1996-97 in Armenian football was the 5th season of independent football after the split-up from the Soviet Union. It was the second out of two seasons in Armenia that were different from the others. Including the 1995-96 season these were the only winter competitions, while all other Armenian seasons were summer competitions. The Armenian Premier League for 1996-97 existed of 12 teams of which the four lowest ranked team would relegate to the Armenian First League. Only two Armenian First League teams would be promoted for the 1997 fall season, switching back to the winter competitions.
| 1996–97 in Armenian football | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Premier League champions | |
| FC Pyunik | |
| First League champions | |
| FC Dvin Artashat FC Lori | |
| Armenian Cup winners | |
| Ararat Yerevan |
Premier League
edit- FC Arabkir and BKMA Yerevan are promoted.
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyunik (C) | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 67 | 9 | +58 | 59 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Ararat Yerevan | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 54 | 18 | +36 | 52 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Yerevan | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 58 | 24 | +34 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 4 | Shirak | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 57 | 11 | +46 | 47 | |
| 5 | Tsement Ararat | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 49 | 26 | +23 | 42 | |
| 6 | Van Yerevan | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 34 | |
| 7 | Kotayk | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 28 | |
| 8 | Karabakh Yerevan | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 25 | |
| 9 | Homenmen Yerevan | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 30 | 59 | −29 | 22 | |
| 10 | Arabkir (R) | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 20 | 89 | −69 | 12 | Relegation to First League |
| 11 | Zangezour (R) | 22 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 9 | 77 | −68 | 9 | |
| 12 | BKMA Yerevan (W) | 22 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 56 | −46 | 4 | Withdrew[a] |
- ^ BKMA Yerevan were went into bankruptcy and withdrew from the competition after autumn season. All remaining matches were awarded 3-0 against them.
Top goalscorers
edit| Player | Team | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Arsen Avetisyan | Pyunik | 24 |
| 2 | |
Sergey Hayrbabamyan | Tsement Ararat | 13 |
| 3 | |
Tigran Yesayan | Yerevan | 11 |
| |
Arthur Petrosyan | Shirak | 11 | |
| |
Henrik Berberyan | Yerevan | 11 |
First League
edit- Kapan-81 are renamed Lernagorts Kapan.
- FC Kasakh returned to professional football and changed their name to Aragats Ashtarak.
- SKA Ijevan returned to professional football and change their name back to Kaen Ijevan.
- Hachen FC returned to professional football and changed their name to Sapfir FC.
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dvin Artashat | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 18 | +36 | 50 | Promoted to Armenian Premier League |
| 2 | Lori | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 13 | +29 | 50 | |
| 3 | Aznavour | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 42 | |
| 4 | Nairit | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 34 | |
| 5 | Kumayri | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 29 | |
| 6 | Armavir | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 29 | |
| 7 | Sapfir | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 28 | |
| 8 | Dinamo Yerevan | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 41 | −18 | 25 | |
| 9 | Lernagorts Kapan | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 25 | |
| 10 | BMA-Arai Echmiadzin | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 28 | −4 | 25 | |
| 11 | Aragats Ashtarak | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 21 | |
| 12 | Kaen Ijevan | 22 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 19 | 75 | −56 | 6 | |
| 13 | Aragats FC | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | — | 0 | Withdrew from competition |
| 14 | Astgh Vanadzor | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | — | 0 | |
| 15 | Yeghvard | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | — | 0 |
Source: rsssf.com
Armenia Cup
edit| Quarter finals | ||
| Yerevan | 3 - 1 0 - 0 |
Van Yerevan |
| Pyunik | 2 - 0 5 - 2 |
Kotayk Abovyan |
| Shirak | 1 - 1 0 - 1 |
Ararat Yerevan |
| Tsement Ararat | w/o | BKMA Yerevan |
| Semi finals | ||
| Yerevan | 0 - 5 1 - 2 |
Pyunik |
| Ararat Yerevan | 2 - 0 2 - 0 |
Tsement Ararat |
| Final | ||
| Pyunik | 0 - 1 | Ararat Yerevan |