Qazi Ashfaq (12 December 1967 – 13 November 2001) was 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 played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and captained the national football team. Considered one of the best Pakistani footballers of his generation, he was praised for his skill, speed, and leadership in the 1990s. He was the author of the opening goal in the final against

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

, which saw the reigning champions

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

successfully defend their title at the

1991 South Asian Games The 1991 South Asian Games (or 5th SAF Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 22 December to 31 December 1991.National Sports Council, Nepa"South Asian Games". Retrieved on 16 February 2011 Sports * Athletics * Basketball * Boxing * Foo ...

Early life

Ashfaq was born on 12 December 1967 in Hassan Abdal, in the

Attock district Attock District ( Punjabi/Urdu), known as Campbellpur District during British Raj, is a district, located on the Pothohar Plateau, in north western Punjab, Pakistan; created in April 1904. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Att ...

, with his family originally belonging from

Lakki Marwat Lakki Marwat or Lakki (Urdu and ) is the headquarters of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Lakki Marwat has become List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, one of the fastest growing cities in Khyber P ...

in the neighbouring North Western Frontier Province. He graduated from

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College Hasanabdal (CCH) is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan.

Club career

Ashfaq initially played for Punjab, where he won the National Football Championship and played in the

1989–90 Asian Club Championship The 1989–90 Asian Club Championship was the 9th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Liaoning of China won the final; both the club and the country became Asian champions for the first t ...

. In 1990, Ashfaq featured in the National Youth Football Championship. Later on, he joined

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

where he won his second league title and played in the

1991 Asian Club Championship The 1991 Asian Club Championship was the 11th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia won the final and became the first Asian Championship winner from Saudi Ara ...

. Ashfaq played a key role in helping Allied Bank football club where he was vice-captain from 1996 to 2000, winning the

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, 1998 and 1999. He also won the National Football Championship twice with Allied Bank, first in 1997, and then in 1999.

International career

Ashfaq joined the Pakistan national under-23 team for the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and 1996 Olympic Qualifiers. He made his international debut on 22 October 1989 against

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 ...

in the

1989 South Asian Games The 1989 South Asian Games, officially the IV South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 20 October to 28 October 1989. Muhammad Ali appeared as a special guest at the closing ceremony. The Games Participating nations ...

. The match played at the Jinnah Stadium in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

was tied 0–0. Ashfaq scored his first international goal in a 2–0 victory against

in his second game, as Pakistan passed the group stages and won the title by defeating

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 ...

in the final. In the subsequent

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

under the captainship of Ghulam Sarwar, Ashfaq scored against Bangladesh, qualifying Pakistan for the final against Maldives. In the dying minutes of the game, Ashfaq scored the first goal in the 83rd minute before

Muhammad Nauman Khan Muhammad Nauman Khan (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 4 February 1968) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a striker. A former captain of the national team, Nauman was the author of the last goal in the final against Maldives, which saw Pakistan ...

, finishing the match by a 2–0 victory for Pakistan, and winning their second title in the competition. Ashfaq also represented the national team in the inaugural 1993 SAFF Championship in Lahore,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

in Colombo, and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

in Kathmandhu. He was also present in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was the captain of the national team from 1996 until 1999 before

Haroon Yousaf Haroon Yousaf (born 10 November 1973) is a Pakistani former footballer. The versatile footballer played as a midfielder and defender. A former captain of the Pakistan national team, Haroon played 49 full internationals for Pakistan between 199 ...

. Under his captaincy, Pakistan achieved the bronze medal at the

1997 SAFF Gold Cup The 1997 SAFF Gold Cup was held in Kathmandu, Nepal between 4 and 13 September. India won the championship after defeating the Maldives 5–1 in the final. Venues Group stage Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- Knockout phase B ...

Death

Ashfaq passed away on 13 November 2001 at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, after fighting

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

for two years. At the time of his death, he was reportedly wearing the shirt of his club Allied Bank, for which he had played in the later years of his career.

Career statistics

International goals

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

Honours

Punjab

* National Football Championship: 1990

WAPDA

* National Football Championship: 1991 ; Allied Bank * National Football Championship: 1997(1), 1999 *

Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized ...

, 1998, 1999

Pakistan

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashfaq, Qazi 1967 births 2001 deaths Pakistani men's footballers Men's association football forwards Pakistan men's international footballers Asian Games footballers for Pakistan Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games medalists in football Medalists at the 1989 South Asian Games Medalists at the 1991 South Asian Games WAPDA F.C. players Footballers from Attock Deaths from cancer in Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen