Ghulam Abbas Baloch (October 1942 – 4 April 2014), was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a winger. Abbas represented the Pakistan national football team from 1961 to 1963.

Early life

Abbas grew up in a poor family in Saifi Lane, Baghdadi,

Lyari Lyari (Urdu: ; sd, لیاري) is a historic locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the most densely-populated part of Karachi, and is one of its earliest settled areas.Sarwat Viqar (2014) Constructing Lyari: place, governance and identity in a Kar ...

. Belonging to the Sheedi community, Abbas' paternal ancestors belonged to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, who came during the Indian Ocean slave trade. His relatives from Zanzibar and

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in present-day Tanzania often came to Pakistan to visit his grandfather, and Bilawal Belgium, a famous

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musician who also belonged to Abbas's family. He completed his primary education at SM Lyari School and passed his matriculation examination privately. He studied up to the intermediate level at SM College, earned a BA from Urdu College, and obtained both an LLB and an MA from Karachi University.

Club career

Early career

Abbas plied his trade in numerous clubs in West Pakistan (now Pakistan), such Baloch XI, Gul Muhammad Lane, Saifi Lane Club, Nisar Sports Club, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Karachi Port Trust FC,

PIA FC Pakistan Airlines Football Club, commonly known as PIA F.C., is a Pakistani football club based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The club was to compete in 2018–19, but withdrew due to financial issues. The club is most successful club in Pakistan ...

East Pakistan

1963 Aga Khan Gold Cup runners-up Dhaka Wanderers Club

In 1962, he joined the East Pakistan-based club Victoria SC and won the quadruple, including the Dhaka League, Aga Khan Gold Cup, Independence Day Cup, and the Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield. During the Aga Khan Gold Cup final against

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for South Korea, Abbas, who played as an inside-left, scored in a 5–1 victory. Prior to his impressive stint at Victoria, Abbas represented Mohammedan SC in 1961, where he won the domestic double in his lone season.

Final years

In 1967, Abbas won the Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield while representing Karachi Municipal Corporation FC, toppling runners-up Mohammedan SC by two points in the four team round-robin tournament.

International career

Abbas received his first callup to the Pakistan national team for three exhibition matches against Burma on home soil. In the second friendly, held in Karachi on 20 January 1961, he scored a brace in a 4–0. Abbas scored the first goal for Pakistan in the Summer Olympics qualifiers against Iran on 4 October 1963. The game held in Tehran ended in a 4–1 defeat, and after Pakistan won their home leg in Karachi by a single goal, they were knocked out of the qualifiers on aggregate score.

Post–playing career

Abbas was appointed Pakistan Football Federation General Secretary in 1995 and was also the founding general secretary and Chairman of the Sindh FA. During his time as Sindh FA chairman, Abbas was accused of selecting provincial teams based on personal bias. On 31 December 2010, the Pakistan Football Federation awarded him with an honorary AFC gold medal.

Personal life and death

Abbas' elder brother Fida Hussain passed away after an addiction to drugs. His younger brothers, Ghulam Ali was also a footballer, while his other younger sibling Saba Dashtyari was a popular professor who died by gunshot wounds amidst the political turmoil in Balochistan. Abbas had a profound friendship with fellow teammates Abdul Ghafoor and

Abdullah Rahi Abdullah Rahi (born 1938), is a Pakistani former Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Abdullah represented the Pakistan national football team in the 1960s, and was member of the national squad ...

, who hailed from the same neighbourhood. He died on 4 April 2014 due to a long-term illness.

Honours

Victoria SC * Dhaka League: 1962, 1964 Mohammedan SC * Dhaka League: 1961

References

1942 births 2014 deaths Pakistani men's footballers Pakistan men's international footballers Living people Victoria Sporting Club players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Dhaka Wanderers Club players People from Lyari Town Men's association football wingers {{Pakistan-footy-bio-stub