Armenian league risks collapse as Ulisses drop out

The Armenian league's top flight yesterday faced the threat of collapse after Ulisses Yerevan football club pulled out due to financial problems, local media reported.

The club's owner, Valery Oganesyan, officially informed the ex-Soviet country's football federation that Ulisses had no choice but to bow out of the national championships because of a cash shortage. The disbanding of Ulisses sounded alarm bells for the Armenian football federation as the league's top flight now consists of only seven teams, while an eight-strong league is a minimum requirement for the European football ruling body UEFA.

Last year another team, FC Mika, experienced similar problems and it cost the Armenian federation a lot of effort to keep the team in the league. If Mika also pulls out of the championship, the federation is unlikely to be able to resolve the problem as there are no other teams in Armenia that play at the level needed to replace Ulisses and Mika in the top flight.