Urartu Yerevan FC Urartu is an Armenian football club from Yerevan, founded on 21 January 1992 by Sarkis Israelyan under the name FC Banants, in the village of Kotayk in the province of the same name — the club took its original name from its founder's home village. As early as its debut season in 1992, the team won the first-ever Armenian Cup, though in the mid-1990s the club struggled with financial instability, which ultimately led to its relocation to the country's capital, Yerevan, in 2001. The move coincided with a merger with Spartak Yerevan, through which the club significantly expanded.
The team, playing in distinctive blue and white, referencing the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which in antiquity encompassed territories of present-day Armenia, adopted its current name only on 1 August 2019, dropping its previous name, Banants, in favour of a reference to the region's rich history. This change coincided with the acquisition of a majority stake in the club by Russian-Armenian businessman Dzhevan Cheloyants in early 2016.
The club won its first Armenian championship in the 2013–14 season, breaking a long-standing dominance by other teams on the domestic football scene. By that point, the club's trophy cabinet already included Armenian Cups won in 1992, 2007 and 2016. Urartu claimed its second league title in the 2022–23 season, which earned the team its historic debut in UEFA Champions League qualifying — in the first qualifying round the club faced Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zrinjski Mostar, losing the first leg 0–1 before winning the return leg 3–2, which nevertheless proved insufficient for advancement following a lost penalty shootout. After being eliminated from the Champions League, Urartu continued its campaign in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Known by the nickname Hpart Aryutsner (Proud Lions), the club has for years remained a permanent fixture of the Armenian top flight, regularly finishing among the league's leaders and taking part in European competition — this stability was further confirmed by the club's Armenian Cup final appearances in both the 2021–22 and 2023–24 seasons, though on each occasion it had to concede defeat to its opponents. The team plays its home matches at Urartu Stadium in Yerevan.
