Dalkurd Fotbollsförening, commonly known as Dalkurd FF or simply Dalkurd (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈdɑ̂ːlkɵrd]) is a Swedish professional football club based in Uppsala.[2] The club competes in Division 2, the fourth tier of football in the country. On 26 September 2004, the club was originally founded by members of the Kurdish diaspora in Borlänge, Dalarna.

Dalkurd
Full nameDalkurd Fotbollsförening
Founded26 September 2004; 19 years ago (2004-09-26)
GroundStudenternas IP, Lötens IP
Capacity10,000
ChairmanSarkat Junad
CoachAmir Azrafshan
LeagueDivision 2
2023Decrease 3 of 16 Ettan (demoted due to financial problems)[1]
WebsiteClub website

On 24 November 2017, Dalkurd chose to move their senior team operations to Uppsala, some 140 kilometers southeast of Borlänge, where they will play at the new ground Nya Studenternas IP following its opening in 2020.[2] In the 2018 season, however, Dalkurd played their home games at Gavlevallen in Gävle, some 110 kilometers north of Uppsala (and roughly 110 kilometers east of Borlänge).[3] Dalkurd FF holds the record for the lowest average attendances in the history of both Allsvenskan and Superettan, the two highest Swedish leagues. Dalkurd FF is affiliated with Upplands Fotbollförbund.[4]

History edit

The club was formed in Borlänge in 2004 by a group of Kurds. It started as a social project to contribute to the youth of Borlänge by offering activities for them. IK Brage helped financing the project.[5][6] In the first season the squad consisted of an average age of 17 years. Besides contributing to the youngsters, the chairman, Ramazan Kizil, had high expectations of the football players and an ultimate goal: he wanted to take Dalkurd to the professional levels of the Swedish league.[7] Dalkurd won every division they participated in from their very first season in 2005 to 2009. Owing to this uncommon success they got a lot of media attention, both in Sweden and abroad.

The club narrowly avoided catastrophe when travelling home from Spain in March 2015. The club had initially intended to fly from Barcelona to Düsseldorf on Germanwings Flight 9525, but changed its booking at the last minute when they decided the layover in Germany would be too long.[8] Flight 4U 9525 crashed into the French Alps on 24 March, killing everyone on board.

Season to season edit

Season Level Division Section Position Movements
2005 Tier 7 Division 6 Dalarna Mellersta 1st Promoted
2006 Division 5 Dalarna Södra
2007 Tier 6 Division 4 Dalarna 1st Promoted
2008 Tier 5 Division 3 Södra Norrland 1st Promoted
2009 Tier 4 Division 2 Norra Svealand 1st Promoted
2010 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 6th
2011 4th
2012 8th
2013 2nd Promotion Playoffs
2014 3rd
2015 1st Promoted
2016 Tier 2 Superettan 4th
2017 2nd Promoted
2018 Tier 1 Allsvenskan 15th Relegated
2019 Tier 2 Superettan 8th
2020 14th Relegation Playoffs – Relegated
2021 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 2nd Promotion Playoffs
2022 Tier 2 Superettan 16th Relegated
2023 Tier 3 Division 1 Norra 3rd Relegated
2024 Tier 4 Division 2 Norra Svealand

* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new tier being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.[9]

Supporters edit

Roj Fans
Established2010; 14 years ago (2010)
TypeSupporter club
HeadquartersBorlänge,   Sweden
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/Rojfans

In 2010, the official supporter club from Västerås for Dalkurd FF with the name "Roj Fans" was founded. They are an independent non-profit organisation.

In 2018, they set the record for the lowest average attendance ever – 1,058 – in the history of the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. The record was previously held by Västerås IK, who had an average attendance of 1,125 in the inaugural season 1924–25.[10] The game against BK Häcken with an attendance of 202 people also became the second lowest attendance in the history of the league.[11]

In 2019, they set the record for the lowest average attendance in the history of Superettan – 168 people.[12]

Affiliated clubs edit

Affiliated clubs edit

In 2019, Dalkurd FF announced a cooperation with Uppsala Kurd FK as part of strengthening the presence of Dalkurd FF in the Uppsala region. One of the aims of the cooperation is to make a natural way for talents in Uppsala to become a part of Dalkurd. Uppsala Kurd plays in div. 4 Uppland and is a farm team for Dalkurd FF. Players from the Dalkurd Academy regularly train with Uppsala Kurd. If they are good enough, a transition is made so that they can represent Uppsala Kurd in the series game. The goal is to bring Uppsala Kurd higher up in the series system. We want to be able to offer young players good senior match environments on the way to Dalkurd FF want Uppsala Kurd A in div 3, 2020 and then the goal is to come up in the second in a few years. The football played and the training methodology in Uppsala Kurd is the same as in Dalkurd A and the Dalkurd Academy.

Crest edit

The crest consist of a round circle with the flag of Kurdistan as well as two Dalecarlian horses. "Dal" and "Kurd FF" is spelled out in white letters on the top and bottom of the crest, as well as the year 2004.

Kit edit

The traditional home colors of Dalkurd are all green. The Away kit is traditionally white but have previously been black, yellow and pink in the 2019 season. The club's kit manufacturer is Adidas

Honours edit

Dalkurd FF honours
Type Competition Titles Seasons/Years
Domestic Division 1 Norra 1 2015
Division 2 Norra Svealand 2009
Division 3 Södra Norrland 2008
Division 4 Dalarna 2007
Division 5 Dalarna Södra 2006
Division 6 Dalarna Mellersta 2005

Players edit

 
The Dalkurd starting eleven lining up before a game wearing their green home kit.

Current squad edit

As of 5 September 2023[13][14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   BEL Senne Vitts
2 DF   SWE Oskar Alvers
4 MF   BEL Samuel Asoma
5 DF   SWE Tim Hartzell
6 MF   RSA Nana Ntuli
7 FW   SLE Michael Kargbo
8 MF   NOR Oussama Ali
9 FW   SWE Rodin Deprem
10 FW   TUN Imed Louati
11 MF   IRN Bakhtiar Rahmani
12 FW   SWE Tiago Silva
14 FW   SWE Rasmus Niklasson
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW   IRQ Aysar Qasim Mohammed
16 DF   SWE Rassa Rahmani
17 MF   SWE Victor Svensson
18 FW   SWE Rinwar Othman
19 DF   SWE Alexander Ernström


22 MF   IRQ Brwa Nouri
26 MF   SWE Samuel Wikman
29 MF   SYR Oliver Kass Kawo
31 GK   SWE Simon Ericsson
32 MF   SUI Stefan Wolf
34 DF   SWE Isaak Höök
MF   IRN Mohamad

Notable former players edit

Academy edit

  • Deven Rashed
  • Edvard Ståhlberg

Personnel edit

Attendances edit

 
Domnarvsvallen
 
Domnarvsvallen

In recent seasons Dalkurd FF have had the following average attendances:

Season Average Attendance Division / Section Level
2007 Not available Div 4 Dalarna Tier 6
2008 179 Div 3 Södra Norrland Tier 5
2009 456 Div 2 Norra Svealand Tier 4
2010 298 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2011 315 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2012 365 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2013 282 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2014 466 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2015 475 Div 1 Norra Tier 3
2016 1,119 Superettan Tier 2

* Attendances are provided in the Publikliga sections of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet website.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ "Överklagandenämnden ger inte Dalkurd elitlicens för 2024". www.svenskfotboll.se/ (in Swedish). Svenska FotbollsFörbundet. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Beslut taget vid extraårsmöte" (in Swedish). Dalkurd FF. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Nu är det klart att Dalkurd kan spela 15 matcher på Gavlevallen 2018" (in Swedish). Gävle kommun. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar 2018 – Upplands Fotbollförbund". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Dalkurd vinner mest". DN.SE. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Målet: Nå allsvenskan". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  7. ^ "ARKIV: Seriekometen Dalkurd vill upp i allsvenskan". Sveriges Television. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Germanwings crash: Dalkurd FF goalkeeper on last-minute, life-saving flight change". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  9. ^ "GAIS – Lagfacta – Dalkurd FF" (in Swedish). GAIS. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Dalkurd-Djurgården: Dalkurds publiksnitt sämst någonsin". expressen.se. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Häcken körde över Dalkurd – upp på tredje plats". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  12. ^ "168 åskådare i snitt – Dalkurd sätter nytt bottenrekord". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  13. ^ "First team". Soccerway.
  14. ^ "A-Truppen". Dalkurd FF.
  15. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Svenska Fotbollförbundet – svenskfotboll.se". Retrieved 9 December 2010.

External links edit