Sweden’s Kurdish football club Dalkurd seal emphatic 5-1 win
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sweden’s Kurdish-affiliated football club Dalkurd FF put in a strong performance on Sunday to secure all three points in a 5-1 win against opponents GAIS in the Swedish Superettan league.
The Kurdish club started the match strongly and was up 2-0 in the first half with goals from Besard Sabovic in the 18th minute and Kerfala Cissoko in the 31st.
Leonard Pllana scored late in first-half stoppage time for GAIS to halve Dalkurd’s lead as the teams went into the break with the score at 2-1.
It was more of the same from Dalkurd in the second half as they continued to dominate proceedings and eventually restored their two-goal advantage through defender Irfan Jasarevic in the 60th minute.
Substitute Joseph Ceesay added a fourth in the 75th minute before Ferhad Ayaz scored in the 90th to seal an emphatic 5-1 win for Dalkurd.
Dalkurd’s (7-2-6) next game is against top-of-the-table Verbergs Bois (11-3-1) on July 20 at 5 p.m. Erbil time.
Related Article: 6-1 loss snaps Dalkurd’s five-match unbeaten run in Swedish league
Based in the Swedish city of Borlänge, Dalkurd was founded on Sept. 26, 2004, by nine Kurdish immigrants as a social project. The club has since built academies in both Sweden and the Kurdistan Region.
The team’s colors are symbolic of Kurdistan, with the Kurdish flag included in the crest on their shirts.
Dalkurd had bull-dozed its way up the ranks of Swedish football since its 2005 introduction in Tier Seven, winning five promotions in its first five seasons.
However, after a string of poor results in Sweden’s top division, Dalkurd were relegated on the last day of the 2018 season, finishing in 15th place with 24 points (6-6-18).