by Jānis Vītols
Latvian champions Riga FC are set to return to Europe’s biggest club competition after a five-year absence. The UEFA Champions League first qualifying round draw paired the Virslīga title holders with three-time Armenian champions Ararat-Armenia, a club owned by Armenian billionaire businessman and politician Samvel Karapetyan. With the first leg fast approaching, it is time for a deep dive into Riga FC’s first European opponent.
Armenian football is no stranger to Latvian supporters
Armenia, a country of approximately 3.1 million people located in Western Asia, considers football its undisputed national sport. Although the nation has produced several outstanding players, none has enjoyed a career quite like Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Now 37 years old, the Inter Milan midfielder remains Armenia’s greatest footballer. During his career he represented Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, Arsenal and Roma, while for the national team he scored a record 32 goals before retiring from international football in March 2022.
Despite producing players capable of performing at Europe’s highest level, Armenia have never managed to qualify for a major international tournament. Unlike Latvia, whose greatest achievement remains qualification for UEFA EURO 2004, Armenia have repeatedly fallen just short.
Their closest opportunity came during qualification for UEFA EURO 2012. A decisive away defeat against the Republic of Ireland ended Armenian hopes despite Mkhitaryan scoring their only goal in a 2-1 defeat. Ireland progressed to the play-offs before suffering an aggregate loss against France in an infamous fashion with Thierry Henry scoring the goal after a handball allowing the Frenchman escape from disaster.
While Armenia may not have appeared at a major tournament, Latvian football supporters have become very familiar with their national team over recent years. For almost three decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Latvia and Armenia met only twice. Since 2023, however, the two nations have almost become inseparable. They have found themselves in the same qualifying groups in three of the last four international competitions – UEFA Nations League campaigns and UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying – with only 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign separating them. This September and November the two countries will meet again, taking their total to six meetings in just three years.
While the national teams know each other exceptionally well, club football offers something completely new. The upcoming Champions League qualifier will be the first ever meeting between Latvian and Armenian clubs in European competition.
It also marks another small piece of history. Armenia will become the 54th of UEFA’s 55 member associations whose clubs have faced Latvian opposition in European competitions. Once Riga FC take the field against Ararat-Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain the only UEFA nation whose clubs have never met a Latvian side.
Riga FC’s opponent: a club owned by an Armenian billionaire with ambitions beyond football
Just like Riga FC, Ararat-Armenia are returning to Champions League qualifying after several years away. Riga FC last competed in UEFA’s premier competition in 2021, while Ararat-Armenia are back for the first time since 2020. Despite the famous name, Ararat-Armenia should not be confused with the historic Ararat Yerevan.
Ararat Yerevan is one of the most famous clubs from the former Soviet Union, winning the Soviet championship in 1973, lifting the Soviet Cup in the same year and reaching the quarter-finals of the 1974-75 European Cup, where they narrowly lost 2-1 on aggregate to Bayern Munich. Ararat-Armenia, however, is an entirely separate club. Founded only in 2017, the club’s rise has been remarkably rapid.
Everything changed in 2018 when ownership was taken over by Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a businessman originally from the small Armenian town of Tashir, located around 154 kilometres north of Yerevan and home to roughly 7,300 people.
Initially, Karapetyan’s vision stretched beyond Armenia itself. The project was intended to unite football under a single Ararat brand across both Armenia and russia. Following the takeover, the club competed in Armenia’s second division under the name Ararat-Moskva. However, the russian side of the project never materialised after failing to receive a licence to participate in their local second tier.
With that plan abandoned, the focus shifted entirely towards Armenian football. Following promotion, the club adopted the name Ararat-Armenia and quickly established itself among the country’s elite. Karapetyan himself moved to russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, recognising significantly greater business opportunities there.
His fortune was built through the Tashir Group, founded in 1999. Initially concentrating on construction and commercial real estate, the company rapidly expanded by developing shopping centres, office buildings, hotels and residential projects throughout russia. Today the Tashir Group consists of around 200 companies employing tens of thousands of people.
According to some analysts, part of the company’s extraordinary growth came through cooperation with major russian corporations, including Gazprom. Karapetyan himself has consistently argued that his wealth was built through successful real estate investments and business diversification. Forbes estimates that his personal fortune now stands at approximately US$4.1 billion, making him one of Armenia’s wealthiest businessmen.
Football, however, is no longer his only public interest. Karapetyan has also entered politics. In December 2025 he became leader of the newly established pro-russian political party Strong Armenia, which has already presented him as its candidate for Prime Minister in the next parliamentary elections. There is, however, a legal complication. Because Karapetyan also holds russian citizenship, legal experts continue debating whether Armenia’s constitution would actually allow him to become Prime Minister.
Regardless, Strong Armenia has built much of its political campaign around his public image. Coincidentally, Armenia’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on exactly the same day Riga FC travel to Armenia for the first leg of this Champions League tie.
Despite billionaire backing, Ararat-Armenia are not Armenia’s richest club
Although Samvel Karapetyan is among Armenia’s wealthiest businessmen, Ararat-Armenia do not possess the country’s largest football budget. That distinction belongs to FC Noah, who have rapidly become Armenia’s financial powerhouse. Noah reached the UEFA Conference League phase for the second consecutive season last year, recording notable victories over Rijeka and Legia Warsaw before progressing to the knockout stage, where they were eventually eliminated 1-4 on aggregate by AZ Alkmaar.
According to the club’s published financial statements, Noah generated €14.36 million in revenue during the 2025 calendar year, with approximately 38 percent coming directly from UEFA prize money and solidarity payments. Their total expenditure reached €13.19 million. Ararat-Armenia rank only third financially.
The club reported revenues of just over €3 million during 2025 while spending just under €5 million. Between Noah and Ararat-Armenia sits another Armenian giant, Pyunik Yerevan, whose revenues exceeded €5.5 million, while expenditures reached €6.52 million.
Armenian Top-flight club revenue and expenses in a 2025 year end review:
| Club | Total Revenue (€) | Total Expenses (€) | Profit / Loss (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah | €14.36 million | €13.19 million | +€1.17 million |
| Pyunik | €5.61 million | €6.52 million | −€1.04 million |
| Ararat-Armenia | €3.12 million | €4.84 million | −€1.80 million |
| Urartu | €3.35 million | €3.17 million | −€0.09 million |
| Alashkert | €1.17 million | €1.23 million | −€0.15 million |
| Ararat FC | €1.04 million | €1.12 million | −€0.09 million |
| Shirak | €0.49 million | €0.34 million | +€0.15 million |
Interestingly, Noah are also backed by a wealthy local entrepreneur. Since 2023 the club has been owned by Vardges Vardanyan, founder of Digitain, one of the world’s largest B2B sportsbook and iGaming technology companies. Digitain supplies betting platforms to hundreds of operators across numerous countries and has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. Publicly available estimates suggest the company generated around US$182 million in revenue during 2024.
Chasing history in Europe
Like Riga FC, Ararat-Armenia are still chasing their biggest European breakthrough. Only two Armenian clubs have ever reached the group or league stage of UEFA’s major competitions – Pyunik Yerevan and FC Noah.
The situation mirrors Latvia, where only FK Ventspils and RFS have successfully qualified for a UEFA main phase. Ararat-Armenia are hoping to become Armenia’s third representative on that stage, just as Riga FC hope to become Latvia’s third. They have already come agonisingly close twice.
During their debut European campaign in 2019-20, Ararat-Armenia reached the UEFA Europa League play-off round before losing on penalties to Luxembourg’s F91 Dudelange. Two years later, in the pandemic-affected 2020-21 qualifying campaign, where ties were decided over a single match rather than two legs, Ararat-Armenia again reached the Europa League play-offs. This time they narrowly lost 1-2 to Serbian giants Crvena Zvezda.
Had today’s UEFA competition structure existed at that time, Ararat-Armenia would already have qualified for the UEFA Conference League proper. Since making their European debut in 2019, the Armenian club have built an impressive continental record.
Across 26 UEFA matches, they have collected:
- 10 victories
- 7 draws
- 9 defeats
Among their most notable wins are victories over Swedish side AIK in their very first European campaign game, Slovenia’s Celje, and Romanian outfit Universitatea Cluj last season.
Another statistic underlines just how competitive Ararat-Armenia have become in Europe. Before last season’s 1-6 aggregate defeat against Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round – incidentally the same Sparta side that eliminated Riga FC in the Champions League play-offs by protecting their first-leg advantage with a 2-1 aggregate victory in Rīga – Ararat-Armenia had never lost a European tie by more than one goal, whether over two legs or in the single-match COVID qualifying format.
A familiar trait shared with Riga FC – frequent coaching changes
One similarity between the two clubs is their willingness to change managers. During only nine years of existence, Ararat-Armenia have already appointed 12 different head coaches. Riga FC have been even busier. Since July 2017, the Latvian champions have worked under 16 different head coaches, including interim appointments.
Both clubs, however, have enjoyed greater stability recently. Since June 2023, only two managers have led Ararat-Armenia. The first was former Armenia international and national team coach Vardan Minasyan, whose contract expired after the 2024-25 season.
His successor brought an entirely different footballing philosophy. Portuguese coach Manuel Jorge da Silva Cruz, better known simply as Tulipa, arrived last summer and immediately transformed the club. Tulipa enjoyed an respectable playing career before moving into coaching.
In 1991 he played alongside future Portuguese legends Luis Figo and Rui Costa as Portugal defeated Roberto Carlos and Brazil in front of more than 127,000 spectators at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Following the end of his playing career in 2005, Tulipa spent almost two decades coaching throughout Portugal before accepting his first overseas challenge with Ararat-Armenia.
The move paid off immediately. In his first season, he guided the club back to the summit of Armenian football, finishing four points ahead of defending champions Noah to reclaim the domestic title. His arrival has also significantly changed the club’s recruitment strategy.
Before Tulipa took charge, Ararat-Armenia had only four Portuguese players in their squad. Following the recent signing of full-back Bruno Pereira, that number has now doubled to eight.
The Portuguese influence extends even further. Three Brazilian players have also joined this summer, creating a dressing room heavily populated by Portuguese-speaking footballers. Despite that trend, the squad remains highly international overall.
Last season Ararat-Armenia used 15 foreign players alongside 13 Armenian footballers, eight of whom are current or former Armenia internationals. Their biggest domestic star remains experienced full-back Kamo Hovhannisyan.
With 98 international appearances, he is Armenia’s second most-capped player of all time, trailing only defender Sargis Hovsepyan, who finished his career with 132 caps.
Preparations already complete as European campaign begins
Ararat-Armenia returned from their summer break on 11 June, barely two weeks after the conclusion of the domestic season. Between 17 and 27 June, the Armenian champions held a pre-season training camp in Sopron, Hungary, located close to the Austrian border.
The camp provided the opportunity to test themselves against quality opposition before facing Riga FC. Their preparation produced encouraging results. Ararat-Armenia drew 1-1 against Slovenian side Mura, followed by another 1-1 draw with Serbian runners-up Vojvodina. Sandwiched between those matches came a convincing 4-0 victory over Austrian side Mattersburg, giving head coach Tulipa plenty of positive signs ahead of the Champions League qualifiers.
Goals shared throughout the squad rather than relying on one striker
Unlike many title-winning teams, Ararat-Armenia did not depend on one prolific goalscorer during last season. No player managed to score more than seven league goals, with attacking responsibility shared across the squad. The joint-top scorers were Armenia international Artur Serobyan and Armenia U-21 forward Arayik Eloyan, who each finished the league campaign with seven goals.
Portuguese full-back Hugo Oliveira contributed an impressive six goals, while Colombian midfielder Balanta Junior, who arrived together with Tulipa from Portuguese second-tier club Torreense last summer, added five. The same total was scored by Senegalese striker Alioune Ndour, who joined during the winter transfer window from Belgian side Zulte Waregem.
Collectively, that balanced attacking output has become one of Ararat-Armenia’s biggest strengths, making them considerably less predictable than teams that rely on a single star forward.
Summer changes kept to a minimum
Compared to many clubs rebuilding their squads after winning the league, Ararat-Armenia have experienced relatively limited turnover. Among the ten most-used players from last season, only two key departures stand out. The first is Portuguese central defender Joao Queiros, who led the squad in minutes played before leaving following the championship-winning campaign. The second is fellow Portuguese goalkeeper Bruno Pinto, who departed after serving as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Tulipa openly admitted to Armenian media that replacing both players would be difficult. Nevertheless, the club moved quickly in the transfer market.
To replace Queiros, Ararat-Armenia signed Brazilian centre-back Luis Felipe, who made 27 appearances for Cypriot First Division club Ethnikos Achna last season. Earlier in his career, while progressing through PSV Eindhoven’s academy system, he also made a senior appearance for the Dutch giants.
The goalkeeping position has also been reinforced. Just one day before UEFA squad lists for the Champions League first qualifying round should be submitted, the club officially announced Brazilian goalkeeper Joao Bravim. Bravim arrives after spending the previous two seasons as first-choice goalkeeper in Portugal’s second division. His résumé also includes one appearance in Portugal’s Primeira Liga with Casa Pia during the 2022-23 season.
Further depth has been added elsewhere. Portuguese full-back Bruno Pereira joined after recording three goals and one assist in 26 league appearances for Penafiel in Portugal’s second tier last season. In attack, the Armenian champions signed experienced Brazilian striker Carlos França, who scored 10 goals in 30 matches in Indonesia’s top division last year.
Rather than completely rebuilding the squad, Ararat-Armenia have chosen targeted reinforcements to replace the few experienced players who departed while maintaining the core that delivered the league title.
A good test awaits Riga FC
Although Riga FC enter the tie as Latvian champions, Ararat-Armenia possess considerablr European experience than their relatively short history might suggest. The Armenian champions have regularly reached the latter stages of UEFA qualifying, consistently remained competitive against stronger opposition and have assembled a squad combining experienced Armenian internationals with a large group of technically gifted Portuguese-speaking foreign players.
Tulipa has quickly established a clear footballing identity, while the club’s financial backing enables it to remain among Armenia’s strongest sides despite not possessing the country’s biggest budget. For Riga FC, this will also represent a return to Champions League qualifying after a five-year absence.
The first leg will be played in Armenia tomorrow, before the return fixture takes place at Skonto Stadium on 14 July, with a place in the second qualifying round at stake where will the winner of Shamrock Rovers and Floriana will await.
Sources: https://www.facebook.com/araratarmeniafc
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