Shirak SC

Shirak was founded in Gyumri in 1958, when Armenia was still a part of the Soviet Union. The club was originally named Shirak Leninakan, the latter being the name for Gyumri during the Soviet Union.[3] From its creation to the fall of the Soviet Union, Shirak played all its matches in the Soviet third division First League.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union and the renaming of Leninakan, Shirak changed its name to Shirak Kumayri, and was placed in the Armenian Premier League with head coach Andranik Adamyan in charge.

1992 was the first Armenian Premier League season played in history, which ended with Shirak and Pyunik tied at the top with 37 points each. After failing to agree on a tie-breaking match, it was decided to award the title to both teams.[4] Thus, Shirak managed to win the league in the first domestic league in Armenian history.

Shirak once again changed its name in late 1992 after the name Kumayri was changed for Gyumri. Therefore 1993 was the first appearance as Shirak Gyumri in the Armenian Premier League. After finishing second in the 1993 league season, Shirak qualified to the Armenian Cup final for the first time, yet failed to claim the title after losing 3-1 to Ararat.

Shirak went on to win the 1994 and 1995 seasons, however was not given the 1995 title due to it being a transitional spring season.[5]

The next four seasons were not successful for the club, however Shirak managed to claim the league title again in 1999, with striker Arayik Adamyan scoring 16 goals.[6] The league title would end up being the last title Shirak would win until the 2011-12 Armenian Cup.

Shirak would eventually go on to win the 2012-13 Armenian Premier League and the 2016-17 Armenian Cup final.

Domestic history since 1992

Season	League									National Cup	Top goalscorer		Manager
	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P		Name	League
1992	Armenian Premier League	1st	22	17	3	2	58	14	37	Semi-final			Andranik Adamyan
1993		2nd	28	24	1	3	101	20	49	Runner-up
1994		1st	28	24	4	0	83	19	52	Runner-up
1995		1st	10	7	3	0	23	6	24	Semi-final
1995-96		2nd	22	16	3	3	67	23	51	Semi-final
1996-97		4th	22	15	2	5	57	11	47	Quarter-final
1997		2nd	18	12	5	1	46	8	41	Not held
1998		2nd	26	19	4	3	72	25	61	Quarter-final
1999		1st	32	23	4	5	93	29	73	Runner-up
2000		3rd	28	17	7	4	64	21	58	Quarter-final
2001		4th	22	14	5	3	52	19	47	Semi-final
2002		2nd	22	16	3	3	49	15	51	Quarter-final
2003		3rd	28	17	2	9	63	34	53	Semi-final
2004		8th	28	4	9	15	27	49	21	Semi-final
2005		8th	18	3	3	12	19	36	12	Quarter-final			Zhora Barseghyan
2006		7th	28	4	7	17	21	64	19	Quarter-final
2007		6th	28	9	7	12	27	37	34	Quarter-final	Artyom Bernetsyan	7
2008		7th	28	5	4	19	15	40	19	Quarter-final
2009		6th	28	5	8	15	24	55	23	Quarter-final	Andranik Barikyan	8
2010		8th	28	2	4	22	22	68	10	Quarter-final	Mkrtich Nalbandyan	9	Vardan Bichakhchyan
2011		7th	28	6	7	15	27	42	25	Runner-up	Andranik Barikyan	10	Samvel Petrosyan
2011-12		Only Cup competition was held								Winner			Vardan Bichakhchyan
2012–13		1st	42	26	10	6	70	38	88	Runner-up	Yoro Lamine Ly	18
2013–14		2nd	28	13	8	7	48	31	47	Quarter-final	Serges Déblé	15
2014–15		3rd	28	14	7	7	51	32	49	Quarter-final	Jean-Jacques Bougouhi	21
2015–16		2nd	28	15	7	6	41	27	52	Quarter-final	Konan Odilon Kouakou	6
2016–17		3rd	30	16	5	9	31	24	53	Winner	Viulen Ayvazyan	8
2017–18		4th	30	14	8	8	37	31	38	Semi-final	Moussa Paul Bakayoko	7
2018–19		7th	32	7	15	10	26	30	36	First round	Two Players	4
2019–20										Second round

European

As of match played 6 July 2017

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
UEFA Champions League	6	1	3	2	6	5	+1
UEFA Cup & UEFA Europa League	28	4	5	19	15	50	–35
UEFA Intertoto Cup	4	1	1	2	7	10	–3
Total	38	6	9	23	28	65	–37

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1995–96	UEFA Cup	PR	Zagłębie Lubin	0–1	0–0	0–1
1996–97	UEFA Cup	PR	Anorthosis Famagusta	2–2	0–4	2–6
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q	Malmö	0–2	0–5	0–7
1999–00	UEFA Cup	1Q	HJK Helsinki	1–0	0–2	1–2
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	1Q	BATE Borisov	1–1	1–2	2–3
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Tatabánya	1–3	3–2	4–5
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Santa Clara	3–3	0–2	3–5
2003–04	UEFA Cup	QR	Nordsjælland Farum	0–2	0–4	0–6
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1Q	Tiraspol	1–2	0–2	1–4
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Rudar Pljevlja	1–1	1–0	2–1
		2Q	Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv	0–1	0–2	0–3
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Tre Penne	3–0	0–1	3–1
		2Q	Partizan Belgrade	1–1	0–0	1–1
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Shakhter Karagandy	1–2	0–4	1–6
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	HŠK Zrinjski Mostar	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q	AIK Fotboll	0–2	0–2	0–4
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Dila Gori	1–0 (aet)	0–1	1–1 (4–1 p)
		2Q	Spartak Trnava	1–1	0–2	1–3
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Gorica	0–2	2–2	2–4

For most of the club's history, the team's colours were orange and black, inspired on the dominant colours present in Gyumri's architecture, specifically the Holy Saviour's Church, located in the city.

As of 2019, Shirak has reached an agreement with Swiss sportswear company Fourteen to provide all match and training apparel.

Gyumri City Stadium

Shirak's home stadium has always been the Gyumri City Stadium, built in 1924 and currently the oldest football stadium in the country. Following renovation works in 1999, the stadium became an all-seater stadium with a capacity for 2,844. The stadium pitch and facilities were upgraded in 2012 to meet all UEFA stadium regulations, allowing Shirak to play its UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying matches at home.

The stadium capacity was once again increased, this time to the current 4,500 capacity following a second round of renovations in 2019. These renovations included new seating in the south end of the stadium.[7]

SC Shirak Fans

Shirak's fans are known as the Black Panthers, in honor of the panther that appears on the flag of the Bagratid dynasty. Shirak's supporters are also considered to be one of the best in Armenian football, with high match attendance and active supporters during matches. Supporters have rioted against club management when the club failed to reach desired results in the past.

• Official website