Homenetmen's Sport History
Armenian sports clubs and athletes made significant contributions to the development and growth of sports in the Ottoman Empire. Around a hundred Armenian sports clubs operated throughout the empire.
Between 1911 and 1914, the Armenian Olympic Games were organized in Constantinople. During this period, the Armenian newspaper “Marmnamarz,” founded by Shavarsh Krissian, was published as the first sports magazine in the Ottoman Empire.
In the summer of 1912, Armenian athletes Vahram Papazian and Mgrdich Mgrian participated in the 5th Olympic Games in Stockholm, representing the Ottoman Empire for the first time in an international Olympic competition.
The year 1908 marked a turning point in the advancement of athletics in the Ottoman Empire. Under the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid, sports, including football, were banned by the law, and those who defied the ban faced severe punishment. With the lifting of these restrictions, the first Armenian football teams were formed in Constantinople, Izmir, and other cities. Notable athletes such as Shavarsh Krissian, Mgrdich Mgrian, Vahan Cheraz, and the Jololian brothers played crucial roles in promoting sports among Ottoman Armenians. Krissian later moved to Egypt, where he established “Gamk” and “Ararat” sports clubs in Alexandria and Cairo, both of which eventually joined the Homenetmen Pan-Armenian family.
With the participation of numerous Armenian sports clubs and physical education organizations, four Armenian Olympic Games were held in Constantinople from 1911 to 1914.
However, the Armenian Genocide abruptly halted the development of Armenian sports. Many athletes perished, and numerous sports clubs ceased operations. Shavarsh Krissian the editor of “Marmnamarz,” who had dreamed of uniting Armenian sports clubs under one flag to foster a healthy national upbringing, was also among the victims of the Genocide.
Three years later, Krissian’s surviving colleagues revived Armenian sports life, fulfilling his dream by establishing Homenetmen - “Hay Marmnagertagan Entanur Miutyun” in Constantinople on November 16, 1918.
Homenetmen engaged in both scouting and sports. Its 25 chapters formed teams in and around Constantinople, particularly emphasizing individual sports such as athletics and cycling. The organization unified Armenian athletes and organized three Navasartian Games in 1919, 1921, and 1922. Of the 25 chapters, ten had their own gymnasiums in Constantinople.
Homenetmen’s reputation spread beyond Constantinople. Nigol Aghpalian, the Minister of education of newly independent Armenia, invited the organization to provide physical education for orphans. Accepting the invitation, Homenetmen sent a dedicated delegation in June 1920 to train 22,000 orphans housed in the orphanages of Alexandrapol, Gyumri. These orphans became part of Armenia’s first sports teams, competing in athletics and football. They also participated in the first Pan-Armenian Olympic Games in September 1920, overseen by a representative of the Republic of Armenia. One month later, in October 1920, Homenetmen organized its first football match between the Homenetmen Constantinople Football Team and the Yerevan “Sports” Club in Yerevan.
However, when the Soviet Republic of Armenia was established on December 2, 1920, Homenetmen ceased operations in Armenia. The organization continued in Constantinople, but following an internal coup in Turkey and the rise of the Kemalist movement, Homenetmen’s Central Committee officially dissolved the organization in Turkey on September 16, 1922.
Homenetmen then expanded into the Armenian Diaspora, where newly formed chapters made scouting and sports a primary means of uniting the younger generation and fostering a healthy national identity.
For the first generation of Genocide survivors, sports became a powerful form of self-assertion, with each victory symbolizing triumph over migration and poverty. Victorious athletes served as role models, embodying the resilience and dignity of the Armenian people in their host countries.
Homenetmen’s Central Committee firmly rejected professionalism in sports, particularly financial incentives, emphasizing that it did not align with the organization’s core principles of physical development and character building.
Gradually, Homenetmen’s sports activities expanded and flourished in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine, leading to the establishment of union chapters in the Middle East in 1927. As members migrated to Australia and the United States, they introduced the Navasartian Games there as well. Inter-chapter sports competitions began in Australia in 1968, in the Western United States in 1975, in the Eastern United States in 1990, and in South America in 1996. Meanwhile, Canada has been organizing inter-chapter sports since 1969.
Homenetmen also engaged in inter-school sports competitions to promote physical education among the youth. As part of this initiative, it hosted LEVAM, SEVAM, and KAHAM tournaments in Lebanon, Syria, and the United States.
Homenetmen reached its peak in the Middle East, where its teams and athletes secured numerous championships in the respective countries and the Arab world. After 1972, Homenetmen teams also participated in the International Olympic Games, proudly raising their national flags on the global stage.
The establishment of the Homenetmen Pan-Armenian structure in 1974 provided a new impetus to the organization’s sports activities. Starting in 1981, the quadrennial Navasartian Games became Homenetmen’s major sporting event, fostering enthusiasm among thousands of athletes and inspiring unity across chapters and communities.
The ultimate goal of Homenetmen remains to cultivate strong and courageous Armenians who will lead their people from victory to victory while upholding the organization’s enduring motto: “Rise and Raise.”
The will to become brave Armenians with Homenetmen, and lead Armenians from victory to victory is the ultimate goal of Homenetmen.
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