You can never imagine how fast your dream can turn real.
Ramazan Kizil, a Kurd from Borlänge, Sweden, is probably sitting at his office and cannot believe how his aspiring project for immigrants like him is now arriving its money time.
Few years ago, Kizil, alongside with other people from the Kurd community in Borlänge, decided to establish a new football club. They’ve wanted to create a professional team that will play at the higher levels of the Swedish football.
Now, ten years later, this little project, Dalkurd FF, is getting closer to secure a spot in the Allsvenskan – Swedish top-flight football league.
Kurds are immigrating to Sweden since the late 60's. While some looked for a better quality of life, the majority escaped the horrors of the Middle East conflicts. And the Kurds have suffered. Military coups in Turkey, Iraqi government’s abuse and the neglecting Syrian Baath-regime, all were among the main causes for a large community of 84,000 Kurdish descent people living in Sweden, what made them almost 1% out of the country’s total population.
Like in many other immigration cases, the integration of Kurds in Sweden did not go smooth from the beginning. The culture differences, the identity issues and the socio-economic situation of many of the Kurdish families influenced its acceptance by and to Swedish society. Like in many other immigrants’ stories, especially in Sweden, football was a great path for integration.
In 2004, Ramzan Kizil gathered his friend and established Dalkurd FF. At the beginning, the idea was to create a safe place for Borlänge youngsters, where they could be part of a positive setting. A sport club looked as the best option helping the kids integrating into Swedish society. Even though that Kizil had dreams of going professional one day, but it looked surreal at first - his club had an average age of 17 years old – it was practically a youth team.
Kizil did not give up. At their debut season, Dalkurd won its first ever promotion. It was the first in a series of five consecutive promotions. In 2010 Dalkurd played 3rd division football for the first time. Then, it seemed that going further than that level will be a tough mission. For few years they’ve lost promotion playoffs and missed the top spots only by few points, accompanied by narrow cruel misses in money time matches. And then, in 2015 they finally made it.
At the end of the season, Dalkurd was standing proud in 1st place at the Swedish Division 1 (third tier), with a single defeat out of 26 games, leading the table by 13 points, going all the way to the Superettan. Among the top scorers of the league, three were Dalkurd players. Ramazan Kizil saw his dream arrive its glory time – Dalkurd was alive, kicking and competitive.
For Kurds across the world Dalkurd is much more than just a football club.
In manners of fans, 1.3 million people like the club's fan page on Facebook, more than most of Allsvenskan clubs, altogether.
But the connection of Dalkurd to the worldwide Kurdish spectrum is not based only on the internet. In November 2011, the club organized a charity match with TV stars and Allsvenskan players. They donated the money to the city of Van, city in Eastern Turkey with Kurd majority that suffered a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
The Kurdish identity didn't made Dalkurd a homogeneous team. Alongside with Kurd players like Peshraw Azizi and Rawez Lawan who were born in Sweden, and Mirkan Aydin who born in Germany, you can find immigrants descendants from various origins. Swedish born Dusan Djuric’s parents are from Serbia, and he had represented the Swedish national team. On the other hand, Kujtim Bala born in Sweden but decided to represent Kosovo national team.
One of the interesting figures in Dalkurd is Ahmed Awad. Awad, a Swedish-born Palestinian began his career in the bigger club of the city, IK Brage, but in the age of 19 he decided to move to Dalkurd. He plays for the team since 2011, with exception of only one season. Awad’ success in Dalkurd earned him a call-up for the Palestinian national team. In March, during the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Timor-Leste, he made his debut for Palestine and scored his first ever international goal.
A Swedish-Palestinian who stars for A Swedish-Kurdish club. Dalkurd' sensation Ahmed Awad (Jontan Svedgard©)
Ten games are left for the Superettan season and for Dalkurd to complete Kizil’s mission.
They are 2 points away from a promotion playoff spot and 6 points from an automatic promotion to the Allsvesnkan. On their 11th season of existence, they can feel equal to teams like Halmstads BK (four-time Swedish champions) and IK Sirius (one of the most veteran clubs in Sweden).
Their next match will be against Syrianska FC. Like Dalkurd, Syrianska also represents immigrants. Alongside with Assyriska, they represent the Assyrian community. In the past, both teams were promoted to the Allsvenskan. Nowadays, both are fighting against relegation in second division, while Dalkurd is in the top of the league.
Ramazan Kizil is at his moment of truth. His Assyrian colleagues have already reached the top flight before, an achievement that he dreamed about for years now. A win against Syrianska will be a big step for Kizil's team, on their way to fulfill his dream.
A promotion will be a huge victory for the team, for Kizil and for the Kurdish community in Sweden. but trust Kizil – he will target his next goal fast, and will make Dalkurd and the Kurds even greater.
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Thumbnail photo by Pontus Orre