ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sweden’s Kurdish-affiliated football club Dalkurd FF was forced to settle for a point in the country’s second-tier Superettan league after they were held to a 1-1 draw on Sunday by opponents Vasteraas SK.
Dalkurd were the stronger side throughout the first half of the match and were ahead inside the first four minutes when striker Joseph Ceesay scored to give his team the lead.
Vasteraas came out in the second half with an air of determination and enjoyed most of the possession.
The Kurdish side had a man sent off in the 80th minute when the referee showed Christopher McVey a red card.
The man advantage allowed Vasteraas back into the match, and they were able to break the Dalkurd defense when Douglas Karlberg scored a late equalizer.
Dalkurd’s (8-3-6) next match is against J-Södra (8-4-5) on Aug. 3 at 5 p.m. Erbil time.
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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).