Assyriska Föreningen
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| Full name | Assyriska Föreningen | ||
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| Founded | 1971 (as a sports club) | ||
| Ground | Södertälje Fotbollsarena, Södertälje (capacity: 6,700) |
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| Chairman | Nail Yoken | ||
| Manager | Valentic Azrudin | ||
| League | Superettan | ||
| 2012 | Superettan, 8th | ||
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Assyriska Föreningen is a Swedish football club based in Södertälje. The club, formed in 1974 by Assyrian immigrants, has advanced through the league system and is currently playing in the second highest Swedish league, Superettan. They played in the highest Swedish football league Allsvenskan in 2005. The club has also played a final in Svenska Cupen, which was lost against Elfsborg in 2003.
Assyriska is often viewed as a substitute national team by the Assyrian people.[1]
Their games in Allsvenskan were broadcast to over 80 countries. The club has also their own pop song which is called "My Assyrian team – the team of my dream". A documentary film about Assyriska called "Assyriska: A National Team Without A Nation" was also made in 2006 by Nuri Kino and Erik Sandberg. The success of the documentary film made it possible to win the Golden Palm Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
History
Assyriska Föreningen was founded in 1971 by ethnic Assyrian refugees from Turkey who belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church and Assyrian Church of the East. Three years later, a football team was started and played its first season in the lowest league in 1975. They advanced through the divisions and reached the second highest league, Division 1 (today replaced by Superettan), in 1992, as the first immigrant team ever. The team was however relegated in 1993, and the next few years, the club played every second year in Division 1 before managing to stay there for more than one season in 1997. They lost a promotion play-off against Örebro SK in 1999, but five years later, in 2004, Assyriska was promoted to Allsvenskan, the highest league, for the first time as Örebro SK was relegated due to economical problems. However Assyriska were themselves relegated after only one season in the Allsvenskan, where they finished last. Since then Assyriska had fallen into Division 1 North, but enjoyed a strong season in 2007 to finish champions and were promoted back into the Superettan.
At the close of the 2009 season Assyriska, having held off the challenge of rivals Syrianska FC to finish third in the Superettan table,[2] faced Djurgårdens IF in a play-off for a place in the Allsvenskan in 2010. Assyriska won the first match at home 2–0 but were overcome 3–0 after extra time in the repeat.[3] In season 2010, Assyriska finished 4th in the Superettan.[4] But 2010 was a season in which football became irrelevant for Assyriska after the murder of player Eddie Moussa.[5]
Assyriska promotes the development of young players and Assyriska FF Ungdom who play in Division 3 form an integral part of the club. The club is affiliated to the Södermanlands Fotbollförbund.[6]
- May.26, 2012; Assyriska FF has appointed two ambassadors in USA in order to establish "Assyriska FF USA" in the US: Rev. Ashur D. Elkhoury and Mr Albert Davidoo are the ambassadors. The project is running: upcoming information will be updated.[7]
Achievements
League
- Division 1 Norra:
- Winners (1): 2007
- Runners-up (1): 1999
Cups
- Svenska Cupen:
- Runners-up (1): 2003
Season to season
* League restructuring in 2006 resulted in a new division being created at Tier 3 and subsequent divisions dropping a level.[8] |
The fans
Assyriska's fans are spread throughout the world in over 80 countries.[9] Acting as their national team, Assyriska represents the entire population of Assyrians throughout the world. The Zelge Fans are the official fanclub of Assyriska Föreningen. They were first started 1993 by a group of Assyriska supporters in Södertälje. They were known as Neshre, which means eagle (or eagles) in Syriac. Three months after they launched, the club changed its name to Zelge Fans, Zelge meaning "sun rays" in Syriac. The sun rays are a symbol of the Assyrian flag, which is where the idea to name the fan club Zelge Fans came from. Most of the members are Assyrians, but the Zelge fanclub also has many Swedish members.
Assyriska's fans are also growing in numbers as a result of the internet. During its early years, Assyriska did not have the mass means of communication to be able to spread their team information consistently to other mass Assyrian areas (Chicago, Toronto, California, etc.). With the tech age, Assyriska has been able to spread its fan base outside of Södertälje and become known in over 80 countries.
Assyriska has become a true symbol for Assyrians traveling to Sweden. Many make it their goal to watch an Assyriska match at least once when they travel to Sweden.
Players
Current squad
As of 10 April 2013 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Available youth players
As of 29 July 2012 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For season transfers, see transfers winter 2011–2012 and transfers summer 2012.
Retired numbers
18 — 
Eddie Moussa, forward (2001–2010)
Staff
Management
- Team Chef: Fredrik Furman
- Technical Director: Melek Bisso
Sports
- Head Coach: Valentic Azrudin
- Assistant Coach: Göran Marklund
Medical
- Kitman: Nobara Odisho
- Kit Manager: Tommy Samuelsson
Notable coaches
Peter Antoine (1999)
Bo Petersson (2002)- Conny Karlsson (2003–2004, 2009)
José Morais (2005)
References
- ^ "Assyriska har blivit hela världens landslag" (in Swedish). DN. Archived from the original on 1 November 2003. Retrieved 2003-10-31.
- ^ "Summary – Superettan – Sweden – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Summary – Allsvenskan – Sweden – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Summary – Superettan – Sweden – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. 9 January 2013.
- ^ "”De visste vilka de var ute efter” | Nyheter | Aftonbladet". Aftonbladet.se. 1 July 2010.
- ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar – Södermanlands Fotbollförbund – Svenskfotboll.se". Retrieved 2011-01-13.
- ^ "Assyriska FF". Assyriska.se.
- ^ "GAIS – Lagfacta – Assyriska FF". Retrieved 08.09.2010.
- ^ "This website is currently unavailable". Cultureofsoccer.com.
External links
- Assyriska Föreningen – Official Team Site
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