Dilijan Children’s Football Academy “Impulse” celebrates its first anniversary and sums up the first results. During the year, more than 200 children became pupils of the academy, they won home and away matches. The main team became a participant in the official games of the Armenian Amateur League.
In 2023, Dilijan Development Foundation (DDF) opened a children’s football academy in the city. This was a great and long-awaited event for the Dilijan community: more than 200 children aged 5 to 16 years, including girls, came here to train during the year.
The academy’s teams conducted more than 600 training sessions, took part in 12 home and away matches, where they met with rivals from Tavush marz and Yerevan. During the year they won 7 times and scored 35 goals. The main men’s team competes in the official games of the Armenian Amateur League, which is held under the auspices of the Armenian Football Federation.
An international team of mentors trains young athletes. The academy has developed a separate training program for different age groups. In addition to physical development and football skills, they develop leadership skills, teach them to set purposes and achieve them.
Today, Russian and Armenian coaches work there with children. Alexander Golovenkov, the sports director and coach of the academy, has been teaching children for many years at the “Barcelona” and “Millennium United” schools in Moscow and at the “Istra Youth Sports School” near Moscow. His colleague at “Istra”, senior coach Philip Snikhovsky, also worked at the Krasnodar Academy. Another coach of “Impulse”, Narek Davtyan, is a native of Dilijan, a graduate of a local sports school and a former player of the Armenian top league in futsal.
“Our task is not only to promote a healthy lifestyle and develop sports in the community. We are confident that Dilijan’s return to the football life of the country will increase the recognition of the city and, by creating worthy competition for other clubs, will raise the level of Armenian football,” the academy representatives say.
In the future, “Impulse” children’s teams will play in the official competitions of the Armenian Football Federation. The main team plans to enter the professional, first division.
The Impulse Football Academy project is being implemented with the support of Impulse Management Company within the framework of the Dilijan development program launched by Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend in 2012.
