HIGHLIGHTS: Dalkurd snap losing streak in 2-2 draw with GIF Sundsvall

The draw moves Dalkurd up to 12th place in the table with five points from five matches played (1-1-3).

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish-affiliated Swedish football team Dalkurd FF earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw on Sunday against opponents GIF Sundsvall in the Swedish first division, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Dalkurd will be upset after going ahead 2-0 early in the second-half through goals from Yukiya Sugita in the 13th minute and Mohamed Turay three minutes later, the striker’s third league goal of the season.

GIF Sundsvall pulled a goal back before the half-time break through Linus Hallenius before Romain Gall equalized in the 70th minute.

The draw moves Dalkurd up to 12th place in the table with five points from five matches played (1-1-3).

Dalkurd, based in the Swedish city of Borlänge, was founded on Sep. 26, 2004, by nine Kurdish immigrants as a social project to keep children distracted from the vices of the streets.

The club has since built academies in both Sweden, and the Kurdistan Region as Dalkurd takes pride in being “born with a social responsibility,” according to their website.

The team’s colors are symbolic of Kurdistan, with the Kurdish flag included in the crest on their shirts.

The club has bull-dozed its way up the ranks of Swedish football since their 2005 introduction in Tier Seven, winning five promotions in their first five seasons.

With promotion into the first level of Swedish football, Dalkurd now faces the prospect of UEFA Champions League or Europa League qualification—an opportunity awarded to the top three teams in the Allsvenskan league.