Yaqoob Ijaz Butt (born 9 September 1988) is a

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 defender. Born in Denmark, he represented

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

at the international level.

Club career

Butt started his career at Stenløse, and subsequently played at the lower divisions of Denmark. In 2014, Butt was approached by

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

club Roi Et PB United in a 5 million

Thai baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

deal, though the move seemingly failed to materialise.

International career

Butt hunted for national team call up, first approaching the

Pakistan Football Federation Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in Pakistan. Founded in 1947, its headquarters are at the FIFA Football House in Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab near Punjab Stadium. The federation manages the ...

in 2007 at the age of 18. While he was eventually not called up due to being too young and incomplete documentation being another reason, he came into radar again in 2010, when ''Pakistan International XI'', a team made up of European based players of Pakistani origin played against

Woking FC Woking Football Club is a professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. Founded in 1887, the club plays its home matches at The Laithwaite Community Stadium and is nicknamed the Cardinals, often shortened to the Card ...

. Butt was subsequently called by the Pakistan national team coach

Graham Roberts Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is an English retired footballer and manager who played as a defender for numerous clubs including Tottenham Hotspur (where he won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), Rangers (where he won the Scottish League ...

for the

2010 Asian games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

, but incomplete documents prevented his participation. He received his first international cap in a friendly against

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

ending in a 1–0 victory for Pakistan in 2013, as a replacement for the injured international defender Atif Bashir under the coach

Zaviša Milosavljević Zaviša Milosavljević (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Завиша Милосављевић; born 14 July 1961) is a Serbian association football, football Manager (association football), manager. Milosavljević was a professor of ...

. He then played in a two-match tour against

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

in the same month, making an impact as a substitute in the last 15 minutes in the game, where his corner led to Pakistan scoring a last minute equalizer. In March 2013, he participated in the

2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification phase determined the teams which advanced to the final tournament. The qualification draw was held on 11 December 2012, in AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Qualified nations ;Notes Format Twenty te ...

, playing against

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. He was subsequently called for the

2013 SAFF Championship The 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly referred to as 2013 SAFF Championship, was the 10th SAFF Championship for men's national football teams organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament took ...

. After being left out for both the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

and 2018 FIFA World Cup's Asian qualifiers 1st round of March 2015, Butt returned after almost 5 years away in a friendly against Palestine in 2018. He last played in 2019 in the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tour ...

against

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, as Pakistan failed to advance to the next round.

Personal life

His brother,

Yousuf Butt Yousuf Ijaz Butt ( ur, ; born October 18, 1989) is a footballer who plays for Ishøj IF and the Pakistan national football team. He has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in South Asia, where his goalkeeping skills have earned hi ...

, is also a footballer and has played alongside him for

. Butt also went to school with

Hassan Bashir Hassan Bashir ( ur, ; born 7 January 1987) is a Pakistani footballer who plays for Ishøj IF and captains the Pakistan national team. Bashir has played much of his career as a forward, but has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – ...

in Denmark, who eventually played alongside him in the national team.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Yaqoob Living people 1988 births Danish people of Pakistani descent Pakistani men's footballers Pakistani expatriate men's footballers People from Herlev Municipality Men's association football defenders Skovshoved IF players Vanløse IF players KFUM Roskilde players Danish 2nd Division players Pakistan men's international footballers Avedøre IF players Køge Nord FC players Tårnby FF players Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold players Boldklubben Avarta players Footballers from the Capital Region of Denmark