Anwar Ali (; born 28 August 2000) is an Indian professional

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 plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

and the

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

Club career

Born in

Adampur Adampur is a town, a municipal council and a sub-tehsil in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. The town was named after the Mughal general Adham Khan. Geography Adampur Doaba is located at . It has an average elevation of 233&nbs ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Anwar started to play football at the age of seven for a local club. He started as a striker but later shifted to the defensive line.

Minerva Punjab

Anwar joined the youth set-up of Minerva Punjab in 2015 and played for the club in different youth level competitions, including the Elite League. His performance at the club earned him national team call-ups.

Indian Arrows (loan)

After an impressive

2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 17th FIFA U-17 World Cup, a biennial international association football, football tournament contested by men's under-17 national teams. Organised by FIFA, the tournament took place in India from 6 to 28 Octo ...

campaign, Anwar joined

Indian Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...

on a season-long loan from Minerva Punjab ahead of the 2017–18 I-League. He made his professional debut in a 3–0 home win over Chennai City.

Mumbai City

On 7 August 2018, Anwar joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club Mumbai City on a three-year deal. He was loaned out to Indian Arrows for the

2018–19 I-League The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019. Unlike the Indian Super L ...

. He was named in Mumbai City's squad for the 2019–20 Indian Super League season but later withdrew after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Later, his contract was terminated on mutual terms and medical grounds.

Mohammedan SC

On 24 August 2020, Anwar joined

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

for their

2020 I-League Qualifiers The 2020 I-League qualifiers (also known as Hero I-League Qualifiers 2020 for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of I-League 2nd Division, the second division of Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The league was kicke ...

, but the

AIFF AIFF may refer to: * Audio Interchange File Format * All India Football Federation, the national governing body of Association football in India Film festivals * Addis International Film Festival, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia * Alexandria Internation ...

directed the club no not allow him to train with the club, citing his heart condition. Mohammedan chose to release him, considering directions from the top football body, despite a verdict from the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

that allowed him to join the club.

Techtro Swades United

On 23 November 2020, Anwar joined Techtro Swades United of the Himachal Football League on a short-term contract. He appeared twice for the club in the 2020 Himachal Football League.

Delhi FC

On 21 May 2021, Anwar joined Delhi FC on five-year deal. After being allowed by the AIFF to return to competitive football, he featured in the

2021 Durand Cup The 2021 Durand Cup was the 130th edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. Like its 2019 Durand Cup, previous edition, the tournament was hosted in West Bengal. The tournament is jointly hosted by the Eastern Command (Indi ...

and helped Delhi reach the knockout stage. He became the top scorer of the 2021 I-League Qualifiers with four goals from seven appearances.

FC Goa

On 1 January 2022, Anwar joined

club

FC Goa Futebol Clube de Goa is an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Fatorda, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 2 ...

on an eighteen-month loan from Delhi FC. He made his debut in a 1–0 home win over Chennaiyin.

Mohun Bagan SG

On 13 July 2023, Anwar joined Mohun Bagan SG on a four-year loan from Delhi FC.

East Bengal FC

Anwar terminated his contract with

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

on 8 July and after a controversial episode of tussle with the AIFF Players Status Committee (PSC) and his former team Mohun Bagan, Anwar finally received his No Objection Certificate (NOC) and joined

on a five year contract. Since his signing, he is evading his punishment by remaining absent from the Delhi High Court along with his lawyer and postponing his hearing every time. Anwar made his debut for East Bengal on 22 September against

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

away at Kochi.

International career

Youth level

In 2015, Anwar was called up for the

preparatory squad of India under-17 after head coach Luís Norton de Matos impressed with his defensive display for Minerva Punjab youth side against India U-17 in a practice match. Two successful years with the national side saw him in the final 21-member squad for the U-17 World Cup, which was hosted in India He started in all of India's

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

matches. Anwar scored the winner in India U-20's historic 2–1 win against

Argentina U-20 The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA-sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level. Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the competition a record si ...

in the 2018 COTIF Tournament.

Senior debut

In May 2019, Anwar was called up for the

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 ...

senior team national camp but was later sent back after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition. In March 2022, Anwar was called up for the India squad by coach

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

for two friendly matches against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. He made his debut on 23 March against Bahrain in a 2–1 defeat. Anwar scored his first international goal on 14 June 2022 against

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in a 4–0 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification win.

Personal life

In 2019, Anwar Ali was forbidden from playing football by the

as he was diagnosed with a rare heart disease, namely

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which muscle tissues of the heart become thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ...

, where the heart muscle wall becomes abnormally thick and affects the pumping of blood. Later in 2021, Anwar got clearance from the AIFF to play following a

verdict.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list India's goal tally first''

Honours

Mohun Bagan *

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Premiership: 2023–24 India *

SAFF Championship The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the South Asian Football Fede ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

* Tri-Nation Series:

References

External links

*
Anwar Ali
at Indian Super League {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Anwar 2000 births Living people People from Jalandhar district Footballers from Punjab, India Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen India men's international footballers FC Goa players Minerva Academy FC players Indian Arrows players Men's association football defenders I-League players Indian Super League players India men's youth international footballers Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Delhi FC players East Bengal Club players