Assyriska Föreningen

Football club infobox
clubname = Assyriska


fullname = Assyriska Föreningen
nickname =
founded = 1974 (as a sports club)
ground = Södertälje Fotbollsarena,
Södertälje
capacity = 6,700
chairman = Sargon DeBasso
manager = Michael Borgqvist & Edmond Lutaj
league = Superettan
season = 2007
position = Division 1 North, 1st
pattern_la1=_shouldersonwhite|pattern_b1=_shouldersonwhite|pattern_ra1=_shouldersonwhite
leftarm1=FF0000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=_whiteshoulders|pattern_b2=_whiteshoulders|pattern_ra2=_whiteshoulders
leftarm2=FF0000|body2=FF0000|rightarm2=FF0000|shorts2=FF0000|socks2=FF0000

Assyriska Föreningen is a Swedish Assyrian based football club based in Södertälje. The club, formed in 1974, has advanced through the league system and is currently playing in the second highest Swedish league, Superettan. In their only season in the highest league so far, they had some surprising wins, as for example 3-0 against IFK Göteborg. 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, [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Assyriska har blivit hela världens landslag |url=http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=672&a=198752 |format= |work= |publisher=DN |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=2003-10-31 |language=Swedish |quote= ] which originated in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey but is now distributed in many countries, and the club has fans from all around the world. 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 succes 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 Assyrian refugees from Turkey that belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church. 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.

:"See also: Zelge Fans"

Achievements

* Allsvenskan:
** Best placement (14th): 2005
* Svenska Cupen:
** Runners-up (1): 2003
* Division 1 Norra:
** Champions (1): 2007

Current squad

"As of 13 August 2008."

The Fans

Assyriska's fans spread throughout the world in over 80 countries. 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.

External links

* [http://www.assyriska.se/ Assyriska Föreningen] - Official Team Site
* [http://www.zelge.com/ Zelge Fans] - Official Supporter Club Site
* [http://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/assyriska/ SvenskaFans Assyriska] - Supporter Site
* [http://www.svenskfotboll.se/t3supla.aspx?p=152185&flid=26855/ SvenskFotboll] - Swedish Football Site
* [http://www.assyrianvoice.net/assyriska/ Assyriska on AssyrianVoice] - Assyriska Fans on AssyrianVoice.net

References