Moustafa Ali ( ar, مصطفى على; born December 30, 1965) is an Egyptian-born former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). After being selected in the second round of the

1989 CFL Draft The 1989 CFL Draft composed of eight rounds where 64 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. 1st round 2nd round 3rd round 17. Ottawa Rough Riders Sean F ...

, he played in 25 regular season games and recorded 21 tackles and two interceptions from 1989 to 1990. In the early 1990s, Ali participated on the practice squads of multiple teams.

Professional career

Ali was selected in the second round of the 1989 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with the 16th overall pick. The Blue Bombers used Ali primarily as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

due to weaknesses in their secondary coverage. Ali missed time due to an injury in October 1989. During his rookie season, Ali made 21 tackles and caught two interceptions over 17 games. In 1990, the Blue Bombers released Ali as part of their final cuts before the regular season and signed him to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. The

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

signed Ali in July 1990, but he was never activated to play with the Tiger-Cats. Ali went on to play eight games with the Calgary Stampeders during the 1990 season between stints on the Stampeders' practice roster. He spent time on the practice squads of the Blue Bombers in 1991 and the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

in 1993. Ali received a tryout for the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1994 but didn't make the team.

Later life

Ali worked as a financial planner of the

Investors Group Power Corporation of Canada () is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfol ...

after finishing his career in the CFL. After retiring from professional football, Ali played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for the Ottawa Beavers of the Ontario Rugby Union (1997–1999) and the

Ottawa Harlequins The Ottawa Harlequins were a Canadian rugby union team based in eastern Ontario. The team played in the Rugby Canada Super League and drew most of its players from the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams ...

of the Rugby Canada Super League (2000).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Moustafa 1965 births Living people Canadian football defensive backs Carleton Ravens football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Calgary Stampeders players Sportspeople from Alexandria Egyptian players of Canadian football Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian rugby union players Footballers who switched code Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Canada