Kabir Ahmed (footballer)

Kabir Ahmed
Kabir after retirement
Personal information
Full name Kabir Ahmed
Date of birth (1935-02-02)2 February 1935
Place of birth Jhalokati, Bengal, British India (present-day Bangladesh)
Date of death 3 January 2019(2019-01-03) (aged 83)[1]
Place of death Dhaka, Bangladesh
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right-winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1952–1954 BG Press SRC
1955 Dhaka Wanderers
1956–1958 Mohammedan SC
1959 Police AC
1960–1966 Mohammedan SC
1967 Victoria SC
International career
1955–1963 East Pakistan
1958–1960 Pakistan
Managerial career
1972–1973 Abahani Krira Chakra
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kabir Ahmed (Bengali: কবির আহমেদ; 2 February 1935 – 3 January 2019) was a Bangladeshi football player and coach. He is one of the few East Pakistani players to have represented the Pakistan national team. He was part of the legendary East Pakistani attacking trio of Kabir, Mari Chowdhury and Ashraf Chowdhury.[2]

Club career

Kabir began his career with Town Club in the Barishal First Division in 1951. At 17, he joined Bengal Government Press and won the Dhaka League. In 1953, he played for Governors XI against Kolkata Mohammedan, during an exhibition match in Dhaka. In 1955, Kabir joined Dhaka Wanderers and won the league that season. The following year, he and several teammates joined Dhaka Mohammedan after a dispute with Wanderers authorities. At Mohammedan, Kabir won the league five times and the Aga Khan Gold Cup once. In 1958, led by Kabir, Mari Chowdhury, and Ashraf Chowdhury, Mohammedan reached the quarter-finals of India's IFA Shield. In 1959, he played for Police AC with national teammates Nabi Chowdhury and Zahirul Haque. He retired in 1967 due to a serious knee injury.[3]

International career

Kabir (seated first from left) with the Pakistan national team squad for the tour to Burma in 1959
Khulna Divisional football team 1963, Kabir standing third from left

Kabir represented East Pakistan at the National Football Championship between 1955 and 1959. He captained the team in 1959 when they finished runners-up. He was among the six East Pakistani footballers in the Pakistan national team at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan and was also appointed as vice-captain. Before the tournament he played practice matches in Singapore and Malaysia. In 1959, he toured Burma and later that year also participated in the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, in Kochi, India where he was appointed as vice-captain behind Qayyum Changezi.[4][5] His last international tour came the following year, under a fellow East Pakistani, head coach Sheikh Shaheb Ali, as Pakistan finished fourth place in the Merdeka Cup. Kabir captained Khulna Division in the National Championship from 1960 to 1963.[6]

Post–playing career

In 1966, Kabir joined the East Pakistan Sports Federation. Kabir alongside coaches Sheikh Shaheb Ali and Chunna Rashid were in-charge of recruiting players and coaches for the East Pakistan football team from different districts. In 1972, he was appointed as the first ever head coach of Abahani Krira Chakra.[7]

In 1979, he joined the ad hoc committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and in the same year he was appointed general manager of the national team under head coach Anwar Hossain during the 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He also served as an assistant to Amir Jang Ghaznavi as a team organizer and scout for Dhaka Mohammedan following his retirement. In 2001, he received the National Sports Awards, for his contribution to the country's football.[8]

East Pakistan football team in 1963 before an exhibition game against China, Kabir standing fourth from left

Death

Kabir died on 3 January 2019, at the age of 83. Following a Stroke in 2001, he had been paralyzed for 17 years prior to his death.[9] He was buried in the Azimpur graveyard, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[10][11]

Career statistics

International

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 21 August 1960 Ikada Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia  Indonesia 2–5 Friendly [12]

Honours

BG Press SRC

Dhaka Wanderers

Mohammedan SC

  • Dhaka League: 1957, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966
  • Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1964
  • Independence Day Cup: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966
  • All Pakistan Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield: 1966

East Pakistan White

East Pakistan

Awards and accolades

References

  1. ^ "চলে গেলেন পঞ্চাশ দশকের ফুটবলার কবির আহমেদ". Bangla Tribune. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  2. ^ "আমাদের ফুটবলের সোনালী অতীতের গল্প. . ". archive.bbarta24.net (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  3. ^ "কিংবদন্তি ফুটবলার কবিরের মৃত্যুতে শোক". Daily Janakantha (in Bengali). 6 January 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Monday 07 December 1959" – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "এশিয়ান গেমস হোক সাফের প্রস্তুতি". www.kalerkantho.com (in Bengali). August 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  6. ^ "Former football legend Kabir passes away". theindependentbd.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  7. ^ Alam, Masud. "আবাহনীর গৌরবযাত্রার প্রথম দিন". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  8. ^ "সোনালী অতীতের কিংবদন্তি ফুটবলার কবির আহমেদ আর নেই". Jugantor (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  9. ^ "ফুটবল কিংবদন্তি কবিরের বিদায়". Desh Rupantor (in Bengali). 5 January 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "Ex-footballer Kabir Ahmed passes away". The Daily Star. January 5, 2019. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Obituary: Kabir Ahmed". Dhaka Tribune. January 4, 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Monday 22 August 1960" – via British Newspaper Archive.

Bibliography

  • Mahmud, Dulal (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
  • Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.
  • Mahmud, Dulal (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.