A football world stretching from Amedspor and Diyarbakir to Stockholm, from Duhok to Berlin. Clubs, diaspora, notable players and the bond between football and identity — a comprehensive, source-based reference guide to Kurdish football.
Not a single league or federation, but a football culture spread across geographies.
"Kurdish football" describes not one institution but a football ecosystem spread across four countries (Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran) and a large European diaspora. At its centre are Amedspor, promoted to the Turkish Süper Lig; Dalkurd FF, founded by the diaspora in Sweden; and clubs such as Zaxo, Duhok and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
This page is the main gateway to Amedspor News's comprehensive content on Kurdish football — clubs, players, diaspora and cultural concepts branch out from here.
From Diyarbakir to Sweden, the known clubs of Kurdish football.
From a social project to the Swedish top flight.
Dalkurd FF was founded on 26 September 2004 in Borlange, Sweden, by nine Kurdish immigrants as a social project to keep young people off the streets. Winning every division it entered between 2005 and 2009, the club rose rapidly and reached the Swedish top flight Allsvenskan in 2018.
As CNN put it, Dalkurd became something of a "national team" for millions of Kurds worldwide, with one social media page reaching over 1.5 million followers. The club faced low attendances and financial difficulties, however, and paused operations in 2025 amid a severe financial crisis. Its story shows both the power and the fragility of diaspora football.
The meaning behind a comparison.
Barcelona is not just a football club but one of the most visible symbols of Catalan identity, with its motto "more than a club" (més que un club). The "Kurdish Barcelona" comparison applied to Amedspor rests on a similar idea: that the club carries, for many of its supporters, a regional and cultural belonging beyond its sporting identity.
The same comparison is sometimes used for Akre SC, known for its cup success in Iraqi Kurdistan. Such comparisons reflect the universal bond between football and identity — much like Athletic Bilbao (Basque), Celtic (Irish) or St. Pauli (alternative culture).
Kurdish football is part of the world's tradition of "identity clubs".
Around the world, many clubs represent a community beyond their sporting identity. Athletic Bilbao is known for fielding only Basque-rooted players; Celtic for its Irish-Scottish working-class identity; FC St. Pauli for its anti-fascist, alternative-culture stance. Amedspor and Dalkurd are reflections of this "identity club" tradition within Kurdish football.
These clubs show that football can be not just a 90-minute game but also a space of cultural visibility and belonging. At Amedspor News, our aim is to document this phenomenon in a balanced and factual way, along the football-culture axis.
In-depth content branching from this hub.
Amedspor (Diyarbakir) in Turkey, Dalkurd FF in Sweden, and Zaxo SC, Duhok SC and Erbil SC in Iraqi Kurdistan are among the most prominent. There are also diaspora clubs in Europe such as Newroz FC and FC Kurd.
A football club founded in 2004 in Borlange, Sweden, by Kurdish immigrants as a social project. It reached the Swedish top flight Allsvenskan in 2018 and paused operations in 2025 due to a financial crisis.
Just as Barcelona is identified with Catalan identity, Amedspor is, for many of its supporters, a symbol of regional and cultural belonging beyond its sporting identity, which is why this comparison is used.
No. Alongside clubs in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, the large Kurdish diaspora in countries such as Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and France has also founded its own clubs, making football a space of belonging.