Abdullah Rahi (born 1938), is a Pakistani former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an inside right forward. Abdullah represented the

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team () represents Pakistan in men's international Association football, football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Paki ...

in the 1960s, and was member of the national squad which finished finalists at the 1962 Merdeka Tournament.

Early life

Abdullah was born in

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

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 Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

with

Karachi Kickers Karachi Kickers is a Pakistani football club based in Karachi. Karachi United competed in the Karachi Football League, one of the top leagues of Karachi. It last competed in the 2009–10 PFF League. The club was one of the most successful te ...

1969_unbeaten_league_champions_Mohammedan_Sporting_Club

Abdullah later represented several clubs in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

at the Dhaka First Division League starting in 1960 when he moved to

Dhaka Mohammedan Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka. Founded in 1936, it is one of the oldest and the most successful football club in the country, with a support base in all parts of the country. Th ...

. He also represented

and Dacca Division in the National Football Championship in West Pakistan. He represented

Victoria SC Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division Football League, Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football i ...

in 1962–1963. He scored one of the goals at the 1962

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the club sides from leading football nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of the AFC Champions League ...

final 5–1 victory against Young Taegeuk FA. The next year, he represented Dhaka Wanderers as a guest player and helped the side finish runner-up at the Aga Khan Gold Cup. Upon his return to Dhaka Mohammedan, he captained the side in 1967. In 1969, Abdullah helped

win the league title as unbeaten champions. His attacking partnership with

Golam Sarwar Tipu Golam Sarwar Tipu (; born 22 October 1945), is a former Bangladeshi football player and manager. He is one of the few East Pakistani footballers to represent the Pakistan national football team. Club career While studying in Tejgaon school, Tipu ...

, Pratap Shankar Hazra, and fellow Pakistan national team forward Ali Nawaz Baloch being integral to their success that season. After the Fall of Dhaka, Abdullah represented

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

International career

In 1959, Abdullah was first selected of the

for a tour to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. The same year he participated at the

1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification The qualification for the 1960 AFC Asian Cup consisted of 10 teams in three zones with the winners of each zone joining South Korea in the final tournament. Zones * * Withdrew * ** declined to participate due to an AFC membership dispute. ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

, India. Abdullah recorded the winner goal at the 13th minute in Pakistan's first official victory over

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, during the

. In 1960, Abdullah managed to score in a record 7–0 victory over

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

at the 1960 Merdeka Tournament. The next year he played against

in a home test series. Abdullah was member of the national squad which finished runner-ups at the 1962 Merdeka Tournament after falling in the final against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

by 1–2. The next year he played against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

during friendly series in home venue, and against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

at the 1964 Summer Olympics qualification. In 1964, he was part of the national squad which toured China, and in 1965 he toured

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and later Iran during the

1965 RCD Cup The 1965 RCD Cup was the first edition of the RCD Cup. The event was held at the Amjadieh Stadium in Tehran, Iran. This was a three nation tournament played in league format between Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Venue Results Matches ---- ...

Personal life

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

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abdullah goal.''

Honours

Pakistan *

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. It is mainly played at Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Merdeka" is the Malay word for independence. As of 202 ...

runner-up:

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Victoria SC *

: 1962 * Dhaka First Division League (1): 1962, *

Independence Day Football Tournament The Independence Day Football Tournament, alternatively known as the Pakistan Day Football Tournament or the Azadi Day Football Tournament was a knock-out men's association football tournament held in Dhaka, East Pakistan by the East Pakistan S ...

(1): 1962, Dhaka Mohammedan * Dhaka First Division League: 1961, 1969 *

: 1961 *

(2): 1960, 1961 Dhaka Wanderers * Dhaka First Division League: runners-up (1): 1963 * Independence Day Tournament (1): 1963 *

(1): 1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahi, Abdullah 1938 births Pakistani men's footballers Pakistan men's international footballers Dhaka Wanderers Club players Victoria Sporting Club players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Karachi Port Trust FC players Footballers from Karachi Men's association football forwards Living people 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen