Kurdish love for Barça

Solin Hacador

By Solin Hacador:

Football is a passionate game. You can see this by the cheering fans on any given Sunday or Thursday night and so on. When there is an important football match on – such as Barça (Barcelona Football Team), Chelsea, Real Madrid, Milan etc. – football fans get excited and they either try to attend stadiums or switch on their TVs.

Kurds are so attached to football and they try their best to follow up any match, especially Barça’s. I assume the reason behind the Kurdish love for Barça is that we both have histories as the victims of dictators. Catalans are victims of the dictator Franco and Kurds are victims of dictators such as Saddam, Shah, Atatürk, Assad, etc. This brings the two ethnic groups closer to each other.

Southern Kurdistan is known worldwide for dictator Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapon massacre! On March 13, 1988, the city of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan was almost completely destroyed by the Iraqi armed forces using chemical weapons, supplied by the West. Around 5,000 people were killed at the time and many more died from their injuries over the following weeks. This painful reality had a grievous traumatic impact on Kurds. However, life goes on and the new Southern Kurdish generations are being brought up in a peaceful environment. For this we Kurds all owe a lot to the Kurdish strugglers’ and their success in Southern Kurdistan.

Poster on display in Erbil

Poster on display in Erbil

Sports were a part of the cultural baggage carried by Westerners abroad in their quest for empire, trade and influence. Their ideas about sports were transferred both with deliberation and by casual circumstance to others who adapted and emulated the habits of the foreigners. In this sense Kurds adopted football enormously.

When you move around in the capital city of Southern Kurdistan, Erbil, you can see many Barça flags next to Kurdish flags. You can also see posters of Barça footballers, especially Lionel Messi’s picture, plus a big heart drawn and Kurdistan written on it. These delightful displays show the Kurdish love for Barça. Barcelona are not just the favourites, but the super-favourites of Kurds.

An Argentinian Barça footballer, Messi, produces a terrific performance in his profession and this also leaves a great impact on Kurdish children. Many Kurdish children want to become like him.

A Kurdish boy, Seyid Abdollah (11), from Erbil drew me a picture of the Kurdish and Barça flags including Messi’s name. This

Kurdish boy's drawing

Kurdish boy's drawing

heart-touching boy’s dream is to go to Camp Nou, Barcelona to watch Barça’s football match and meet Lionel Messi in person.

As a Barça fan, I leapt in sheer joy. I am also amazed by the knowledge of Kurdish kids about Barça and football in general.

Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 53 games at Camp Nou, racking up 46 wins and 177 goals. This makes Catalan people super-proud of their football team.

We’ve always thought it sad when we hear people (mostly women) say, “I hate football,” when the truth is usually that they know so little about it, they couldn’t possibly hate the game.

However, we, the new generations are different to my grandmother’s time. The lifestyles and cores of cultures are changing everywhere in the world. It is quite normal that this idea is changing in Kurdish life too. Kurdish girls also follow their football teams. I met a group of Kurdish girls who love Barça immensely. This surprising reality shows cultural change in Kurdish life.

Despite all its difficulties, Kurdish football is trying its best to get into international football life. Along with the agreements to conform on such matters as standard distances in events, legal moves, length of contests and acceptable equipment comes the hope for equality for all competitors. Kurdish footballers are full of energy and love for their profession. There is no doubt that Kurdish football will break records in the future. Why should not they play with Barça since they have full sympathy for it?

Copyright © 2012 Kurdistantribune.com

2 Responses to Kurdish love for Barça
  1. xan biwar
    April 11, 2012 | 07:00

    tenkyou weri maç
    spas brêz solînxan destê te saxbet herbijî serkeftî.

  2. lala
    December 16, 2013 | 23:49

    L love. Barca

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