KSF Prespa Birlik
Wikipedia - KSF Prespa Birlik
KSF Prespa Birlik was a Swedish football, culture, and sports association founded in 1973 in Malmö. The football section of the club was dissolved in 2023.
The club was named after the geographical area Prespa. The word "birlik" means unity in Turkish. The football club was founded by ethnic Swedish Turks and Macedonian Turkish born or living in Malmö and the surrounding areas with ancestral roots from the Prespa region in the Former Yugoslavia.
History
The Formation of KSF Prespa Birlik
The Turks who came to Sweden in the 1960s came as a labor force. In the autumn of 1973, the association was founded. Through many attempts at a start-up, they eventually succeeded in forming a non-political and non-religious association. It became an open association for everyone. The association had many committed members, parents, leaders and young people.
In 1984, with a larger organization and number of members, the association was renamed KSF Prespa Birlik. KSF stands for "Kultur och Sportföreningen Prespa Birlik" in Turkish, which translates to Culture and Sports Association Prespa Unity. This restructuring led to rapid growth and brought the number of members up to 600.
The business flourished rapidly, not least in sports. In addition to the senior team, they formed a B-team and many other youth teams in football, table tennis, billiards, chess and more. Also in the cultural activities, they created folklore groups of different ages, circle courses under the auspices of ABF and discussion forums for integration. The association began to take place in Malmö both in sports and culture, they played football in the then Division 4, they took social responsibility for association members and young people.
Swedish Turks and Macedonian Turkish who came to Sweden had dreams of working hard, saving money and returning to their homeland. For some, the dream of moving back did not come true. The association believes its community has a much better life in Sweden.
KSF Prespa Birlik se účastní švédského fotbalového systému a v současnosti hraje v Divizi 1 Södra, což je třetí nejvyšší úroveň švédského fotbalu. Klub má za sebou historii úspěchů ve švédských pohárech a v roce 2012 se probojoval do čtvrtfinále Švédského poháru.
Klub je známý svou silnou komunitní základnou a úzkými vazbami na tureckou komunitu ve Švédsku. KSF Prespa Birlik se zaměřuje na rozvoj mladých hráčů a má úspěšný mládežnický program.
Mezi významné hráče, kteří působili v KSF Prespa Birlik, patří bývalý švédský reprezentant Rade Prica a současný hráč Malmö FF Erdal Rakip.