Nazir Ahmed Chowdhury (), better known as Nazir Junior or Choto Nazir, is a retired Bangladeshi

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 a

center-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 ...

. He is a member of the first

Bangladesh national football team The Bangladesh national football team () is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1973 and of FIFA sin ...

Early life

Nazir Ahmed Chowdhury was born in

Sunamganj Sunamganj (, is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately west-northwest of Sylhet, the ...

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 ...

(present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). Alongside football he was also involved with athletics, he was the divisional champion in 400 meters race. In 1964, Nazir started playing in Sunamganj Borthers alongside his school team. In the same year, the Sunamganj Government School won the title in inter-departmental games, and Nazir was called up to the Sunamganj Division Team, however, he played for them the following year as he was still a student at the time. In 1965, Nazir won the Sunamganj First Division, earning him a chance to join East Pakistan Railway in the Dhaka First Division League.

Club career

In Nazir's debut season in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, East Pakistan Railway were relegated to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The following season, he joined Central Stationary in the First Division, however, his team were once again relegated. In 1968, Nazir remained in the top-tier with EPG Press (now BG Press). In 1970, Nazir found a long-term address, in EPIDC (now Team BJMC). With the Jutemen, Nazir became league champions in both 1970 and 1973, the latter being the first complete domestic football season after the

Independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

. Following BJMC's title triumph in 1973, Nazir was named the ''Sports Writers Association's Best Footballer''. Although

Sheikh Kamal Sheikh Kamal (5 August 1949 – 15 August 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, athlete and military officer. He was the eldest son of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding president of Bangladesh, and the younger brother of Sheikh Hasina, who would ...

attempted to bring him to

Abahani Krira Chakra Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top ...

, Nazir remained loyal to BJMC, and eventually retired in 1979, while playing for Sadharan Bima CSC.

International career

In 1970, Nazir won the King Mahendra Cup tournament in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

with

. In the same year, he was called up to the trials for the Pakistan national team, nonetheless, he eventually failed to make the final squad. On 13 May 1972, Nazir played in an exhibition match for Dhaka XI against Indian giants

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, ...

, who were the first foreign team to play in

following its independence. Nazir played an integral role in defense alongside captain

Zakaria Pintoo Zakaria Pintoo (; 1 January 1943 – 18 November 2024), alternatively spelled Zakaria Pintu, was a Bangladeshi footballer who played as a defender. He was the first captain of the Bangladesh national team. Pintoo gained fame as the captain of ...

, as they defeated the visitors 1–0. In the same year, he participated in the

Bordoloi Trophy The Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy, commonly known as Bordoloi Trophy, is a premier annual Indian football tournament held in Guwahati and organized by the Guwahati Sports Association (GSA). The tournament was founded in 1952 by ...

with the team. The following year, he was called up to the first

by head coach

Sheikh Shaheb Ali Sheikh Shaheb Ali (; 1 July 1915 – 1 June 2004) was a Bangladeshi association football, football player and coach. He is the only East Pakistani to have both played for and coached the Pakistan national football team. He was the first head coac ...

. With the national team, he participated in the 1973 and 1975 editions of Malaysia's Medeka Cup. On 27 July 1973, he made his international debut in the Merdeka Cup against Thailand, in what was Bangladesh's maiden international match. In the latter stages of 1973, he sustained a serious injury while playing for Dhaka XI against the visiting Dinamo Minsk from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Nickname

Nazir earned the nickname Choto Nazir, which translates to "Small Nazir" in Bengali, due to his much senior former teammate and

Team BJMC Team Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (Team BJMC) was a football club in Bangladesh that was mainly located in the city of Dhaka. History The club was formerly known as East Pakistan IDC prior to 1971 and Bangladesh JIC from 1971 until 1975 ...

striker Nazir Ahmed Senior or Boro Nazir, the latter translates to "Big Nazir" in Bengali.

Honours

Team BJMC * Dhaka First Division League: 1970, 1973 East Pakistan *King Mahendra Cup: 1970

Awards and accolades

*1973 − Sports Writers Association's Best Footballer Award

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed Chowdhury, Nazir Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Men's association football defenders Bangladeshi men's footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Team BJMC players People from Sunamganj District Footballers from Sylhet Division Year of birth missing (living people)