Sana Mahmud is the former

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 ...

and basketball player from Pakistan. She was captain of the women's national team for both sports.

Personal life

Sana was born in Islamabad. Sana's parents discouraged their children from spending too much time on the Television and wanted them to spend more time outdoors. This gave Sana much exposure in sports and outdoor activities and from a very young age, Sana wanted to be a sportswoman. Sana was 17 years old when she played her first national level tournaments in basketball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Sana did her Bachelor's from

Bahria University Bahria University (BU; ur, ) is a public-sector university established in 2000 by the Pakistan Navy at Shangrilla Road, Sector E-8/1 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university maintains campuses in Karachi and Lahore. Established by the Pakistan Na ...

, Islamabad. She later received the

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

and went on to study Master's in

International Development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

from Ohio University. Sana is married to decorated professional body builder and former rugby player, Wajih Zafar. They have one son, Eyad, born in December 2020.

Career

Sports

Sana played her first national game at the age of 17. She had heard about trials for

Young Rising Stars F.F.C. Young Rising Stars Women Football Club, also referred as to Young Rising Stars WFC, is a Pakistani women's association football club based in Rawalpindi. Founded in 2007, the club has won the National Women Football Championship a record five time ...

and decided to try her luck. She was among the 35 girls selected out of 70. Soon, Sana became the captain of her team at the Young Rising Stars F.F.C. created by Ghias Uddin Baloch. Sana won the title in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 with YRS. She was Captain of the Pakistan women's national football team (2010 – 2012). She went on her first international tour in 2010 when she went at the 1st

SAFF Women's Championship The SAFF Women's Championship, also called the ''South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup'', is the main association football competition of the women's national football teams, governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seve ...

in Bangladesh and made it to the semi-final. Sana started playing basketball and football in her university years. Sana became the captain of the first basketball national team in Pakistan. During her career her team won against Afghanistan and Sana became the top scorer in the match. Sana has participated in international events like the South Asian Games (India, 2016) and

Islamic Games The Islamic Games ( ar, الألعاب الإسلامية, tr, Islam Ülkeleri Spor Oyunlari) was a multi-sport event for athletes from Muslim countries that was held from 26 September to 6 October 1980 in İzmir, Turkey. Although 42 nations were ...

(Azerbaijan, 2017). In her career, Sana has won a gold medal in Basketball in the 32nd National Games. She won the award of the Most Valuable Player in 2015 National Championship. Sana has also won a silver medal in the 16th National Basketball Championship In HEC competition. Sana hold an honorary position in the Islamabad Basketball Association where she helps in promoting women's basketball.

Development

Sana has also worked in the humanitarian and development sector. In 2019, Sana won an Alumni Small Grant (ASG), from the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) and the U.S. Mission in Pakistan and she led a project We Got Game, a program for women basketball development. Sana has also worked as a Training Officer at

Muslim Aid Muslim Aid is a UK based Islamic International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO).Muslim Aid Souvenir Brochure, (2010) Published by Muslim Aid, London The international humanitarian charity has relief and development programmes in countries ac ...

, an international NGO based in U.K. Sana works at Muslim Aid to organize trainings of women and girls. Sana has also worked with Total Football, to promote girls football. Sana is also a project manager at Right to Play, an organization that teaches sports to children.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmud, Sana Living people Sportspeople from Islamabad Ohio University alumni Pakistani women's footballers Pakistan women's international footballers Young Rising Stars F.F.C. players Pakistani women basketball players Year of birth missing (living people) Women's association football players not categorized by position