Mohammad Rafique Ali Sardar (born 16 April 1998) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Rajasthan United Rajasthan United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Founded in 2018 as ''JECRC CF'', the club academy participated in R-League A Division 2019, and was the inaugural winner. In 2020, ''JECRC CF'' w ...

in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

Career

Born in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, Sardar rose from poverty to joining the youth academies of the two Kolkata giants

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

and

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

. He soon then moved to the

Tata Football Academy Tata Football Academy (Tata FA or TFA) is an association football academy situated in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned football academies in India. History ...

Jamshedpur FC

Before the 2017–18 season, Sardar was announced as part of the inaugural

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

squad for the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

. He made his professional debut for the club on 12 April 2018 in the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

against

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. He came on as a halftime substitute for Sairuat Kima after their #1 goalkeeper,

Subrata Pal Subrata Paul (also Pal; born 24 December 1986) is an Indian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan FC, ATK Mohun Bagan, on loan fr ...

, was sent off. Jamshedpur went on to lose 1–5. A week later, on 20 April 2018, it was announced that Sardar signed a new contract with Jamshedpur, keeping him at the club till 2020.

East Bengal FC

A couple of years later, Sardar for East Bengal FC, on 18 April 2020.

Mohammedan SC

The head coach of Mohammedan SC(Kolkata), Jose Hevia, signed Rafique Ali Sardar from SC East Bengal in 2020 after being released by Robbie Fowler the head coach of SC East Bengal.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Rajasthan United *Baji Rout Cup: 2022

References

External links

Jamshedpur FC Profile

Rafique Ali
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sardar, Rafique Ali 1998 births Living people Footballers from Kolkata Indian men's footballers Tata Football Academy players Jamshedpur FC players East Bengal Club players Men's association football goalkeepers Rajasthan United FC players