Sheikh Ashraf Ali (; born May 1946) is a retired a Bangladeshi

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach.

Early life

Sheikh Ashraf Ali was born in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in 1946, the son of Sheikh Shahzada and Rahatunnessa. His father was a police officer. During the 1946 Calcutta Killings, the majority of Ashraf's joint-family members died, leading them to move to

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

(now part 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 and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). In 1950, only two years after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, Ashraf's family returned to Calcutta due to an epidemic in Jessore. Eventually, he joined the junior team of

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, ...

on the advice of his father's friend, B.D. Chatterjee. He represented Mohun Bagan Jr. in the Calcutta Power League from 1963 to 1964. However, after failing to earn promotion to the main team, he permanently moved to

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 ...

in 1965.

Club career

In 1966, Ashraf joined Fire Service SC as a left-winger after impressing coach Bazlur Rahman during trials. He played in the Dhaka First Division League and the

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the club sides from leading football nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of the AFC Champions League ...

for three seasons. In 1968, he was recruited by Mohammedan SC for a tournament 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 ...

as a guest player and joined permanently the following year. In his debut season, Mohammedan consisting of Pakistan national team forwards Ali Nawaz Baloch and Abdullah Rahi, won the league title as unbeaten champions, with Ashraf earning limited game time. However, after one season, he moved to

East End Club East End Club () is a Bangladeshi football club based in the Gendaria, Dhaka. It currently competes in the Dhaka Senior Division League, the third-tier of Bangladeshi football. History The East End Welfare Association was established in 1886 in ...

in 1970, where he shifted to a more defensive role. Following 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 ...

, Ashraf returned to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, where he joined the newly formed,

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 ...

. He featured for the team during their inaugural First Division League game against BJIC on 11 June 1972. The game finished goalless, and eventually, the league was cancelled after only 7 matchdays. Ashraf was mainly deployed 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 ...

under Abahani's Irish coach William Bill Hart, and led the defence alongside

Abdus Sadeque Abdus Sadeque (, ; born 18 September 1946) is a former Pakistani and Bangladeshi field hockey player. Due to pronunciation, transcription and transliteration issues, spellings of his name are recorded as Abdus Sadiq or Abdul Sadiq in Pakistani sp ...

as the team won its first league title in 1974. In 1977, Ashraf was made captain and led the defense alongside

Monwar Hossain Nannu Monwar Hossain Nannu (; 27 August 1948 – 16 February 2008) was a Bangladeshi football player during the 1970s and early 1980s. Initially, he played as an attacking midfielder for Abahani Krira Chakra in the First Division. Following an injury ...

as Abahani became the first club after independence to become unbeaten league champions. He retired from playing after representing

WAPDA Sports Club WAPDA Sports Club () is a multi-sports club based mainly in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club is owned by the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The club was well known for its football team which participated in domestic football prior to the turn of ...

in 1981 at the age of 35.

International career

Shadhin Bangla football team

Ashraf returned to

after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War began and resided in

Park Circus Park Circus is a neighbourhood of south Kolkata in West Bengal, India. Geography Police district Karaya police station is in the South-east division of Kolkata Police. Karaya Women Police Station, at the same address, has jurisdiction ov ...

where his parents lived. He started representing Sporting Union in the

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

. While practicing with the Calcutta-based club, he met his former Mohammedan SC teammate Pratap Shankar Hazra, who informed him that Ali Imam, another Dhaka First Division League player, was residing in the Mohun Bagan clubhouse. By July 1971, Ali Imam, Ashraf, and Pratap came into contact with the

Provisional Government of Bangladesh The Provisional Government of Bangladesh (), popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government (); also known as the Bangladeshi government-in-exile, was the first and founding government of Bangladesh that was established following the proclamatio ...

and began recruiting Bangladeshi players from Agartala, eventually forming the

Shadhin Bangla football team The Shadhin Bangla football team ( Bengali : স্বাধীন বাংলা ফুটবল দল; ''lit. Independent Bengal football team'') was formed by Bangladesh Krira Samity of the Bangladeshi government in exile shortly after the ...

. On July 25, Ashraf was part of the starting XI during the team's inaugural match, played in

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

against Nadia XI, which ended in a 2–2 draw. The team went on to play a total of 16 friendly matches in India to raise international awareness and economic support for the liberation war.

Dhaka football team

On 13 February 1972, Ashraf took part in the first football match in the newly independent Bangladesh, representing the Bangladesh XI against President XI at the

Dhaka Stadium National Stadium, Dhaka () is a multipurpose sports arena and the national stadium of Bangladesh. Located in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, it is predominantly used for football matches and serves as the home venue for the Bangladesh national foo ...

. The Bangladesh XI was made of former members of the Shadhin Bangla football team, nonetheless, the experienced team ended up losing 2–0. In 1972, Ashraf represented Dhaka XI (unofficial Bangladesh national football team) at 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 ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

, India. His team finished runner-up, losing 1–5 to

East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in the Indian ...

in the final. On 11 November 1973, he played an exhibition match representing Dhaka Metropolis XI during their 0–3 defeat to the travelling Soviet club, Dinamo Minsk. He was also captain of the

Dhaka District Dhaka District () is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in central Bangladesh, and is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, rests on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River ...

team to win the first edition of the

Sher-e-Bangla Cup The Bangabandhu National Football Championship (), previously known as the Sher-e-Bangla National Football Championship or the Sher-e-Bangla Cup, is a district-level national football tournament in Bangladesh, contested by districts and governme ...

held after independence. Prior to this, he had represented the

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

team at the 1968 National Football Championship held in

Bangladesh football team

On 27 July 1973, Ashraf featured in a 2–2 draw against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

at the 1973 Merdeka Tournament in Malaysoa, in what was the inaugural international match played by the

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 ...

. Throughout the tournament he was mainly deployed as a

right-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 ...

, in a defence which included

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 ...

, Nazir Ahmed and

Abdul Hakim Abdul Hakim () is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, first name or surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Hakim''. The name means "servant of the All-wise", ''Al-Hakīm'' being one of the names of God in the ...

. Ashraf was one of the two players selected from

by 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 ...

to be selected in the team, the other being star-striker,

Kazi Salahuddin Kazi Salahuddin (; born 23 September 1953) is a Bangladeshi former football player currently serving as the president of South Asian Football Federation. He previously served as the president of Bangladesh Football Federation from 2008 to 2024. ...

. He was also part of the team which recorded the country's first international victory against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in an exhibition match played on their trip back from Malaysia, on 13 August 1973. He made his final international appearances for Bangladesh at the 1975 edition of the Merdeka Tournament.

Coaching career

Ashraf served as assistant coach of

BRTC Sports Club BRTC Sports Club (), also referred to as BRTC SC, is a professional football club based in RAJUK Avenue in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second tier of Bangladeshi football, after compl ...

under head coach Mari Chowdhury from 1984 to 1986. During that period, BRTC reached the Super League round after finishing fifth in the 1984 First Division League. Ashraf served as head coach of

Victoria SC Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division Football League, Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football i ...

in 1987, guiding them to a 13th-place finish in the 16-club league. He later returned to the role of assistant with

Abahani Limited Dhaka Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional Association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Pr ...

and

Muktijoddha Sangsad KC Muktijoddha Sangsad KC () is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club plays in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second level of Bangladeshi football league system, as they suffered relegation from th ...

in 1991 and 1994, respectively. He served as the head coach of the Bangladesh U19 team at the 1994 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers in Saudi Arabia. In the three games played, Bangladesh suffered 0–5 and 0–2 defeats to Saudi Arabia U19 and Syria U19, respectively, but managed to clinch a 2–0 victory over Hong Kong U19, ultimately failing to qualify for the main tournament. Notable players in that team included captain

Arman Mia Arman Mia (; born 10 October 1977) is a retired Bangladeshi professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played for the Bangladesh national team from 1993 to 2006. International career Arman was part of the 2003 SAFF Cup w ...

Alfaz Ahmed Alfaz Ahmed (; born: 6 June 1973) is a Bangladeshi football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Mohammedan SC. He played for the Bangladesh national team from 1995 to 2008. He is seen as one of the best strikers to ever ...

, and

Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu (; born 9 December 1973) is a Bangladeshi professional Association football, football coach and former player. Club career Mintu began his career playing in the Pioneer Football League (Bangladesh), Pioneer Football League a ...

Personal life

Ashraf married Rashida Khatun in 1979, with whom he has two children. On 27 December 2018, Ashraf, who attended an event arranged by the

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānglādesh fūṭbôl fēḍārēshôn'') is the governing body that administers the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national teams, ...

in recognition of the

, left the venue despite attending the reception, expressing his dissatisfaction with the seating arrangement. In September 2021, Ashraf along with former Bangladesh national team captain, the late Monem Munna, were given residential flats by PM

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

Honours

Mohammedan SC * Dhaka First Division League: 1969 Abahani Krira Chakra * Dhaka First Division League: 1974, 1977 *Liberation Cup: 1977 Dhaka District *

: 1973 Individual * National Sports Awards: 1999

References

Bibliography

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