President Barzani calls on Kurds to back Zakho SC fans in FIFA award
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday urged Kurds worldwide to vote for Zakho SC fans in the International Federation of Association Football’s (FIFA) 2025 Fan Award, after the Duhok-based fanbase was shortlisted for their teddy bear donation drive supporting children with cancer.
“With online voting, I supported Zakho Sports Club fans so that they can win the title of first best fans at the world level,” President Barzani said in a statement, calling on “all Kurdistanis, wherever they are” to vote and help them secure the global title.
Fans can vote for their first-, second-, and third-place choices. Voting opened Thursday and runs until December 3, according to FIFA.
The Kurdistan Region President thanked FIFA “for designating Zakho club fans as one of the three candidates.”
FIFA announced in early November that Zakho SC had been named one of the world’s top three fanbases and a finalist for the 2025 Fan Award.
The nomination follows a May Iraq Premier League match during which Zakho supporters threw thousands of stuffed teddy bears onto the pitch in a show of solidarity with children battling illness.
Zakho SC thanked President Barzani in a statement, calling his support a “tremendous stance.”
Founded in 1987, Zakho SC is based in the Kurdistan Region’s northern city of Zakho in Duhok province.
The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Erbil also expressed support for the team.
Other nominees for the award include the late Spanish football icon Manuel Caceres, known for decades of drumming in support of Spain’s national team, and Argentine superfan Alejandro Ciganotto, who has walked and hitchhiked thousands of kilometers to follow Racing Club de Avellaneda.
In a show of support, Amedspor, a Kurdish football team based in Turkey’s Diyarbakir (Amed), on Friday wished Zakho fans success. In a post on X, the club urged its supporters to vote for “our Zaxospor brothers and sisters.”
Zakho SC fans have also received backing from sports clubs in northeast Syria (Rojava).
Sweden-based Kurdish club Dalkurd on Wednesday called for supporting Zakho, writing, “Let’s all show the world the pride, encouragement and passion among Zakho fans.”
“With online voting, I supported Zakho Sports Club fans so that they can win the title of first best fans at the world level,” President Barzani said in a statement, calling on “all Kurdistanis, wherever they are” to vote and help them secure the global title.
Fans can vote for their first-, second-, and third-place choices. Voting opened Thursday and runs until December 3, according to FIFA.
The Kurdistan Region President thanked FIFA “for designating Zakho club fans as one of the three candidates.”
FIFA announced in early November that Zakho SC had been named one of the world’s top three fanbases and a finalist for the 2025 Fan Award.
The nomination follows a May Iraq Premier League match during which Zakho supporters threw thousands of stuffed teddy bears onto the pitch in a show of solidarity with children battling illness.
Zakho SC thanked President Barzani in a statement, calling his support a “tremendous stance.”
Founded in 1987, Zakho SC is based in the Kurdistan Region’s northern city of Zakho in Duhok province.
The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Erbil also expressed support for the team.
🥳⚽ The Netherlands' Consulate General supports Zakho SC for the FIFA Fan Award. 🥳⚽
— Netherlands in Kurdistan Region (@nlinkri) November 16, 2025
Support your team here: https://t.co/0tk1Pdgp79 pic.twitter.com/KNyTqIrZbM
Other nominees for the award include the late Spanish football icon Manuel Caceres, known for decades of drumming in support of Spain’s national team, and Argentine superfan Alejandro Ciganotto, who has walked and hitchhiked thousands of kilometers to follow Racing Club de Avellaneda.
In a show of support, Amedspor, a Kurdish football team based in Turkey’s Diyarbakir (Amed), on Friday wished Zakho fans success. In a post on X, the club urged its supporters to vote for “our Zaxospor brothers and sisters.”
Zakho SC fans have also received backing from sports clubs in northeast Syria (Rojava).
Sweden-based Kurdish club Dalkurd on Wednesday called for supporting Zakho, writing, “Let’s all show the world the pride, encouragement and passion among Zakho fans.”