ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Zakho SC recently made headlines after winning the FIFA 2025 Fan Award. Rudaw interviewed the child who became the symbol of the football club’s campaign for the international award.
The award followed a May Iraq Premier League match in which Zakho supporters threw thousands of stuffed teddy bears onto the pitch in a show of solidarity with children battling serious illnesses.
Nipel Barzan and her uncle, who has special needs, attended the match. She is a strong fan of the Kurdish football club.
"I was extremely happy because I became the symbol of Zakho fans, and I was very happy that the image of Zakho reached FIFA," she told Rudaw.
Ammar Farhad, Zakho SC President, said Nipel is the symbol of all fans.
"Today we put her at the forefront of everyone because she is a symbol. This is a place of pride and honor for us, as club management, the people of the city, and all Kurds," he said.
Zakho SC received massive support from fans and Kurds around the world. Senior officials from the Kurdistan Region campaigned for the club by sharing videos of themselves voting for it in the FIFA race.
Adlin Qassim contributed to this article.
