Saadullah Khan (; born 4 June 1994) is a Pakistani 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 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. ...

who has played for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Although his favored position is that of a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

, he can also be deployed as a striker or winger. Khan had been praised for his speed, technique,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills, and play-making capabilities. Considered one of Pakistan's best young players in the 2010s, he had been labelled as one of the featured midfielders of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

in 2015.

Early life

Saadullah was born in the town of Pishin, in the

Balochistan province Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

of Pakistan. He used to study at a

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

, and became a

Hafiz Hafiz () or Hafez may refer to: * Hafiz (Quran), a term used by Muslims for people who have completely memorized the Qur'an ** ''Al-Ḥafīẓ'', one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "the Ever-Preserving/Guardian/All-Watching/ Protector" Pe ...

in December 2000.

Club career

Youth career

In 2008, Saadullah trained at Youth Academy Pishin. After a year, he played for departmental side Pak Elektron.

Khan Research Laboratories

He played for

Khan Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. Established in 1976, the laboratory is best know ...

between 2011 and 2014, winning the

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 ...

title in 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14 and

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. In the

2011 National Football Challenge Cup 2011 National Football Challenge Cup was the 21st season of Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup, the main domestic cup in Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football. Hosted by PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad, PMC Athletico, the tournament was held ...

, Khan scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 victory against KPT as a substitute in the second half within 36 minutes in the 54th, 56th and 90th minute respectively as KRL advanced to the semifinals. He also participated in the

AFC President's Cup The AFC Challenge League (previously known as the AFC President's Cup, abbreviated as ACGL) is an annual third-tier continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from n ...

from 2012 to 2014. He was a member of the team which reached the

2013 AFC President's Cup The 2013 AFC President's Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Istiqlol were the defending champions, but did ...

final, after falling to Turkmen club

Balkan FT The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

by 0–1 in the final.

BG Sports

Saadullah then had a brief stint 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 the second-tier of Pakistani football league, before finally making his move to BG Sports Club joining the club on a six-month contract in

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 ...

in April 2015. Khan was one of the four foreign players allowed for the club including Spaniard David Carmona,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

international

Sean Bateau Sean Bateau (born 27 September 1986 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Trinidadian footballer who last played for Bangladesh Premier League for club Muktijoddha Sangsad KC . Career College and amateur Sean played four years of college ...

, and Nigerian David Philemon. The move would also make him the first Pakistani men footballer to play in Maldives, after female international Hajra Khan.

Dhivehi Sifainge

After his stint, Khan returned to SSGC, playing in the

2016 PFF Cup The 2016 National Football Challenge Cup or 2016 Pakistan Football Federation Cup was the 26th season of domestic association football cup tournament in Pakistani football. 24 teams took part in this competition held in Islamabad, Lahore, and K ...

which was the one the few events held in Pakistan due to Pakistan Football Federation crisis from 2015 to 2017 until the eventual ban. In August 2016, Saadullah got an offer from Hungarian team

Somos SE STC Salgótarján is a professional football club based in Salgótarján, Nógrád County, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III, the third tier of Hungarian football. History STC Salgótarján is going to compete in the 2017� ...

to play in 3 friendlies. He eventually joined Dhivehi Sifainge in the 2017 Maldivian Third Division. The team got promoted to the Maldivian Second Division after defeating Sea Life SC in the penalties, following a 1–1 draw.

Sui Southern Gas

Khan returned to SSGC in the 2018–19 season following the restoration of the

after three years since 2015. In February 2019, he got an offer from Indonesia Liga 1 club

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung (), also known in acronym as Persib (), is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bandung, West Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Founded in 1919 as ...

. In 2021, SSGC club was closed after the shutdown of departmental sports in Pakistan. After the restoration of departmental sports in Pakistan, SSGC terminated contracts of the players of the squad on 26 August 2022, including Saadullah.

International career

In 2009, Saadullah was called by the Pakistan under-19 team for the

2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification The Qualification Competition for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. The Draw The draw for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship (Qualifiers) will take place at AFC House on 20 February 2009. A total of 42 teams will come out of the pots. In the West Zo ...

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. ...

, under coach

Gohar Zaman Gohar Zaman (born 15 December 1979) is a Pakistani football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. Early life Zaman was born on 15 December 1979 in Faqeerabad, Peshawar. He graduated with Master of Arts in Urdu literature at ...

. Khan made his senior debut for the

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team () represents Pakistan in men's international Association football, football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Paki ...

in 2014 at the age of 19, in a 3–1 defeat against

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. His second appearance was against

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Khan scored his first international goal for the national team on his third appearance, in a friendly 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 2015 which was assisted by team captain

Hassan Bashir Hassan Naweed Bashir (; born 7 January 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Brøndby Strand IK. Bashir has played much of his career as a forward, but has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an offensive midfielde ...

. Saadullah came as a substitute for

Mansoor Khan Mohammed Mansoor Hussain Khan (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director and producer known for his works in Hindi cinema. Early and personal life He is the son of film-maker Nasir Hussain. Khan attended IIT Bombay, Cornell University, an ...

in the last 10 minutes of the match, and scored with a header in the 91st minute of the match through a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

executed by Bashir. He also was included in 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 ...

, and Osotspa FC and Thailand under-23 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

in 2015. He remained an unused substitute 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 ...

. In May 2015, Khan also participated in the

2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was a men's under-23 association football, football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete ...

. Saadullah missed international exposure for the next 3 years, as Pakistan was suspended from all football activities by FIFA on 10 October 2017. For three years since March 2015, Pakistan remained suspended from any international competition because of the crisis created inside the Pakistan Football Federation. Saadullah 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, Saadullah participated in the 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 side returned to the international circuit after 3 years, where he scored a goal in a 2–0 victory against

Sitra Club Sitra Club () is a sports club based in Sitra, Bahrain. The club was established in 1957. It is best known for their football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball ...

. In the 2018 SAFF Championship, Pakistan's campaign ended in the semi-finals. In January 2020, Saadullah was named in Pakistan's squad for a two-match friendly tour in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

against UKM and

Felda United Felda United Football Club was a Malaysian football club based in Jengka, Pahang, owned by the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA).

on 22 and 23 January respectively, which ended in a 2–2 draw and a 2–0 victory. 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, Saadullah along with his teammate Saddam Hussain were excluded from the national football team camp, as they were unable to attend the trials of the national team where they were named, following the return to international football due to their ongoing court case against their former departmental club SSGC.

Personal life

Saadullah lost his father in 2014, who had been killed by robbers in his hometown in Pishin. He completed his

master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practi ...

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

in 2021. In May 2023, Saadullah became Pakistan's first player to complete an FA Level Two (UEFA) coaching course at the age of 28.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

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

Honours

Club

;Khan Research Laboratories *

: 2011–12,

, 2013–14; *

Runner-up:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Dhivehi Sifainge

* Maldivian Third Division:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Saadullah 1994 births Living people People from Pishin District Sportspeople from Balochistan, Pakistan Pakistani men's footballers Pakistani expatriate men's footballers Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in the Maldives Expatriate men's footballers in the Maldives Men's association football midfielders Pakistan men's international footballers Pashtun footballers Khan Research Laboratories FC players SSGC FC players Dhivehi Premier League players 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen