Chaos in Armenia

The Armenian Premier division earlier this month broke new ground as it became the smallest league in Europe with the withdrawal of Ulisses FC. The club were one of Armenia's Europa league representatives in the qualifying rounds last July and are now out of professional football. Ulisses withdrew after the club's owner Valery Oganesyan cited cash shortage as the reason why. The league already had a very small look about it at the start of the season with just the eight clubs taking part with no relegation as the first division is comprised of the top division's B teams.

History of withdrawals

Ulisses' withdrawal is the latest in the chaotic nature that is Armenian football. In 2012 the league switched their calendar from the spring-to-autumn schedule to the autumn-to-spring season seen throughout most of Europe. The transitional campaign only featured eight clubs like the start of this season. However at the end of that transitional campaign in 2012-13 (league ran from March 2012 to May 2013) Impulse FC withdrew from the league and disbanded. Alashkert were drafted in as their replacement. 

The season prior to the transitional campaign was the 2011 season. That too saw a club disband from the league. Kilikia FC disbanded and were replaced by first division side Ararat Yerevan. The top division remained an eight-team league going back to 2007 when it was a nine-team league, however that was reduced to eight when Lernayin Artsakh withdrew during the season, only to reemerge later in the Nagorno-Karabakh league. The first division that season was supposed to have Dinamo Yerevan promoted but they were dissolved at the end of the season so no club was promoted and the premier division began the 2008 season with eight teams and its been like that right up until now. 

The 2006 season was originally planned to be a ten team league but the same old story came true when Lernagorts Kapan withdrew during the season and Yerevan United, newly promoted withdrew before a ball was kicked.

2005 if you weren't confused already, saw Lernayin Artsakh withdraw. Yes they were the same team that withdrew in 2007. They pulled out after eleven rounds of games and the remaining fixtures were awarded 3-0 to their opponents. 

The 2003 season was probably the most badly hit in terms of withdrawals. Originally penciled in as a twelve team league, Spartak Yerevan merged with Banants which took the number of teams down to ten with Araks Ararat promoted in place of Spartak. However Ararat Yerevan were excluded from the league after they refused to let five players go to national team training camps before a game against Israel. With this exclusion came the withdrawal of Lernayin Artsakh after their sponsors were not happy with the exclusion of Ararat. That left the league with the familiar format of eight teams taking part.

2002 was the last season in which the full complement of teams started and finished the league season. A total of twelve teams took part and ended with perennial title holders Pyunik Yerevan winning the league.
2001 saw Kilikia withdraw after just one game it resulted in the then thirteen team league going down to twelve teams.
In 2000 the league went ahead with eight teams after FK Yerevan and Erebuni withdrew before the season started.

Next season?
The withdrawal of Ulisses will now have to be filled next season. However the problem is that there is no club in the first division eligible for promotion. The first division is made up entirely of B teams from the clubs in the Premier league and so the spot will have to filled by drafting in a club from outside the league system. Previously the withdrawals were filled by the best performing non B team club in the first division.
In fact the first division hasn't had a first team club in the league since 2013-14 when Shengavit finished 6th and withdrew at the end of that season.
The third largest city in Armenia is Vanadzor and they could be the site of any new club. Of the many withdrawals in past one club based in Vanadzor is still technically alive and that is FC Lori. However they last played in 2006 when they were a first division side but have in the past participated in the Premier league. Could they be the team to fill the void?.
Whatever happens its still a chaotic landscape given the history and amount of withdrawals the league has experienced.