Ghulam Abbas Baloch

Abbas

Abbas during the Aga Khan Gold Cup
Personal information
Full name	Ghulam Abbas Baloch
Date of birth	October 1942
Place of birth	Lyari, Karachi, British India
Date of death	4 April 2014 (aged 71)[1]
Place of death	Lyari, Karachi, Pakistan
Position(s)	Left-winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961	Mohammedan SC
1962–1965	Victoria SC
1966	Dhaka Wanderers
1967–	KMC
International career
1961–1963	Pakistan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ghulam Abbas Baloch (October 1942 – 4 April 2014), was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a winger. Abbas represented the Pakistan national football team from 1961 to 1963.

Early life

Abbas grew up in a poor family in Saifi Lane, Baghdadi, Lyari.[2][3] Belonging to the Sheedi community, Abbas' paternal ancestors belonged to East Africa, who came during the Indian Ocean slave trade.[4] His relatives from Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania often came to Pakistan to visit his grandfather, and Bilawal Belgium, a famous banjo musician who also belonged to Abbas's family.[5]

He completed his primary education at SM Lyari School and passed his matriculation examination privately. He studied up to the intermediate level at SM College, earned a BA from Urdu College, and obtained both an LLB and an MA from Karachi University.[1]

Club career

Early career

Abbas plied his trade in numerous clubs in West Pakistan (now Pakistan), such Baloch XI, Gul Muhammad Lane, Saifi Lane Club, Nisar Sports Club, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Karachi Port Trust FC, PIA FC.[1][5]

East Pakistan

Abbas standing at the far right with the 1963 Aga Khan Gold Cup runners-up Dhaka Wanderers Club

In 1962, he joined the East Pakistan-based club Victoria SC and won the quadruple, including the Dhaka League, Aga Khan Gold Cup, Independence Day Cup, and the Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield. During the Aga Khan Gold Cup final against feeder team for South Korea, Abbas, who played as an inside-left, scored in a 5–1 victory.[6] Prior to his impressive stint at Victoria, Abbas represented Mohammedan SC in 1961, where he won the domestic double in his lone season.[1]

Final years

In 1967, Abbas won the Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield while representing Karachi Municipal Corporation FC, toppling runners-up Mohammedan SC by two points in the four team round-robin tournament.[1]

International career

Abbas received his first callup to the Pakistan national team for three exhibition matches against Burma on home soil.[1] In the second friendly, held in Karachi on 20 January 1961, he scored a brace in a 4–0. Abbas scored the first goal for Pakistan in the Summer Olympics qualifiers against Iran on 4 October 1963. The game held in Tehran ended in a 4–1 defeat, and after Pakistan won their home leg in Karachi by a single goal, they were knocked out of the qualifiers on aggregate score.[7]

Post–playing career

Abbas was appointed Pakistan Football Federation General Secretary in 1995 and was also the founding general secretary and Chairman of the Sindh FA.[8][9] During his time as Sindh FA chairman, Abbas was accused of selecting provincial teams based on personal bias.[10]

On 31 December 2010, the Pakistan Football Federation awarded him with an honorary AFC gold medal.[7]

Personal life and death

Abbas' elder brother Fida Hussain passed away after an addiction to drugs. His younger brothers, Ghulam Ali was also a footballer, while his other younger sibling Saba Dashtyari was a popular professor who died by gunshot wounds amidst the political turmoil in Balochistan.[5]

Abbas had a profound friendship with fellow teammates Abdul Ghafoor and Abdullah Rahi, who hailed from the same neighbourhood.[5] He died on 4 April 2014 due to a long-term illness.[7] His death was condoled by FIFA president Sepp Blatter and AFC president Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.[11]

Career statistics

International goals

Note: Exact figures of Pakistani players before 1989 are not yet known and yet to be researched. Below are goals recorded.

List of international goals scored by Ghulam Abbas Baloch

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	4 October 1963	Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Iran		1–4	1964 Summer Olympics qualification	[7]

Honours

Victoria SC

• Dhaka League: 1962, 1964

Mohammedan SC

• Dhaka League: 1961

References

1. "فٹبالر عبدالجبار اورکیپٹن عباس کی یادیں" [Memories of Footballer Abdul Jabbar and Captain Abbas]. express.pk. 2014-05-10. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
2. "Commissioner Karachi hands over football kits to Karachi FC". The Nation. 2022-09-13. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
3. Yusuf, Suhail (2012-05-07). "The untold tales of Lyari". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
4. Ahmed, Feroz (10 January 1989). "Africa on the Coast of Pakistan Africa on the Coast of Pakistan". New Directions. 16 (4): 6. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. The people of Lyari, especially those of African origin, have all but monopolized the sport of soccer in Pakistan... Ghulam Abbas and Ustad Sheedoo were among other famous "makrani" soccer players.
5. "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.
6. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 21 October 1962". p. 12. Retrieved 23 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Footballer Ghulam Abbas Baloch dies". brecorder.com. 2014-04-12. Archived from the original on 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
8. "Ghulam Abbas re-elected SFA chief". dawn.com. 2007-05-12. Archived from the original on 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
9. "PFF appointed paid Sindh secretary resigns". The Nation. 2009-01-04. Archived from the original on 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
10. "Lyari footballers turn to life of crime". dawn.com. 2009-06-15. Archived from the original on 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
11. "FIFA, AFC chiefs pay tribute to Abbas". The Nation. 2014-04-24. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-06.