The Antranik Youth Association (AYA) (; ), or simply Antranik (; ), is a

Lebanese-Armenian Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, the number was higher, but the community lost a ...

multi-sports and cultural club based in

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

Matn District Matn (, '), sometimes spelled Metn (or preceded by the article El, as in El Matn), is a district (''qadaa'') in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon, east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The district capital is Jdeideh (followed to Jdeideh, ...

, Lebanon. Established in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon in 1931, it has consisted of various sports departments throughout their history, including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

, and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

. Named after the Armenian military commander Antranik Ozanian, Antranik is the Lebanese section of the

Armenian Youth Association The Antranik Youth Association (AYA) (; ), or simply Antranik (; ), is a Lebanese-Armenian multi-sports and cultural club based in Antelias, Matn District, Lebanon. Established in Beirut, Lebanon in 1931, it has consisted of various sports d ...

(AYA), the sports, cultural, and youth program of the

Armenian General Benevolent Union The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or ,''Hay Parekordzagan Enthanour Miyutyun'' or ...

(AGBU). Antranik has branches in Beirut, Antelias,

Zahlé Zahlé () is a city in eastern Lebanon, and the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli and the fourth-largest ...

Sin el Fil Sin el Fil ( / ALA-LC: ''Sinn al-Fīl'') is a suburb east of Beirut in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon. Etymology The name literally means 'ivory': "tooth" (''sinn'') of "the elephant" (''al-fīl''). Being geographic ...

, and

Bourj Hammoud Bourj Hammoud (also spelled Burj Hammud; ; ) is a town and municipality in Lebanon located north-east of the capital Beirut, in the Matn District, and is part of Greater Beirut. The town is heavily populated by Lebanese Armenians. Bourj Hammoud ...

Basketball

Founded in 1987, Antranik's men's basketball team have participated multiple times in the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

. The women's team have won the league 10 times in a row, between 2002 and 2012, and have been crowned champions of the

Arab Women's Club Basketball Championship The Arab Women's Club Championship is an annual basketball tournament for Arab teams for women.Arab Wo ...

twice.

Football

Antranik formed its

team in 1931; they were one of the

Lebanese Football Association The Lebanese Football Association (LFA; ; ) is the governing body of association football in Lebanon. Formed in 1933, it is a member of both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, AFC. It is also one of the founding members of the West Asian ...

's founding members in 1933. The first team participated in the

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

during the 1930s and 1940s, while their

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

played in the

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division () is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate in the league play each other twice, once at home and once awa ...

, winning it in 1940–41. They currently play in the

Lebanese Fourth Division The Lebanese football league system (), also known as the Lebanese football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Lebanon. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between ...

Other activities

The Lebanese chapter of Antranik also runs numerous cultural activities including its own theatrical group, the Troupe Vahram Papazian, named after the pan-Armenian actor

Vahram Papazian Vahram Papazian or Papazyan (; 6 January 1888 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire – 5 June 1968 in Yerevan, Armenia), was a Soviet actor who was an ethnic Armenian, mostly known for his Shakespearean roles. Vahram did plays in Constantinople, ...

. They also run a programme in

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antanik Antranik Youth Association Sport in Beirut 1931 establishments in Lebanon Tennis teams Armenian-Lebanese culture Scouting and Guiding in Lebanon Diaspora sports clubs