Juventus Opens Youth Academy in Armenia, Bringing Italian Football Training to Hundreds of Children

Italian football powerhouse Juventus has officially opened a youth academy in Armenia, giving hundreds of young players access to the Turin club’s training system and a potential pathway to European football.

The academy’s new complex in Yerevan’s Avan district is already training between 600 and 700 children, according to Juventus Chief Business Officer Peter Silverstone. Fifteen coaches from the Juventus system are working with players in Armenia.

The Avan facility includes natural- and artificial-turf pitches, an indoor football field, a gym, medical and rehabilitation areas and a technology-equipped analysis room. It also provides accommodation for coaches and young players.

Silverstone, who traveled to Yerevan for the opening, said the Armenian academy stood out even within Juventus’ global network of about 100 academies.

“What we have seen here is truly exceptional,” Silverstone said, praising the completion of the complex roughly a year after construction began. “Creating such infrastructure in just one year is an incredible achievement.”

Armenian Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Zhanna Andreasyan, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan and Football Federation of Armenia President Armen Melikbekyan attended the opening. Italian Ambassador to Armenia Alessandro Ferranti, UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis and former Juventus and Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli were also present.

The project extends beyond the Avan complex. A second Juventus facility is already operating in Yerevan’s Kentron district, while construction has begun on another in Nor Hachn, in Armenia’s Kotayk Province.

Work on the Armenian Juventus Academy began in May 2025. Its facilities include pitches with natural and artificial turf, as well as playing surfaces using organic infill designed for younger children.

Andreasyan said bringing established international coaching systems to Armenia could help strengthen the country’s youth development structure and eventually improve the level of professional football.

“We cannot achieve success in professional sports if the foundation is not properly laid,” Andreasyan said. “Bringing international experience to our country and making international football education accessible to our children are among the key strategies.”

The academy will also provide free training to selected talented children, including players from communities outside Yerevan, giving promising prospects access regardless of their ability to pay.

For the academy’s top players, the program could eventually extend beyond Armenia. Promising prospects will have opportunities to travel to Turin to train at Juventus’ main academy and compete in the Juventus Academy World Cup.

The program could also provide a route for players seeking to continue their development with clubs elsewhere in Europe.

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