Zohib Islam Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri (; born 15 February 1990) is an Afghan former professional footballer who played as a

centre-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 ...

. Over his two-decade career, he became a pivotal figure in Afghan football, representing clubs across Asia and North America while captaining the Afghanistan national team. Known for his defensive resilience and leadership, Amiri earned 71 caps and scored six goals for his country. He captained Afghanistan to their historic 2013 SAFF Championship victory, solidifying his legacy as one of Afghanistan's most iconic footballers.

Early life

Amiri was born on 15 February 1990 to an ethnic Hazara family in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, with his family originally hailing from Bamyan. Growing up he played football often on the streets of Char Qala in eastern Kabul, using a homemade ball made of rolled up fabric stitched together. During the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

rule he often witnessed executions at the national stadium. After rising tensions in Kabul, Amiri's family moved to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

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# ...

as refugees, where he eventually joined an amateur team at the age of twelve at the Agha Khan Sports Academy, along with his elder brothers, as a striker. After Hamid Karzai took over as president of Afghanistan, his family returned to Afghanistan in March 2005 for a cousin's wedding, joining a local club named Shoa FC.

Club career

Early career

After playing for Shoa FC, he played for Kabul Bank from 2007 until 2009, which provided financial stability to players during the war in Afghanistan. He later played at Ferozi from 2009 until 2011.

Mumbai FC

Amiri joined Mumbai FC in 2011, and quickly became one of the star players at the club. Following his impressive performances during the 2012–13 I-League he received the award for the fan's players on the season. Despite reviving this prestigious award his contract with Mumbai FC was not renewed and Amiri began thinking of moving to Bahrain or Oman to play club football, but ultimately decided to stay in India.

Dempo SC

On 11 January, Amiri along with Tolgay Özbey signed for Indian club Dempo on a one-year contract, and received shirt number 18. He made his debut against Rangdajied United and scored. On 7 April he was involved in an ugly brawl in a match between Dempo SC and his former club Mumbai FC. On 30 May both Amiri and Özbey signed extensions with Dempo. On 4 April 2015, he scored two goals, including one only one minute from time to salvage a 2–2 draw with Sporting Goa.

DSK Shivajians

In January 2016, Amiri announced signing a contract with Indian football club DSK Shivajians. He finished the season with DSK Shivajians last but did not relegate with his team because other clubs withdraw from the league.

Chennai City

In January 2017, Amiri joined Chennai City FC in the Indian

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

. He left after disagreement with the coach.

New Radiant

In January 2018, Amiri signed for Maldivian club New Radiant, which played at the top tier Dhivehi Premier League.

Blainville

In 2019, he briefly played with A.S. Blainville in the Canadian Première ligue de soccer du Québec, playing in cup matches, earning a red card in one.

Gokulam Kerala

On 2 November 2019, it was announced that Amiri joined Gokulam Kerala for 2019 i league.

Return to Blainville

Amiri also played with Blainville in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Real Kashmir

In 2021, ahead of the 2021–22 I-League season, Amiri joined Real Kashmir. He also appeared with the club in 2021 IFA Shield.

Later career

Amiri made his third return to Blainville in 2021, playing for the club until 2024. He lastly returned to his home country, joining Afghanistan Champions League club Abu Muslim in October 2024, helping the side to clinch the 2024–25 season title. Amiri officially announced his retirement from football at the end of the season, after a controversial 8–0 victory against Adalat Farah which secured the league title for his team at the end of the competition amid allegations of match-fixing.

International career

Amiri made his debut in the 2005 SAFF Gold Cup 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 ...

. He was part of the

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 ...

squad for the 2011 SAFF Championship, where they reached the final for the first time. Wearing number 3 he contributed many memorable performances, including scoring one of the goals in Afghanistan's biggest ever victory over

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. Two years later Amiri served as captain for Afghanistan at the 2013 SAFF Championship, and was the rock of which the Afghan defense was built on. He scored goals in a 3–0 win over

and a 3–1 win over

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He played a crucial role as Afghanistan made it to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

for a second consecutive time an achieved a 2–0 victory against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In May 2014 Amiri captained the squad to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives. On 22 May he scored the first goal of the game with a bullet header in Afghanistan's 3–1 victory over

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. This was also Afghanistan's first every victory at the AFC Challenge Cup in eight attempts. After Afghanistan's 0–0 draw with

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

that confirmed their progression out of the group stage, an accident occurred while the Afghan players were being driven back to their hotel. Amiri suffered minor injuries, along with Faisal Sakhizada, Ahmad Hatifi, Balal Arezou, and Mustafa Azadzoy, the latter of which will have to take three weeks off to recover, missing the semi-finals 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 ...

. Former coach Mohammad Yousef Kargar and current coach Erich Rutemöller also suffered minor injuries.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Afghanistan * SAFF Championship:

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 ...

Real Kashmir * IFA Shield: 2021

References

External links

* *
Zohib Islam Amiri archives
at ''Khel Now'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Amiri, Zohib Islam Living people 1990 births Hazara sportspeople Afghan men's footballers Sportspeople of Afghan descent Footballers from Kabul Men's association football central defenders Afghanistan men's international footballers Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Afghanistan Afghan expatriates in Pakistan Expatriate men's footballers in Pakistan I-League players Indian Super League players Ligue1 Québec players Dhivehi Premier League players Mumbai FC players Dempo SC players FC Goa players DSK Shivajians FC players Chennai City FC players New Radiant S.C. players A.S. Blainville players Gokulam Kerala FC players Afghan expatriate men's footballers Afghan expatriate sportspeople in India Expatriate men's footballers in India Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Afghan expatriate sportspeople in the Maldives Expatriate men's footballers in the Maldives Afghan Ismailis Abu Muslim FC players