Muhammad Riaz (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

: ; born 27 February 1996) is a Pakistani

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Although his favored position is that of an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he can also be deployed as a striker or winger.

Club career

Islamabad United

Riaz represented Islamabad United in the 2010

Geo Super Football League The Geo Super Football League or SFL was the first professional inter-city football league of Pakistan, with support of the Pakistan Football Federation. It was established in 2007 and telecasted live via GEO Super. The SFL ran separate to the P ...

, where he was declared player of the tournament.

K-Electric

He signed for

Pakistan Premier League The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ) is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's football clubs. The top tier of the Pakistan football league system, the PPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the PFFL B Division. The ...

departmental side

K-Electric K-Electric Limited (KE), formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company Limited or Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited, is a Pakistani utility company based in Karachi. Privatised in 2005, KE is the only vertically integrated utili ...

in September 2010 at the age of 15 which was then playing at the

. He played for the club until the team got disbanded in 2020. After six months of the closure of the department, and inactivity of domestic football in the country, Riaz was reported training in his hometown Hangu to maintain his fitness level.

Loan to Sui Southern Gas

Riaz had a brief stint on loan at

Sui Southern Gas The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), () formerly known as Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited, is a Pakistani state-owned natural gas supply company based in Karachi, Pakistan. Sui Southern Gas Company is Pakistan's leading integrated gas comp ...

in 2014.

Asia Ghee Mills

He represented Asia Ghee Mills in the departmental 2020 PFF Challenge Cup.

SA Gardens

After the suspension of the

Pakistan Football Federation The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the national governing body of association football in Football in Pakistan, Pakistan. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of Association football, football, and affiliated to the A ...

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and the persistent inactivity of the

, Riaz participated in various local tournaments in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

and

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

and played for SA Gardens in 2021.

International career

Riaz's first senior appearance was against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2013. He was subsequently called for the

2013 SAFF Championship The 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly referred to as 2013 SAFF Championship, was the 10th SAFF Championship for List of men's national association football teams#AFC (Asia), men's national football teams organized by the ...

. Riaz appeared for Pakistan's U-23 team at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

in a 1–0 loss to the Chinese U-23 team. He scored his first goal on 6 February 2015, in a friendly against

, scoring a header in the 18th minute. In 2015, he was part of the Pakistan squad for test matches against Malaysia under-19 and under-22 in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, where he scored against both teams in a 3–1 victory and 1–2 loss respectively. In May 2015, he was included in the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

against

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. Riaz missed international exposure for the next 3 years, as Pakistan was suspended from all football activities by FIFA on 10 October 2017 on account of "undue third-party interference". For three years since March 2015, Pakistan remained suspended from any international competition because of the crisis created inside the Pakistan Football Federation. Riaz along with other national team players meanwhile participated with Pakistan during local

Leisure Leagues Leisure Leagues is an franchise of five-a-side football, five and six-a-side football leagues primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. As of April 2017, the Leisure Leagues network had more than 3,000 leagues in the UK alone, ...

exhibitions matches involving Brazilian star

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

and

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

in 2017. In 2018, Riaz participated in Pakistan tour to Bahrain for test matches as a preparation for the

2018 SAFF Championship The 2018 SAFF Championship, also known as the 2018 SAFF Suzuki Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 12th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's association football, football championship of South Asia organized by So ...

, when his national side returned to international circuit after 3 years. Riaz made three further appearances in the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

. He scored in the

against

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, as Pakistan terminated the campaign sealing its place in the semi-finals. In 2019, Riaz played in the 2022 World Cup qualification against

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

playing as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, as Pakistan failed to qualify for the next round. This was before Pakistan were once again suspended from all football activities by FIFA on 7 April 2021. After the suspension was lifted on 29 June 2022, Riaz was called in the national camp in February 2023, as preparation for future tournaments. However, he was unable to secure a spot in the final squad in March 2023.

Personal life

Riaz was born in Hangu in the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province. His family originates from the village of

Landi Kotal Lanḍī Kōtal (, ) or Lwargai ( ''Lwāṛgai'') is a town in the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, an ...

. On 9 March 2025, due to the long standing crisis within the Pakistan Football Federation and lack of domestic football in the country, Riaz was reported being forced to sell jalebis to meet his ends. The media coverage sparked widespread criticism, and Riaz reportedly received an invitation at the

Prime Minister of Pakistan House Prime Minister House is a palace located in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is the official residence of Prime Minister of Pakistan. History Prime Minister House was built during the reign of Muhammad Ayub Khan. In the 1990s, during the second term of ...

three days later. It was also reported that he received financial assistance and job positions from the Prime Minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

, the

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the Provincial Assembly. As lon ...

Ali Amin Gandapur Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the 18th Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in office since 2 March 2024. He served as the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan from 5 ...

, and from a stakeholder of an aspiring franchise-based football league.

Career statistics

International

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riaz (Pakistani footballer), Mohammad Living people 1996 births Footballers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistani men's footballers Men's association football forwards Pakistan men's international footballers Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for Pakistan K-Electric FC players SSGC FC players 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen