Iltaf Ahmed ( ur, الطاف احمد; born on 2 December 1979) is a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are British people, citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes ...

footballer, who was the number one goalkeeper of

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 19 ...

. Iltaf was plucked from obscurity when former Pakistan number one

Jaffar Khan Jaffar Khan ( ur, جعفر خان; born on March 10, 1981) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the keeping coach of Pakistan national football team. Club career Khan came through the Pakistan Ar ...

was unavailable for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Iraq. Iltaf was recommended by a member of the national team, Amjad Iqbal and Pakistan football fans who search for eligible Pakistani footballers based aboard. He was on the bench for the 7-0 hammering by Iraq. For the second leg, Head coach

Akhtar Mohiuddin Akhtar Mohiuddin (Urdu: ) (born 1 March 1956 in Chaman, Pakistan), is a Pakistani professional football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of PMC Athletico. Mohiuddin was also the head coach of the Pakistan footbal ...

selected him for the starting line up and he made his debut. Iltaf surprised everyone when he prevented Iraq scoring despite their numerous attempts, with the match ending nil-nil. With that performance he became the new number 1. Iltaf is still club-less and normally plays in the local Saturday and Sunday Leagues. In a mysterious development, despite being called up for the SAFF Cup 2008, Iltaf failed to go to Pakistan and hence was unavailable for the national team camp.

References

* 1979 births Living people Association football goalkeepers Footballers from Bradford Pakistani footballers Pakistan international footballers British sportspeople of Pakistani descent {{Pakistan-footy-bio-stub