Lernayin Artsakh FC ( hy, Լեռնային Արցախ Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ) is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
club based in unrecognized
Stepanakert
/ az, Xankəndi, italic=no
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...
,
Artsakh Republic
Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...
but is registered in the town of
Sisian
Sisian ( hy, Սիսիան) is a town and the centre of the urban community of Sisian, in the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on the Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan- Meghri highway, at a road distance of 217 km southe ...
,
Syunik Province
Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. I ...
,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
. The club was founded in 1927 in
Soviet Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
and its current name translates from Armenian as "''Mountainous Artsakh''".
History
The club was founded in 1927 under the name ''Dinamo Stepanakert''. In 1960, the name was changed to ''Karabakh'' and remained by that name until 1989 when it was renamed ''Artsakh''. During the years between 1992 and 1995 they were unable to participate in any competition due to the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In 1995, the club moved from Stepanakert to
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...
in order to participate in the
Armenian Premier League
The Armenian Premier League ( hy, VBET Հայաստանի Պրեմիեր Լիգա, known as the VBET Armenian Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the top football competition in Armenia. From 1936 to 1991, the competition was held as a r ...
. They subsequently changed their name back to ''Karabakh''.
In 1999, the club was expelled from the Premier League due to financial problems, but managed return to professional football the following year. The club changed its name to ''Lernayin Artsakh'' in 2002, and played their home matches in
Kapan
Kapan ( hy, Կապան) is a town in southeast Armenia, serving as the administrative center of the urban community of Kapan Municipality, Kapan as well as the provincial capital of Syunik Province. It is located in the valley of the Voghji River ...
that year.
The club withdrew from the Armenian top tier before the start of the 2003 season in protest against the exclusion of fellow Premier League club
Ararat Yerevan. The next year, the club finished second in the
First League and again won promotion. Their return to the highest level in 2002 was of short duration, as they withdrew after playing eleven matches. In 2006 they won promotion to the Premier League for a third time, but this time declined to enter the top flight.
In 2009, the club relocated back to Stepanakert, and started participating in the
Artsakh Football League.
They have moved back to the First League for 2019–20, thereby voiding their
2019 Artsakh Football League season.
Domestic records since 1978
Honours
*
Armenian First League
The Armenian First League is currently the second level football competition in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classific ...
(1):
::
2021–22
*
Artsakh Football League
**Winners (2):2009-2018
Players
Current squad
References
External links
RSSSF Armenia (and subpages per year)
{{Football clubs in Artsakh
Association football clubs established in 1927
Sport in the Republic of Artsakh