The special design commemorates the victims of the Assyrian Genocide (Seyfo). According to the club, the names of martyrs will appear in grey across the shirt, while the locations where atrocities occurred will be highlighted in red, creating a visual memorial woven directly into the team’s kit.
The initiative continues Assyriska’s long-standing tradition of using football as a platform for historical remembrance. During last year’s 50th year anniversary season, the club honored the Assyrian language through the poem Awake, Son of Assyria by Naum Faiq, featured on the jersey in the Serto script. This year, the focus shifts to honoring the memory of Seyfo’s victims as the community approaches the 110th anniversary of the genocide.
Moussa Esa
Club chairman Moussa Esa explained the deeper motivation behind the project “We often refer to our dead simply as ‘our martyrs,’ but that is not enough. They were men, women, elderly, and children who were murdered in cold blood in every conceivable way. We want to name them and give them the recognition they deserve.”
Assyriska has already gathered approximately 120 martyr names and around 40 village and location names connected to the genocide. However, the club emphasized that the sheer scale of Seyfo makes full representation impossible.“There are far too many martyrs and too many places. Even if we printed different versions across all our match shirts, it would not be enough. That alone shows the magnitude of what happened,” Esa noted.
Assyriska players previously wore black armbands throughout last season in memory of Seyfo. The upcoming campaign, however, marks a more permanent and visible tribute. The commemorative jersey is expected to debut when the season begins on April 5 and will later be released as a limited collector’s item through the club shop.
