That means the team sometimes gets only 400-500 supporters for "home" matches, but often gets 3,000 fans for "away" games in and around Stockholm, where there's a larger Kurdish community. Fred Smerlas - NFL player … I was totally in shock.". Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. Kizil is looking for new sponsors and is thinking of creative ways to find new players. A football player of the Kurdish Amedspor club in Turkey's third-tier league has been banned for life for attacking opponent players, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said on Thursday. We went away from that," Kizil said. Over five years, it lost only four games and was promoted every season to make it into the third-highest tier. Twenty men were injured and an innocent man, Alisan Dogan, a 43-year-old Kurdish cleaner, was knifed to death. At a time when immigration is at the top of the political agenda in Sweden, Dalkurd's status in the country's leading soccer league, Allsvenskan, is striking. "When I go back (to Iraq), I see the kids out playing football and a lot of them say, 'I'm a Barcelona fan, I'm a Real Madrid fan,'" Azizi said. "We used to find players who were a perfect match — people who had a bad reputation and needed a second chance. "Once I was in the front line of the war against IS and met the Peshmergas and guerrillas who fight against them," Azizi said, his face lighting up. The players train there but play their matches, for the time being, farther up the east coast in Gavle. The yellow ball represents the Kurdish Sun and the green banner represents the green Kurdistan scenery. Dalkurd's coaches and administrators worked for no pay in their spare time. For decades, the region of Northern Iraq known as Iraqi Kurdistan was neglected not just in sports but in every aspect of life. "They knew who I was. Although the country’s vulnerable democracy has long suffered from several coup d’etats (1960, 1971, 1980, 1997), this was quite different. 9781568591766 1568591764 The Kurdish Question and the 2003 Iraqi War 9780793551446 0793551447 Ultimate Keyboard Chord Book , Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation 9780309099486 030909948X A Risk Reduction Strategy for Human Exploration of Space - A Review of NASA's Bioastronautics Roadmap , Board on Health Sciences Policy, Committee on Review of NASA's Bioastronautics Roadmap, National … He also is in regular contact with Kurds back home, going there as often as possible with money and uniforms, mingling with refugees and helping with projects in displacement camps. With an HPI of . ", More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports, Follow Steve Douglas at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80. 51.68, Younis Mahmoud is the 4th most famous Iraqi Soccer Player. … International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes, "The first football World Cup for nations that do not exist", Confederation of Independent Football Associations, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kurdistan_Region_national_football_team&oldid=1021747398, Asian national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA, Articles containing Kurdish-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 May 2021, at 13:13. Always war. They are in the war, the front line, they are fighting against the terrorists, and they are talking about us. Their first and only win in the 2008 tournament came against Provence. Its promotion to Allsvenskan means the team faces tougher opponents, and it is struggling to avoid relegation — being sent down to a lower tier — with four matches left in the season. A German-Kurdish soccer player convicted in Turkey of support for Kurdish separatists said he feared he had been attacked for his views after shots were fired at his car in Germany on Sunday night. ', "Imagine that! Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. An investigation was launched Monday after a Turkish soccer player was seen allegedly injuring four other players with a “sharp objects” during a match over the weekend. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. by Reuters Monday, 8 January 2018 15:43 GMT. Local prosecutors said they were investigating the incident as … "A Met unit set up to tackle organised crime in the Turkish community remains active. The street price of heroin is at an all-time low, proving supplies are plentiful and Turkish crime is as strong as ever. We need a balance.". It has been estimated that there are 250 million association football players in the world, and many play the other forms of football. People getting killed. The emblem represents the Kurdish flag colours, where the red represents the Kurdish Newroz fire. The Kurdish Soccer Player Not to be confused with Hindreen Dalil or Hindreen Dalil. Younis Mahmoud Khalaf (Arabic: يونس محمود خلف‎; born 3 February 1983) is an Iraqi former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Iraq national football team and is currently the President of the Iraq Former Players Association. Market data provided by Factset. Their first and only win in the 2008 tournament came against Provence. All rights reserved. (Pontus Lundahl/TT via AP). They were friends from a rough area of the rural town and soccer was the main thing in their lives. The 14-year journey of the soccer team known as Dalkurd began as a social project to get misbehaving kids off the street in a rural town in central Sweden. "Dalkurd is the only place where people from all four parts of Kurdistan can enjoy something together," Kizil said. These soccer stars have worked tirelessly to achieve the heights of success on the pitch that they have. a football game in which two teams of 11 players … Pete Pihos - NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles (Pro Football Hall of Fame). From next year, Dalkurd will have six affiliated youth teams in Uppsala, covering ages 6-16. "We took away their free time, made them believe they could achieve something good with either their football or their lives," said Adil Kizil, who was a member of that initial Dalkurd squad because his father, Ramazan, was one of the founders. "Always struggling. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Now, it has grown into a top-flight soccer team that has given the Kurdish minority — scattered and ravaged by war for decades — something to cherish as its own. It is a notion that would have been scoffed at when the team was founded in 2004. Azizi is one of three Kurdish players on the Dalkurd roster. Feeling it wasn't being supported by the community in Borlange, Dalkurd has moved its operations to Uppsala, north of Stockholm. Legal Statement. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, a senior prosecutor in … The Kurdistan Region national football team (Arabic: منتخب كردستان العراق الوطني لكرة القدم‎, Kurdish: Helbijardey Topî pêy Kurdistan ;ھەڵبژاردەی تۆپی پێی كوردستان‎), is the national team of Kurdistan Region. There's reason for hope. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Turkish soccer players have meanwhile begun to give military salutes whenever they score in matches against Kurdish teams against the backdrop of the breakdown last summer of a … All rights reserved. With 14 different nationalities on the squad, keeping its Kurdish players seems vital. Helbijardey Topî pêy Kurdistan ;ھەڵبژاردەی تۆپی پێی كوردستان. The 14-year journey of the team known as Dalkurd is an unlikely story of second chances, cultural integration and using the world's most popular sport as a force for good. In addition, Dalkurd's main financial backer has pulled out, forcing it to sell some of its best players. Legal Statement. And last year, it made it to Allsvenskan — a feat that really got the team attention outside Sweden, in particular in predominantly Kurdish areas. They thought, 'It's a club founded by friends: They'll play one year and then collapse.'". The Iraqi FA attended a meeting held by the NF-Board in June 2006.[2]. The club's Facebook page has nearly 1.5 million followers. In December 2008, during the 5th General Meeting, Kurdistan was granted full membership to the NF Board and was a failed candidate to host the 2010 VIVA World Cup. They said, 'We follow you, keep going, keep fighting, we are proud. He believes that the team's newfound success and status means Dalkurd has lost some of its underdog identity. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages. Now, it has grown into a top-flight squad that has given the Kurdish minority - scattered and ravaged by war - something to cherish as its own. That's the year that 15 youngsters — a mix of nationalities and backgrounds including Kurds, Africans and Arabs — were released because of disciplinary reasons from IK Brage, the main soccer team in Borlange, a town in the county of Dalarna. "Maybe they don't play so much," said Alex DeJohn, an American defender at Dalkurd, "but they are here, great for the locker room, great for motivation, as captains and leaders. Turkey on the 15th July 2016 faced another coup attempt. "Now they say, 'I'm a Dalkurd fan.' soccer A ball sport in which two teams of 11 players each try to get the ball into the other team's goal using mainly their feet. Is the only NFL player to have been named All-Pro on both offense and defense in the same year. Discover (and save!) Now, it has grown into a top-flight squad that has given the Kurdish minority - scattered and ravaged by war - something to cherish as its own. That is bigger than anything, even if we win Allsvenskan.". They also recruited players who were kicked off other clubs. Naki currently plays for Amed SK, a club in Turkey’s majority-Kurdish southeast. A group of Kurdish migrants living in Borlange decided to start a new club, using the 15 ousted players as the nucleus of the squad. It adopted the colors of the Kurdish flag: red, white and green, with a golden sun at the center. Kizil spent the early part of his childhood in Turkish Kurdistan. "We are like the big symbol for the Kurdish people," said Peshraw Azizi, who fled northern Iraq for Sweden with his family in 2000 and has played for Dalkurd for much of the club's astonishing rise. They are not affiliated with FIFA or Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the AFC Asian Cup. Most of the world's 40 million Kurds live in a region spanning the frontiers of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. He has had the most stressful year of his time with the club. Kurds from all over the world are contacting Azizi, seeking tryouts. It is a sign of how far Kurds have come that this team and its players can even contemplate competing in Iraq's top league. Spring Forward: Female Muslim Soccer Players in Iraqi Kurdistan. (Pontus Lundahl/TT via AP), In this photo taken on Saturday Oct. 20, 2018, Dalkurd's Ferhad Ayaz, left, in action with Orebro's Michael Almeback during their Swedish League soccer match at Gavlevallen soccer field in Gavle, Sweden. There is no Kurdish national soccer team recognized by soccer's world organizing body, FIFA. "We want players with revenge inside them.". Naki, a former national youth soccer player for Germany, now plays for a Kurdish team in Turkey. For decades, they have been persecuted by their governments and pushed to the margins of society. In this photo taken on Saturday Oct. 20, 2018, Dalkurds Robin Tranberg, center, celebrates scoring with teammates Adam Stahl, left, and Eero Markkanen, during their Swedish League soccer match between Dalkurd and Orebro at Gavlevallen soccer field in Gavle, Sweden. A German-Kurdish soccer player convicted in Turkey of support for Kurdish separatists said he feared he had been attacked for his views after shots were fired at his car in Germany on Sunday night. More recently, after battles with Islamic extremists, the Kurds of Syria and Iraq have won autonomous rule within the borders of their respective countries. "We are their national team.". Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Although they speak different languages and answer to different authorities, they share traditions and ties across the greater region they call Kurdistan. But I know now when we win a game, we give them a smile over there. After all, healthy competition is what makes this world go round. November 2012; Soccer and Society 13(5-6) DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2012.730775. After losing in the final in both the 2009 and 2010 tournaments Kurdistan eventually became champions on home turf in 2012, defeating Northern Cyprus 2–1 in front of 22,000 fans. These days, Mr. Kizil’s goals are more immediate: aiding embattled Kurdish fighters fending off attacks by Islamic State, the jihadist group … That's how big we are.". He is a colorful and popular figure on the club, educating newer players about its history and identity. "Anything [soccer] related here is massive news, and especially so for the Confederations Cup, ... Sunni and Kurdish players all came together. A German-Kurdish soccer player convicted in Turkey of support for Kurdish separatists said he feared he had been attacked for his views after shots were fired at his car in Germany on Sunday night. Nov 25, 2017 - This Pin was discovered by Shnuly Kurdish. Regional German soccer players warned against copying Turkish salute Gesture made by Turkish national team seen as a reference to military operation against Kurdish … Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Baghdad contributed to this report. The 15th July coup was luckily left as an attempt and or redistributed. In this video we will show you the Height difference of all Sportstars in FIFA world Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. We can change the mentality, the talk in the living room. UPPSALA, Sweden – It began as a project in a Swedish town to get misbehaving kids off the street. He is a colorful and popular figure on the club, educating newer players about its history and identity. Mahmut Tekdemir, Burak Yilmaz, Merih Demiral and Umut Meras were among the Turkish players to salute the fans after their goal against France. "In the living rooms, the talk was about negative stuff," he recounted in the foyer of a hotel in Uppsala. The team played in the 2008 VIVA World Cup for the first time, finishing in the 4th place after a 3–1 loss to Sápmi. Dalkurd started in the eighth and lowest tier of Swedish soccer — sort of like a community league where the teams are made up of amateurs mostly playing for fun. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Find the perfect European Sports Pictures Of The Week October 13 stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. When Ramazan Kizil established Dalkurd FF, one of Europe’s most successful immigrant soccer teams, in a remote town in northern Sweden, he dreamt of one day raising the Swedish and the Kurdish flag alongside one another in a European championship. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. Azizi is one of three Kurdish players on the Dalkurd roster. But there's one accomplishment that eludes most of them -- the privilege of being called the best. Only one player was born and raised in Sulaimani; three came from large nearby Kurdish cities, Erbil and Kirkuk; three hailed from small towns and villages Soccer & Society 5 in the Kurdistan region; Yasameen was from Baghdad; and one player, Aween, was born and raised in Mahabad, Iran, and moved to Sulaimani three years ago, after her father was killed during the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War. German-Kurdish soccer player shot at in Germany, fears political motive. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Peter Philipakos - Soccer player, formerly of Olympiacos F.C. Kizil, formerly Dalkurd's goalkeeper, is now its sporting director. The team played in the 2008 VIVA World Cup for the first time, finishing in the 4th place after a 3–1 loss to Sápmi. The Kurdistan Region FA emblem was designed by Kurdish artist Rawand Sirwan Nawroly (Kurdish: ره‌وه‌ند سیروان نه‌ورڕۆڵی‎). "And that, to me, is beautiful. Before long, Dalkurd was promoted to the Superettan, Sweden's second-highest tier and a level where teams turn professional. The 14-year journey of the soccer team known as Dalkurd began as a social project to get misbehaving kids off the street in a rural town in central Sweden. That won't happen this season. Shots fired at German-Turkish soccer player's car Back to video. A football player or footballer is a sport person who plays one of the different types of football.The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby league and rugby union.. They saw it as a way to give something back to a community that had welcomed them as refugees. About our Humanitarian Crises … Select from premium European Sports Pictures Of The Week October 13 of the highest quality. "Nobody believed in us. They called the team Dalkurd — a fusion of the name of the locality, Dalarna, and the founders' Kurdish roots. your own Pins on Pinterest In that lowest tier, Dalkurd trained for 2½ hours every night, taking a much more serious approach than their rivals. Market data provided by Factset. The co-founders went into troubled local schools and met with parents, encouraging them to allow their children on the team.