Edmond Akhtar () is a retired

Iranian-Armenian Iranian Armenians (; ), also known as Persian Armenians (; ), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 500,000. Areas with a high concentration o ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player.

Career

In 1991, Akhtar started his career with

Ararat Tehran FC Ararat (, ''Ârarat Tehran'') is an Armenians in Iran, Armenian diaspora soccer, football team based in Tehran, Iran who play in the Tehran Province League. Ararat football club is the soccer, football club of the multisport club, multisport A ...

of the

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

. After spending several years with the team, Akhtar transferred to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

based side

Esteghlal F.C. Esteghlal Football Club (استقلال), commonly known as Esteghlal (meaning 'The Independence'), is the oldest Iranian professional association football, football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was ...

While at the club, Akhtar became a fan favorite, leading the team in scoring and becoming one of the top scorers in the 1994–95 season. After spending several successful seasons with the team, Akhtar moved to

Pas Tehran F.C. Pas Tehran Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Pas Tehran'') was an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. Pas F.C. was the football club of the multisport Pas Cultural and Sports Club. The club has a long and rich history and has alwa ...

in 2000. Spending only one season with the team, Akhtar retired. He attempted a comeback in 2006, signing with second division side Sanati Kaveh F.C.

International

Akhtar's success as a member of

earned him several caps with

Iranian national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

. In 1996, he made his international debut against

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Akhtar scored his first goal several games later, notching an equalizer for Iran against the

Kuwait national football team The Kuwait national football team () represents Kuwait in international football and it is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. Kuwait made its only FIFA World Cup appearance in 1982 and managed to get one draw in the group stage agai ...

References

External sources

Profile at Team Milli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Edmond Living people Footballers from Tehran Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Iranian men's footballers Iranian people of Armenian descent Iran men's international footballers F.C. Ararat Tehran players Esteghlal F.C. players Sanati Kaveh Tehran F.C. players PAS Tehran F.C. players Azadegan League players Men's association football forwards 1971 births