Full name | Erbil Sports Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) |
Yellow Castle Emperor |
Founded | 1968 |
Ground | Franso Hariri Stadium |
Capacity | 40,000 |
Chairman | Dr. Abdallah Majid Dazabi |
Manager | Thair Ahmed |
League | Iraq Division One |
2016–17 | Iraqi Premier League, 20th (relegated) |
Yellow Castle
Erbil Sport Club (Arabic: نادي أربيل الرياضي, Kurdish: یانەی وەرزشیی هەولێر) is a sports club based in the city of Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan that plays in the Iraq Division One, the second-tier of Iraqi football. The club is also known as Yaney Hewlêr, the Kurdish name for Erbil. For the first time in its history, Erbil became champions of the Iraqi Premier League after beating Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (1–0) in the final game on Friday, 6 July 2007. On 24 August 2008, Erbil retained their status as Iraqi Premier League champions with a well-deserved win over Baghdad based Al-Zawraa. On 16 July 2009 Erbil became the champion of Iraq's super league for the third consecutive year after beating Najaf FC. They also won the league in 2012 with only one loss.
Erbil Sport Club is the first Iraqi-Kurdish team to qualify for the Asian Champions League and the Arab Champions League. In 2012 and 2014 they reached the AFC Cup final but lost both times. Erbil SC is the first Iraqi Premier League team to get players from outside Iraq. In the 2016-17 season, Erbil withdrew from the league and were relegated to the lower division.
Erbil SC was founded in 1968 and spent many years in mid-table obscurity, occasionally challenging the top Iraqi sides.
After the turn of the century and the beginning of the Iraq War, Erbil FC has dramatically improved and have become a real powerhouse in Iraqi club football. Top Iraqi international players have begun coming north to ply their trade with nice wages.