Kurdish professional football club changes name to Amedspor
DİYARBAKIR (DİHA) - The Kurdish football club Greater Diyarbakir Council Sports Club who play in the third tier of the professional football league of Turkey, has changed its name to Amedspor.
Amed is the Kurdish name for Diyarbakir, a majority Kurdish populated city in the southeast of Turkey seen by many Kurds as the "capital" city of Kurdistan. The name Amed was banned by the Turkish Republic, as was the name of many other Kurdish towns, villages and cities in the region. The move by the club is a courageous step towards changing the attitude of the Turkish state towards Kurdish town names.
The club also changed its club badge, adding the colour yellow to the already existing green and red. The colours red, green and yellow are seen as Kurdish colours and were also banned by the Turkish state.
(nt)
