Around a week ago, a group of foreign tourists cleared the garbage near the Temple of Garni located in Armenia’s Kotayk Province on their own initiative.
Swiss, Swedish, and Indian youths also cleaned up the Azat River around the temple from trash, Apaga platform said in a Facebook post.
“These young people proved that nature is part of us all, regardless of nationality and origin.
“As a local, how do you feel when outsiders seem to care more about Armenia’s environment than locals?” the post read.
WILL THOMPSON’S greatest achievement in the game had been to take Preston to the Champions League final on computer smash-hit Football Manager.
But after pitching up in Armenia as a tourist last summer and falling in love, he now dreams of a real-life European fairytale.
Having set up a youth team for fun, the country’s FA fast-tracked the club he founded out of nothing, Dilijan FC, into the country’s second tier next season.
And with a guaranteed spot in their Premier League the following year thanks to the Armenian FA’s vice-president, Crystal Palace fan Thompson sees no reason why they cannot soon be taking on Europe’s big guns.
The Londoner, 31, said: “I left a recruitment job to go travelling. I had been in Costa Rica for six months and wanted to go somewhere off the beaten track before backpacking around Asia.
“I thought Armenia was going to be Arabic and surrounded by desert – I didn’t really have a clue where it was.
“When I arrived, the country was gripped by revolution where the government was overthrown.
“But living was crazy cheap – you can live off just £75-a-month – and I met a local girl who worked in the Peace Corps helping kids, so I decided to stay a bit.”
Thompson’s new love was based in Dilijan, an old Soviet town of 17,000 in the mountainous north known as ‘Little Switzerland’ for its stunning scenery and hiking trails.
An avid football fan, before long he set up a youth side. He added: “If I had £100,000 in the bank I’m sure I would have gone straight to Thailand.
FC Dilijan began as a youth team where just a handful of players turned up
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
“It’s lovely here but an English person would think it’s the Third World.
“People sell raw meat out of their car boots, horses walk freely down the street. It’s what you imagine life was like 100 years ago.”
On the youth team’s first day just eight kids turned up for a kickabout, some wearing slippers to play in.
But after putting up posters in local schools and community centres, around 40 came for the second session.
To give these poor kids the enjoyment of winning a medal, Thompson fruitlessly searched high and wide for a tournament.
He was eventually put in touch with the Armenian FA, where many staff had been purged following the revolution.
Thompson said: “They’d heard about what we were doing and the vice-president wanted to meet me.
“He showed me his plans of how they are investing millions. They only had nine teams in the men’s first division and wanted to emulate other European leagues with 20.
“He loves English football and is a huge Arsenal fan. He loves Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is a god out here, and asked if we wanted to join the league.
“Teams usually have to have seven youth teams and a minimum of three A-level Uefa coaches to meet the criteria.
“We just had the children who had come off the street and I hadn’t done any coaching before – but after one quick call he said we were straight in!”
Faced with starting a team from scratch and getting them up to speed to compete over a season, Thompson put the feelers out locally and immediately had six ex-pros who had played in the Armenian league sign up.
Working with numerous agents – one brought flop Jaroslaw Jach to Crystal Palace from Poland in 2018 – they sifted through countless videos of players around the world.
And before long they had footballers from Nigeria, Portugal, Russia and Belarus jetting in for pre-season.
Dilijan FC work alongside the town’s United World College – one of 17 globally – and they provided a stadium.
Thompson hopes for gates of around 700 in their first campaign, which begins in August.
He added: “A lot of them have played professional football and I have been taken back by their quality, which I’d say is about League One level.
“We have had £100,000 invested in us through sponsors, which is a big deal considering a squad of 22 costs around £50,000.
“The average salary in Dilijan is around £150-a-month, so that’s what we are paying the players.
“The average budget in the First League is £500,000, which is what we are hoping to get next season.
“We’re recruiting up to seven full-time coaches and the players will get housing. They are all here as professionals to create something serious.”
Thompson is the owner-manager and also plans on making cameo appearances throughout the season.
His Armenian is patchy and he struggles to communicate with players and coaches, often relying on hand gestures and the few English speakers translating.
He still has another job working remotely as a recruitment manager for an online teaching company based in China, but hopes to quit soon.
What started as a few days in Armenia has turned into Thompson’s obsession.
He said: “It is a dream for any man to build and manage a squad in a competition where you could qualify for Europe. This is my life.
“We could finish first and qualify for the Europa League or we could lose 12-0 every game. If we don’t come last or in the bottom half it would be a huge achievement.
“More realistically the goal is to reach the qualification stages within three years. But maybe we could win the domestic cup next season!”
As for Mkhitaryan, Thompson admitted it would be a “dream come true” to get an endorsement from the local hero.
But, as Thompson added: “Arsenal are very tough to deal with in terms of getting anything. Hopefully when he leaves!”
Homeros Arakelyan (45kg weight class) took the bronze after beating Rokas Cepauskas (Lithuania) 9-0.
Armen Harutyunyan (51kg) got the bronze medal as well, winning the match against Nihad Guluzade (Azerbaijan) 6-3.
He beat Baris Erbek (Turkey) 8-0.
The Armenia national boxing team is the first to arrive at the competition. A boxer will be the flag-bearer from Armenia.
European champion and silver medalist of the World Championship will carry the Armenian flag at the opening ceremony. The information was provided to Mediamax Sport by the athlete.
Armenia will be represented by 37 athletes in 9 disciplines.
California State Senator Anthony Portantino
SACRAMENTO—At the request of Glendale Community College, Senator Anthony J. Portantino introduced legislation to help the college offset revenue losses associated with closing on April 24th. This date is important to the Armenian community as it commemorates the Armenian Genocide.
The Glendale Unified School District and Glendale Community College close on this day. The problem is that under current education code, the GUSD does not lose funding as it can substitute another school day to cover the Average Daily Attendance and revenue losses. GCC, however, cannot afford to close on this day due to the negative budgetary impact. Senator Portantino hopes to resolve this issue through legislative efforts.
“Glendale Community College should not be penalized by the State of California for closing on April 24th. This is a solemn day that deeply affects students and families within our community, and my hope is that this change to state law will help solve this problem. When I was approached by GCC Board Members, I promised that I would do my best to correct this unacceptable situation,” commented Senator Portantino.
Senator Portantino, who has a long relationship with the Armenian American Community and Glendale Community College, has participated in negotiations with the Chancellor’s Office for the last two years to solve this issue.
“Glendale Community College will forever remember the fallen martyrs on April 24th. We are grateful to our good friend Senator Portantino for taking up our cause. One thing is clear, whether the state reimburses us or allows us to substitute revenue from another day or does not, our school will close on this date. It is beneficial to our college community to have a Senator who deeply understands our issues and priorities. We are hopeful and thankful for this legislative effort,” added Dr. Vahe Peroomian, Glendale Community College Board President.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomes AMAA Executive Director Zaven Khanjian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Zaven Khanjian, the Executive Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America on June 14. The Newly appointed High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan also attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the AMAA for its activities both in the United States and Armenia adding that he hoped that the programs of the Armenian Missionary Association will continue to expand and develop in Armenia.
After briefing Pashinyan on the AMAA’s activities, Khanjian said that the AMAA intends to give new impetus to economic, social and educational programs implemented in Armenia, adding that inspired by the recent developments in Armenia, the AMAA stands ready to do its utmost for the sake of preserving the Armenian identity and strengthening Armenia.
Khanjian also welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint Sinanyan to newly-created position of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs and expressed confidence that he will have a great impact in strengthening relations between Armenia and the Diaspora.