 | ||||
| Full name | Football Club Shirak | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Սև ՀովազներSev Hovazner (Black Panthers) | |||
| Founded | 1958; 67 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 | |||
 Current season | ||||
Football Club Shirak[1] (Armenian:Շիրակ Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ), commonly known asShirak, is anArmenian professionalsports club based inGyumri. Shirak is known for its professionalfootball team which is one of the oldestfootball clubs in Armenia, having been created in 1958. The club is the only team that participated in all seasons of theArmenian Premier League since its creation in1992 until2021. Shirak is one of the more successful clubs in Armenia, having won a total of 11 domestic titles including fourArmenian Premier League titles,[2] twoArmenian Cup,[3] and fiveArmenian Super Cup.
Shirak has yet to qualify for an international tournament playoff round, yet frequently playsUEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League qualifying matches.
Shirak's home stadium is the 4,500 seaterGyumri City Stadium, the oldest venue inArmenia. Shirak's youth academy has also produced successful players, includingArtur Petrosyan andHarutyun Vardanyan.
Shirak was founded inGyumri in 1958, whenArmenia was still a part of theSoviet Union. The club was originally namedShirak Leninakan, the latter being the name forGyumri during theSoviet Union.[4] From its creation to the fall of the Soviet Union, Shirak played all its matches in the Soviet third divisionFirst League.
Following the fall of theSoviet Union and the renaming ofLeninakan, Shirak changed its name toShirak Kumayri, and was placed in theArmenian Premier League with head coachAndranik Adamyan in charge.
1992 was the firstArmenian Premier League season played in history, which ended with Shirak andPyunik 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.[5] 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 nameKumayri was changed forGyumri. Therefore 1993 was the first appearance asShirak Gyumri in theArmenian Premier League. After finishing second in the1993 league season, Shirak qualified to theArmenian Cup final for the first time, yet failed to claim the title after losing 3–1 toArarat.
Shirak went on to win the1994 and1995 seasons, however was not given the1995 title due to it being a transitional spring season.[6]
The next four seasons were not successful for the club, however Shirak managed to claim the league title again in1999, with striker Arayik Adamyan scoring 16 goals.[7] The league title would end up being the last title Shirak would win until the2011-12 Armenian Cup.
Shirak would eventually go on to win the2012-13 Armenian Premier League and the2016-17 Armenian Cup final.
| 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 HarutyunyanTigran 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 | ||
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| UEFA Cup & UEFA Europa League | 29 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 53 | –38 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | –3 |
| Total | 39 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 28 | 68 | –40 |
| 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 (4–1p) |
| 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 | — |
For most of the club's history, the team's colours were orange and black, inspired by the dominant colours present inGyumri's architecture, specifically theHoly Saviour's Church, located in the city.
As of 2019, Shirak has reached an agreement withSwiss sportswear companyFourteen to provide all match and training apparel.
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-11 | Kappa | Gyumri Beer |
| 2012-14 | Kappa | Sovrano, Fine |
| 2014 | Adidas | |
| 2014-15 | VTB Bank | |
| 2015–16 | Anelik Bank | |
| 2016-17 | Menu.am | |
| 2017-18 | TotoGaming | |
| 2018-19 | ||
| 2019- | Fourteen |
The club's current badge design was inspired byGyumri's seal, with the main feature being the lion and cross which were present on the flag of theBagratuni dynasty, which ruledBagratid Armenia during the Middle Ages.
Shirak's home stadium has always been theGyumri 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 allUEFA stadium regulations, allowing Shirak to play itsUEFA Champions League andUEFA 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.[8]
Shirak's fans are known as the Black Panthers, in honor of the panther that appears on the flag of theBagratid 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.
Shirak's main rival is considered to beGandzasar. This rivalry grew as both teams were the only teams in the league that weren't fromYerevan, and thus competed to be the best team from the provinces.[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| 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 |
Arman Sahakyan has been the President of Shirak since he purchased the club in 2010.[10]
Shirak's youth academy has produced several notable players throughout its history.Artur Petrosyan is the most prominent academy product, having a successful career inArmenia and European football.
Shirak's reserves compete in theArmenian First League, the second division in Armenian football. The reserves are currently coached by Tigran Davtyan and also play their matches at theGyumri City Stadium.
On 8 September 2017, prior to the beginning of the 2017-18Armenian Futsal Premier League season, Shirak Sports Club took over theGyumri 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 asShirak SC Futsal.[11]
On 19 September 2017, Shirak announced the creation of a basketball team that would compete in the newly createdArmenia Basketball League A.[12]
