in the national team began their journey back then, in one of those 76 teams.”

A collective achievement

The head coach emphasized that the national team’s success is the result of the entire futsal community’s efforts.

“We are grateful to every amateur and professional club that participated in that futsal league. What the Armenian national team has achieved is the result of our collective work.”

Khoren Zargaryan: “Futsal is a separate, serious sport”

The sporting director highlighted the change in public perception.

“When we started competing on equal terms with strong European teams, people finally realized that futsal is not just football on a smaller pitch. It’s a serious sport with high speed, unique thinking, and strict discipline.”

The team’s mentality

Great attention is paid to psychology and the value of representing the national team.

“Being a national team player is motivation in itself. If someone still needs extra motivation, that’s no longer professional. We instilled in the players the understanding that when you wear the national team jersey, you must give everything for your people, without sparing yourself,” Nazaretyan emphasized.

Vladimir Sanosyan: “We will never forget that match”

Team captain Vladimir Sanosyan spoke about the key matches of the qualification campaign.

“The second match was against Kazakhstan. We knew perfectly well who we were playing against — one of the strongest teams in the world. We were losing 4–2 during the match but managed to come back thanks to our character. Every one of us believed.”

The decisive match came at the very end.

“The final game was at home against Kazakhstan. That day, our qualification depended on the result. I will never forget how Khoren Zargaryan grabbed the microphone during the match and started firing up the crowd, shouting ‘Hayastan!’”

A historic achievement

Armenia’s qualification for UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 is the result of years of work, belief in the idea, and people who were not afraid to challenge skepticism. This success is not accidental but a logical outcome of futsal’s development in the country.

Armenia’s results in the EURO 2026 qualifiers

• Armenia — Denmark: 4–3

• Kazakhstan — Armenia: 4–4

• Armenia — Albania: 4–0

• Albania — Armenia: 1–5

• Denmark — Armenia: 1–3

• Armenia — Kazakhstan: 4–2

Armenia’s match schedule at EURO 2026

• Armenia vs Ukraine
  January 22, 16:00

• Armenia vs Czech Republic
  January 25, 13:00

• Lithuania vs Armenia
  January 28, 19:30

All Group B matches of the UEFA Futsal EURO 2026 will be played in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The Armenian national futsal team has announced its final squad for EURO 2026.