Abdullah Rahi

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Abdullah Rahi
Abdullah Rahi.jpg
Abdullah in 1959
Personal information
Date of birth 1938 (age 86–87)
Place of birth Makran, British India
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1960–1961 Dhaka Mohammedan
1962–1963 Victoria SC
1963 Dhaka Wanderers
1964–1970 Dhaka Mohammedan
1971–?? Karachi Port Trust
International career
1959–1967 Pakistan
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abdullah Rahi (born 1938), is a Pakistani former footballer who played as an inside right forward. Abdullah represented the Pakistan national football team in the 1960s, and was member of the national squad which finished finalists at the 1962 Merdeka Tournament.

Contents

Early life

Abdullah was born in Makran, British India. [1]

Club career

Abdullah started his playing career in 1954 for several Karachi based clubs such as Baghdad Sports, Sindh Government Press, and Keamari Mohammedan in the regional Karachi First Division Football League. In 1958, he embarked in a tour to Saudi Arabia with Karachi Kickers. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Abdullah second sitting from right to left with the 1969 unbeaten league champions Dhaka Mohammedan 1969 unbeaten league champions Mohammedan Sporting Club.png
Abdullah second sitting from right to left with the 1969 unbeaten league champions Dhaka Mohammedan

Abdullah later represented several clubs in East Pakistan at the Dhaka First Division League starting in 1960 when he moved to Dhaka Mohammedan. [1] [5] [6] He also represented East Pakistan and Dacca Division in the National Football Championship in West Pakistan. [1]

He represented Victoria SC in 1962–1963. [1] And also scored a goal against Young Taegeuk FA in the 1962 Aga Khan Gold Cup final winning by five goals to one. [7] The next year, he represented Dhaka Wanderers as a guest player and helped the side finish runner-up at the Aga Khan Gold Cup. [8]

Upon his return to Dhaka Mohammedan, he captained the side in 1967. [1] And In 1969, Abdullah helped Dhaka Mohammedan win the league title as unbeaten champions. His attacking partnership with Golam Sarwar Tipu, Pratap Shankar Hazra, and fellow Pakistan national team forward Ali Nawaz Baloch being integral to their success that season. [9] After the Fall of Dhaka, Abdullah played with Karachi Port Trust.

International career

Abdullah sitting far left with the Pakistan national team in 1964 Pakistan national football team, 1964.jpg
Abdullah sitting far left with the Pakistan national team in 1964

In 1959, Abdullah was first selected of the Pakistan national football team for a tour to Burma. [1] The same year he participated at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification in Ernakulam, India. [1] [10] Abdullah recorded the winning goal at the 13th minute in Pakistan's first official victory over India, during the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification. [11] [12] [13]

In 1960, Abdullah managed to score in a record 7–0 victory over Thailand at the 1960 Merdeka Tournament. [14] The next year he played against Burma in a home test series. [1]

In 1962, Abdullah was member of the national squad which finished runner-ups at the 1962 Merdeka Tournament after falling in the final against Indonesia by 1–2. [15] The next year he played against China in a friendly, and also appeared against Iran at the 1964 Summer Olympics qualification. [1] In 1964, he was part of the national squad which toured China, and in 1965 he toured Ceylon, and later Iran during the 1965 RCD Cup. [1] In 1967, Abdullah played his last international matches in a test series against Saudi Arabia scoring a goal in a 2–4 loss. [16]

Personal life

During his time in East Pakistan, Abdullah was married a woman of Bihari descent. [17] [1]

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abdullah goal.
List of international goals scored by Abdullah Rahi
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
113 December 1959 Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi, IndiaFlag of India.svg  India 1–01–0 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification [11] [12]
25 August 1960 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, MalayaFlag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 7–0 1960 Merdeka Tournament [14]

Honours

Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan

Victoria SC

Dhaka Mohammedan

Dhaka Wanderers

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Pakistan Observer 1970.06.05 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  2. ↑ Jabri, Parvez (2013-11-04). "Karachi Police Chief announces jobs for footballers from Lyari". Brecorder. Archived from the original on 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  3. ↑ Bukhari, Syed (2017-11-06). "5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Lyari". The Baloch News. Archived from the original on 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  4. ↑ InpaperMagazine, From (2013-01-13). "In-depth: Pakistan football". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  5. ↑ Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  6. ↑ Iqbal, Ayaz Khan | Nayir (2024-09-22). "FOOTBALL: GLORY DAYS, PASS ME BY". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2024-09-22. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  7. ↑ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 21 October 1962". p. 12. Retrieved 23 May 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN   978-984-8218-31-0.
  9. ↑ "বঞ্চিত ফুটবলার নওশেরুজ্জামান" [Deprived footballer Nowsheruzzaman]. banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  10. ↑ "Israel Official Games 1948-1959". rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  11. 1 2 Parkar, Ubaid (24 June 2023). "India vs Pakistan in football: A rather one-sided rivalry in numbers". Olympics. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) – Monday 14 December 1959" – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ Nilanjan Datta (2013). India NT Results.
  14. 1 2 "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) – Saturday 06 August 1960" – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ↑ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) – Thursday 20 September 1962" – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Pakistan Observer 1967.03.24 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
  17. ↑ "تین فٹ بالر، تین دوست اور لیاری" [Three footballers, three friends and Lyari]. express.pk. 2019-08-29. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  18. ↑ "Bangladesh - List of Champions". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
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