Young Kurdish man breaks a Guinness World Record in Sweden

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish man from western Iran (Rojhelat) on Sunday broke a Guinness World Record in Sweden after memorizing the longest number sequence while juggling football in 30 seconds. The initiative was supported by an Erbil-based corporation.

Mason Farhad, 30, is from Rojhelat’s Mahabad city and lives in Sweden. He made an official attempt in Stockholm to break a world record for the longest number sequence memorized while juggling football in 30 seconds.

Farhad said he was planning to go for 45 seconds but did not want to risk the achievement. 

He broke the record on Sunday without making any mistakes. 

“I was confident [I could win] but still but I was still very stressed because the ball could fall or I might forget the count. The presence of cameras and the adjudicator added extra pressure,” he told Rudaw after receiving the certificate. 
 
“Today is an absolute privilege to be able to witness the attempt for the longest number sequence memorized whilst juggling a football in 30 seconds,” Carl Saville, the Guinness World Records Official Adjudicator, told Rudaw. 

“This is incredibly tough because you're mixing two very different skill elements. So the part of the brain has to work for a physical skill and then the other part for memorization. So to mix these together is incredibly impressive. And today we had 30 seconds where Mason had to memorize the numbers that were read out. And then when the 30 seconds finished, he relayed them in order. So the digits that were read out had to be in sequence,” he added. 

The initiative was sponsored by Vision Education, an Erbil-based organization which provides services with the aim of developing education in the Kurdistan Region. 

“Achieving this record is a source of pride for all Kurdish people. It was set by a Kurdish youth, demonstrating that Kurdish youth are capable, talented, and able to accomplish remarkable achievements for themselves and their community on an international stage,” said Sara Salahaddin Mustafa, CEO of Vision Education, in a statement. 

Vision Education said Farhad has "remarkable cognitive abilities, including the medically verified capacity to engage both hemispheres of his brain simultaneously," adding that "He is currently completing two academic tracks: a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics at Stockholm Business School and advanced Statistics courses at Linnaeus University. With his graduation approaching in June 2025, Farhad has already applied to a Master’s program in Finance at the prestigious Stockholm School of Economics."