Shahed Ahmed (born 13 September 1985) is an English

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 ...

who plays as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for Sporting Bengal United.

Background

Ahmed was born in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originall ...

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

London, and is of

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, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

i descent.

Playing career

After beginning as a youth player at Wimbledon, Ahmed signed a professional contract with Wycombe Wanderers in 2004. He made four appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Wycombe, scoring one goal in the 2–0 victory against

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...

in August 2004. He also made one appearance in other competitions, before leaving in 2005. Ahmed later played non-league football with

Wingate & Finchley Wingate & Finchley Football Club is an English football club based in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. The club are currently members of the and play at The Maurice Rebak Stadium in North London. History The club was established in ...

, where he made 17 league appearances. Ahmed's Bangladeshi roots and British residency, means that he can play for either

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In January 2010, he was targeted by the

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānlādēśa phuṭabala phēḍārēśana'') is the governing body that administrates the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national tea ...

to represent Bangladesh at the 2010 South Asian Games; he was unable to do so due to his exams. In February 2011, Ahmed joined Sporting Bengal United in the Essex Senior Football League, where he later became club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Personal life

In 2004, at the time of his move to Wycombe, Ahmed commented: "You do not see too many Asian players in football because they need to make a breakthrough. Other sports, such as cricket and squash, are more popular with the Asian community and parents do not encourage their children to play and watch football." Ahmed is Muslim and fasts during Ramadan. He also changes his diet and adapts his training around his fasting.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Shahed 1985 births Living people English Muslims English people of Bangladeshi descent British Asian footballers English footballers Men's association football forwards Wimbledon F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Wingate & Finchley F.C. players Sporting Bengal United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from East Ham