# ‘We are here’: Kurdish club Amedspor shakes up Turkish football

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/we-are-here-kurdish-club-amedspor-shakes-up-turkish-football/
- Published: 2026-11-06T11:59:40+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T13:57:23+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/11/6/we-are-here-kurdish-club-amedspor-shakes-up-turkish-football?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: Football, Sport, World

## Key points

- Amedspor are second in Turkey’s top flight after 10 matches.
- The Kurdish club’s support has grown to four million.
- A win at Galatasaray could take them top.

## Summary

Amedspor, the Kurdish club from Diyarbakir, have risen from years of political pressure and lower-league football to second place in Turkey’s top division after 10 matches. Their success comes as a new peace process eases tensions, and has made the club a test of whether Kurdish identity can be accepted in Turkish public life.

The club was founded in 1972 and adopted the name Amed, the Kurdish name for Diyarbakir, in 2014. It has faced fines, supporter bans and hostility, but its support among Kurdish adults in Turkey grew fourfold to four million over four years, according to research published in March 2026. Striker Gift Orban has scored nine goals in 10 matches, while Amedspor’s 30,000-plus home crowds have helped them win all six home games; victory at leaders Galatasaray could take them top.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.