2025-12-16T11:00:45+00:00
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Shafaq News – Doha / Duhok
Fans of Iraq’s Zakho Sports Club captured the Best Fan Award
for 2025, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) confirmed
on Tuesday.
The FIFA Best Fan Award is an annual prize recognizing the
most passionate and dedicated football supporters worldwide. This year, two
other finalists were Alejandro Ciganotto, head of the Racing Club supporters’
association in Argentina, and the late Manuel Cáceres, a prominent Spanish fan.
At a ceremony held in Doha, FIFA described Zakho’s
supporters as among the most passionate fans, pointing to a recent fan-led
initiative that transformed a match in the Iraqi league into a moment of
collective charity.
On May 13, ahead of Zakho’s league match against Al-Hudood,
supporters filled the stadium with thousands of stuffed toys, tossing them onto
the pitch before kickoff. The toys were later gathered and distributed to sick
children.
The club subsequently framed the moment as a “reflection of
values that resonated well beyond the stadium,” noting that the fan base
continues to act as a driving force behind the team.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Delzar Adnan, a member of the
club’s management, described FIFA’s recognition as a moment that places the
city and its supporters on the global football map, presenting the award as
both a sporting honor and a milestone in Zakho’s history.
He added that the prize represents a rare international
acknowledgment for a local fan base, hailing the broad public backing from fans
inside and outside Iraq.
Zakho SC, founded in 1987 and based in Duhok province, has
secured at least one national trophy, winning the Iraqi Third Division in the
1991–92 season. The club has also claimed the Kurdistan Regional Cup on
multiple occasions.
Its supporters are widely regarded as among the most
passionate in Iraq, with attendance at home matches often ranging between
40,000 and 60,000—well above the stadium’s 20,000-seat capacity.
