Abdul Ghafoor (footballer)

Abdul Ghafoor (3 August 1938 – 7 September 2012), known by his nickname Majna, was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He captained the Pakistan national football team during the 1974 Asian Games. He was nicknamed the Pakistani Pelé and Black Pearl of Pakistan, for his resemblance to the Brazilian football player and his playing abilities, and is regarded as one of the greatest Pakistani footballers of all time.

Ghafoor was born in Saifi Lane, Baghdadi, a neighbourhood of Lyari in Karachi in British India on 3 August 1938. Belonging to the Sheedi community, his grandparents reportedly migrated from Africa and settled in Saifi Lane. Ghafoor was fond of football since early age, and often ran away during classes to nearby grounds to join boys playing football. Ghafoor claimed that he had to sell his school bags in order to buy sports shoes. He was popularly known by his nickname Majna.

He began his career in 1957, representing his local side Saifi Sports in Lyari. In 1958, he led Karachi Kickers to victory in the Aga Khan Gold Cup the same year. He also played in the 1959 All-Pakistan President's Cup for the West Pakistan Government Press. He represented Karachi at the National Football Championship.

In a later tour of Mumbai in 1960, he signed with Kolkata Mohammedan Sporting Club to play as a professional footballer in the Calcutta Football League in India. He was recommended by fellow national teammate and club captain Muhammad Umer.

He helped the club win the 1960 Aga Khan Gold Cup beating PSM Makassar 4–1.

Ghafoor then also played for Dhaka Mohammedan as well as Victoria SC in former East Pakistan. During his stay in the Dhaka League, he also represented Dacca Division at the National Football Championship.

With the former he won the First Division League three times, once with Dhaka Mohammedan and twice with Victoria, as well as securing a runners-up spot in the 1961 Aga Khan Gold Cup with Dhaka Mohammedan, and winning it with Victoria SC in 1962.

In 1963, Dhaka Wanderers formed a strong team to participate in the Aga Khan Gold Cup, acquiring Ghafoor along with national teammates Ghulam Abbas Baloch, Muhammad Umer, Abdullah Rahi, Yousuf Sr., and Yousuf Jr. from defending champions Victoria, who had withdrawn from the tournament.

After defeating Police AC, Nepal XI, Pakistan Eastern Railway, and Indonesia XI in the semi-final, the club eventually lost 1–2 to Pakistan Railways in the final.

Ghafoor also played for Dilkusha SC in 1962, 1964 and 1967. He helped the side finish runner-up in the First Division in 1969.

In 1970, Ghafoor transferred to EPIDC. He helped the club win the First Division during his lone spell.

In 1977, Ghafoor returned to Dhaka Mohammedan and featured in the team for the entire season.

In 1971, Ghafoor joined Karachi Port Trust as a player and then became coach of the club before retiring from the team via golden handshake in 2000.

Ghafoor made his national team debut in 1959 after receiving a call-up from coach John McBride, for a friendly tour in Burma and Indo-China. He subsequently played in December the same year at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification held in India. Ghafoor along with fellow national teammate Qayyum Changezi were also the only Pakistani players selected to be part of the preliminary West Asian Region All-Stars team after the tournament.

Ghafoor was also part of the Pakistan team under the captainship of Muhammad Umer that played the 1962 Merdeka Tournament, where Pakistan reached the final but lost narrowly to Indonesia by 1–2.

In 1964, Abdul Ghafoor toured China with the national team and then was made vice-captain for a friendly tour in Ceylon in 1965 and the 1965 RCD Cup in Iran.

In April 1967, Abdul Ghafoor announced his retirement from the national team after he and numerous footballers from Karachi had a falling out with then Pakistan Football Federation general secretary, Major Malik Muhammad Hussain. However, in 1974, Ghafoor came out of retirement on the special request of then Pakistan Football Federation president Abdul Sattar Gabol, to play for Pakistan once more at the 1974 Asian Games.

Ghafoor was part of Pakistan national football team in their golden era, when the national side recorded their best results against strong opponent sides.

Ghafoor was nicknamed the Pakistani Pelé during his playing days for his resemblance to the Brazilian football legend and his playing abilities. According to Ghafoor's son, when Pelé in Brazil heard about his look-alike in Pakistan, he expressed his desire to meet Ghafoor although that didn't happen. During his time in Dhaka, Ghafoor also received several offers to play for clubs in the Soviet Union and China, but he turned them down and preferred to play in his country.

When playing for Mohammedan Sporting Club in Dhaka, Ghafoor met his wife Sabiha. His wife's parents were originally from Allahabad in India, and the couple married after her father, who was a government servant, served as driver for a minister in Dhaka and was impressed by Ghafoor during football matches and began admiring him. The couple then later lived in Lyari, Karachi.

Ghafoor worked for Karachi Port Trust in his later years until his retirement. He natively spoke the Balochi language along with Urdu. After his retirement he was involved with the sport, visiting football grounds and spending his time at his former team Saifi Club, coaching younger players.

In May 2006, it was reported that Ghafoor had loss of hearing and nearly impaired vision. During his interview with Dawn before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ghafoor expressed his support for Brazil, and demanded the freedom of his jailed son Abdul Ghani, also a footballer and employee of Habib Bank who was arrested in early 2004 from his home in Karachi in a crackdown against extremists, after he was accused of planning terrorist acts. This also resulted in Ghafoor getting paralyzed due to the shock after local security authorities raided the house and detained his son. Ghani was later released from prison.

In 2006, the Bangladesh Football Federation also contacted Ghafoor again to suggest some players from Pakistan to play in their league. However, the letter never reached Ghafoor, and was sent to the Pakistan Football Federation as the Bangladesh football authorities believed that a player such as Ghafoor would be running the affairs of football in the country. The Pakistan Football Federation sent its own team of boys to Bangladesh instead of forwarding the letter to Ghafoor.

Ghafoor's sons also played football. His son Abdul Ghani played for Habib Bank, and his other son Abdul Waheed played for Pakistan Army FC. His nephews Allah Bakhsh played for PIA and Muhammad Shafi played for Habib Bank, while his brother-in-law Ishtiaq Ahmed played as a goalkeeper for Habib Bank.

Ghafoor died in Lyari, Karachi on 7 September 2012 after suffering from a paralysis attack four years prior. He was survived by his wife, his two sons and three daughters. He spent his last years in abject poverty. Although Faisal Saleh Hayat, the President of the Pakistan Football Federation released a statement after Ghafoor's death, the federation came under criticism from the Pakistani media over its lack of support for Ghafoor in his five years of illness.

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

• Merdeka Tournament:

  • runners-up (1): 1962

• Aga Khan Gold Cup (1): 1958

• Aga Khan Gold Cup (1): 1960

• Calcutta Football League

  • runners-up: 1960

• Aga Khan Gold Cup:

  • Winners (1): 1968
  • runners-up (1): 1961

• Dhaka First Division League

  • Winners (1): 1961

• Independence Day Football Tournament (1): 1961

• Aga Khan Gold Cup:

  • Winners (1): 1962

• Dhaka First Division League

  • Winners (2): 1962, 1964

• Independence Day Football Tournament:

  • Winners (2): 1962, 1964

• Dhaka First Division League runners-up (1): 1963

• Independence Day Tournament (1): 1963

• Aga Khan Gold Cup runners-up (1): 1963

• Dhaka First Division League: 1970

• AFC Asian All Stars: 1959

• List of Pakistan national football team captains

• Abdul Ghafoor at National-Football-Teams.com