MediaMax, Armenia

Feb 23 2018

The Armenia football team will play in a new kit in the Nations League this year.

Macron is the company to replace Adidas as the supplier and provide kits for teams from small countries, including Armenia.

Before we see the new sports uniform, Mediamax Sport will tell the history of Armenia football kit.

The first match and different kit for every game

The national football team of independent Armenia held its first game at Hrazdan Stadium on 14 October 1992. Captained by the legendary forward of Ararat’73 Eduard Markarov, Armenia drew with Moldova in the friendly.

Later on, the team played in a different kit every game and was captained by Vardan Khachatryan.

Vardan Khachatryan. 1992-2000, 30 apps, 1 goal

We had a light kit in the first game, with wide stripes on the sleeves. It looked horrible. The kit didn’t matter, only how comfortable the players felt in it. You shouldn’t be embarrassed by it and feel bad in front of your rivals.

We had friendlies in the U.S. every year in 1990s. We were gifted kits there and used them in other games, although they had poor quality and were not meant for official matches.

In 2002 World Cup qualifiers Armenia played in Lotto kits, under the captaincy of Varuzhan Sukiasyan. It was a real nightmare for Armenian fans, as the team didn’t win a single game.

The Hummel era

The team got an official partner only in 2004, in the face of Hummel. The company supplied the kits for the qualifiers of 2006World Cup, Euro-2008, and 2010 World Cup.

Levon Pachajyan. 2004-2011, 37 apps, 2 goals

I wore Hummel kits in the national team. It was really good and the players liked it. However, no one focused on the kit, the performance was what mattered. The brand was the last thing we thought about.

I loved playing in the colors of our national flag, red and blue, with orange socks. The team was successful while wearing Hummel, although I don’t think the kit was the reason.

Same Adidas kits for everyone

In May 2012, Armenia team wore the Adidas kit for the first time, in the game with Greece. Armenia carried on the cooperation with Adidas for 5 years and canceled it when the company began supplying several weaker national teams, including the Armenian, with similar-looking kits.

Davit Manoyan. 2009 until now, 25 apps

Adidas kits had better quality, but we were more successful in Hummel. If I could change something, I would wish for our national kit to stand out.

For me, comfort comes first. The kit is supposed to allow free movement and the design is important as long as it represents our country. It’s always nice to see the national team in a handsome uniform.

New partnership with Macron

In July 2017, EUFA and Macron (Italy) announced the start of cooperation. The company will supply kits to the teams of small federations within the Kit Assistance Scheme program.

Eight European countries – Armenia, Andorra, Belarus, Cyprus, the Faroe Islands, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, and San Marino – will wear Macron kits. The company assures that each team will have a distinct design for the kit.

The agreement with Macron will be valid for the tournaments in 2018-2020 and 2020-2022. The U21 teams will also play in Macron kits. The national federations will receive the new kits in April 2018.

Hasmik Babayan