ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sweden’s Kurdish-affiliated football club Dalkurd FF are into the top five of the second-tier Superettan league following a convincing 3-1 victory against opponents IK Frej Taeby on Saturday.
Dalkurd started the match the stronger side and was 2-0 ahead after a quick succession of goals within a minute of each other through Simon Alexandersson in the 20th and Frank Arhin in the 21st.
The Kurdish-affiliated club extended its lead in the second half when Christopher McVey struck in the 61st minute.
IK Frej Taeby pulled a goal back through Pedro Ribeiro in the 73rd minute, but it was not enough as Dalkurd held on for the 3-1 win.
Dalkurd is on a five-match unbeaten run which began with a 2-1 win against Dagerfors on May 21.
The club has since gone on to win four matches and draw once, climbing to fifth in the Superettan table.
Dalkurd’s (6-2-5) next match is at home to Västerås (3-6-3) on June 25 at 8 p.m. Erbil time.
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).