Kaleemullah Khan ( ur, ; born 20 September 1992) is a Pakistani

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 in the Iraqi Premier League for Zakho FC and the Pakistan national team. Khan plays as a midfielder or

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker,

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and on either wing. He is the first Pakistani player ever to play and score in United States and also the first Pakistan-born player ever to play against an English Premier League team (

Sunderland AFC Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

). He also holds the record of being the first Pakistani player ever to score 100 career goals in club competitions. He has been praised for his positioning, teamwork and stamina, and has shown consistency in scoring and creating goals.

Personal life

Khan was born in Chaman, Balochistan. Khan had a tough childhood growing up in Chaman, a Pakistani city that borders Afghanistan and falls in the main NATO route from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Growing up Kaleemullah saw all aspects of life closely – to growing up playing football in the empty barren grounds with no amenities. Kaleemullah struggled hard and traveled for two days sitting on the floor of an unreserved compartment in a train and reached for his first selection. His struggle and life is now a subject of an upcoming documentary film. Khan is now the first Pakistani footballer to sign for an international football management agency.

Career

A product of KRL's youth system, he made his first-team breakthrough in the 2009 season; he played almost every game as the club won the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

and qualified for the President's Cup. Khan scored 35 goals in all competitions in the 2012 season as KRL won a historic double; the league title, cup and qualified for the President's Cup reaching the final in 2013, scoring 5 goals in the competition. Khan won his fourth league title with KRL in 2013 season and went on to sign for Dordoi in 2014, where he played a major role in helping the team win a

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

; the league title, league cup and

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 ...

, scoring 18 goals and receiving the award for the league's highest top goalscorer, and was also named as the Best Player of Kyrgyzstan League. On 18 June 2015 it was announced that Kaleemullah had signed with the

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

of the United Soccer League on a four-month contract, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. Khan earned a call-up to the Pakistan national team in 2011. At 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 ...

he scored his first international goal against Macau as Pakistan won the match 2–0. In 2014, Khan was named captain of the national team.

Khan Research Laboratories

Early years

Khan is a product of Khan Research Laboratories youth academy, starting his football career in the 2009 season. He made his debut on 27 July 2009 in a 3–0 win against Air Force, scoring his first goal in the 69th minute. He finished 2009 season with 4 goals in all competitions. During the 2010 season, Khan was soon promoted to the first team by KRL manager Sajjad Mahmood. Khan took his chance and was an important player in KRL's

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

-winning squad of the 2010 season, scoring the second goal of the 4–0 win against

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

in the

cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

. Khan also made his debut AFC President's Cup on 10 May 2010 in a 2–1 win against Naga Corp from Cambodia, scoring both the goals in the continental club competition. Khan won the Pakistan Premier League with Khan Research Laboratories in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

as KRL set a Pakistan Premier League record scoring the most points in a season in the Pakistan Premier League with 77 points. Khan also won the Challenge Cup with KRL (1–0) against rivals K-Electric in 2011.

2012–13 season

During

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

season, he became involved in the first-team under then manager Tariq Lutfi who replaced manager Sajjad Mahmood the previous season; Khan established himself as a key player – playing almost in every match and scored 31 times to make him the league's all-time record top goal scorer. The club clinched a historic

; winning the league title, the domestic cup and qualified for the AFC President's Cup for the following season – finishing runners-up in the competition losing (1–0) to Turkmenistan's

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Khan finished as the second top goal scorer of the continental cup with 7 goals behind

Mirlan Murzaev Mirlan Abdraimovich Murzayev ( ky, Мирлан Мурзаев; russian: Мирлан Абдраимович Мурзаев; born 29 March 1990) is a Kyrgyzstani professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club Mohammedan and t ...

, scoring 5 goals in an 8–0 group stage win against Yeedzin following with goals in 1–0 victory over Dordoi Bishkek from Kyrgyzstan and a 2–0 win against Hilal Al-Quds from

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in the final group stage. Khan was awarded the player of the year award by Pakistan Football Federation and was declared the best player in the Pakistan Premier League for his performances domestically in the league and internationally at AFC President's Cup in 2013. In 2013 season, Khan won his fourth and last league title with the

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

side.

Dordoi Bishkek

2014 season

Kaleemullah signed for FC Dordoi Bishkek in 2014, who was soon joined by his former club and Pakistan national team players

Muhammad Adil Muhammad Adil Iqbal ( ur, ; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lyallpur FC of Pakistan Premier League and the Pakistan national team. A right-footed player, he usually plays as central midfielder. Earlie ...

and Saddam Hussain, by former Pakistan 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 ...

, after his performances in AFC President's Cup 2013 on an initial five-month contract, wearing the Number 9 shirt. After impressing during this five-month stint, Khan extended his contract by signing a new two-year contract with Dordoi in July 2014. He played a major role in helping the team win a

; the league title, league cup and

, finishing as top goal scorer, scoring 18 goals in 17 appearances in the

with 3 goals out of 3 appearances in the domestic league cup. Khan's remarkable form and greater goals to appearance ratio for Dordoi Bishkek in the Shoro Top League as well as Kyrgyzstan Cup and Kyrgyzstan Super Cup in 2014 edition earned him the best player award in the league by the

Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic The Kyrgyz Football Union (KFU; ky, Кыргыз Футбол Бирлиги, ''Kyrgyz Futbol Birligi'', russian: Кыргызский футбольный союз, ''Kyrgyzskiy futbol'nyy soyuz'') is the governing body of football in Kyrgyzstan ...

. In total, Kaleemullah finished with 21 goals in 21 matches in the 2014 season for his new club in all competitions.

2015 season

Khan made his

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

debut on 9 February 2015 in a 1–0 defeat against Turkmenistan side Ahal in the preliminary round. In an interview with

Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Intern ...

, Khan revealed that he has received letters from

Þróttur Reykjavík Þróttur may refer to: * Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur, also referred to as Þróttur Reykjavík or Throttur, is a sports club from Reykjavík in Iceland. The club runs a association football, football department ...

from Iceland and Chongqing Lifan from China stating that 'they want him to train with the teams for at least a week'. In May, Khan went on trial with United Soccer League side

for their 2015 season campaign.

Sacramento Republic

On 18 June 2015 it was announced that Kaleemullah had signed with the

of the

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

, the third tier of the United States soccer league system on a four-month contract. At that time, it was believed that he was the first Pakistani-born player to sign a contract with a professional soccer club in the United States. About signing Kaleemullah, Republic FC Technical Director Graham Smith said, "The signing of Kaleemullah demonstrates the continued mission of Republic FC to bring the best players from around the world to our Capital City...His scoring prowess is well documented..." He made his debut for the club on 20 June 2015, two days after signing, entering the match as a 66th-minute substitute for captain Justin Braun. The Republic won that match 2–1. During the match, he made several runs and showed his skill on the ball and eye for passing. He later described the match as a "dream debut."

Tulsa Roughnecks

On 16 December 2015,

Tulsa Roughnecks FC Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

announced the signing of Kaleemullah for the

2016 USL season The 2016 USL season was the sixth season of the United Soccer League and the twenty-second season of USSF sanctioned Division III play organized by the United Soccer Leagues. On August 6, 2015, the league announced that the season would consis ...

. In an interview after the move, Kaleemullah said he "couldn't settle in California Sacramento">Sacramento_Republic_FC.html" ;"title="ith Sacramento Republic FC">Sacramento but that he hoped his transfer would reignite hopes of a "dream move" to the MLS. On May 1, 2016, Khan scored his first goal for his club and first goal on American soil. By doing so, he became the first Pakistani football player to play in US and score there. “I finally scored a goal and this was important for me,” Kaleemullah told The Express Tribune. “I played as striker for the first time for Roughnecks and scored. Earlier, I was playing as a winger. So this has given me the confidence that I am good enough. I just want to thank everyone who supported me. My coach was very supportive; he took a chance by letting me play as a striker and I delivered a good performance,” said Kaleemullah. “He was happy for me that I started scoring. He said that this will benefit the team. He also told me that winning or losing is a part of the game and I just need to continue my game.” On 22 December 2016, the ''Dawn Newspaper'' in an interview with Kaleemullah reported that he has joined K-Electric F.C., K-Electric on a loan deal from Tulsa Roughnecks until March 2017.

İzmirspor

On 28 July 2018 Khan signed a contract with Turkish Club Izmirspor. His signing ceremony was attended by club's President Mustafa Gürkan. However, in August 2018, Khan parted ways with izmirspor because he didn't get international clearance certificate.

Igdirspor

Khan went on to the sign a contract with a club Igdirspor which played in the same

Turkish Regional Amateur League The Turkish Regional Amateur League ( tr, Bölgesel Amatör Ligi) is the fifth tier of the Turkish football league system. The tier comprises a number (usually 11-13, varies by season) of groups across Turkey, each consisting of teams grouped ac ...

as Izmirspor did. On September 23, 2018, Khan made his debut for the club in a 4–0 win. Khan scored a goal and provided an assist in that match. On October 15, Khan scored in 68th minute against Cayelispor, it marked as Khan's 100th club career goal, making Khan the only Pakistani footballer to achieve this feat.

Al-Najaf

On 8 March 2019, Khan signed a four-month contract with Iraqi Premier League club Al-Najaf FC for Rs. 5 million. On 4 May, Khan scored his first goal for his club in a 3–2 win over Al-Talaba SC.

Zakho

On, 24 August 2019, Kaleemullah Khan posted two photos regarding his new club but he didn't disclose his new club's name. Later on, In September 2019, it was announced that Kaleemullah signed to Zakho.

International career

Khan represented Pakistan at various youth levels, starting with the under-23s in 2010. He was called up to the under-23 team 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 ...

making his debut in a 6–0 group stage defeat against Thailand. He earned seven caps for the under-23s and scored one goal, the first in a 2–0 thrashing of arch-rivals India. Whilst with the under-23 team, Kaleemullah also represented Pakistan in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and South Asian Games. The following year, Khan's regular appearances for KRL's first team caused Pakistan national team manager

to publicly consider him for a call-up, Khan was named in the squad for a friendly against

. With less opportunity to try out new players, and with the national team facing crucial qualifiers for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, Milosavljević felt that Khan was needed at the national level. He was called in the senior squad for its next get-together, a training session in Lahore in March. Khan earned his first senior cap for Pakistan in a 0–0 draw against

on 4 March 2011 prior to the qualifiers. He made his debut in this game as a substitute at the Punjab Stadium, his home stadium. He was named in the squad for the

2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification phase saw eight teams advance to the final tournament in Nepal. The qualification draw was held on 20 October 2010, in AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Seeding The seedings are based on the 2010 AFC Cha ...

matches against India, Turkmenistan and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

later the same month.

2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers

At the

he scored his first international goal against Macau as Pakistan won the match 2–0 on 21 March 2013.

2018 World Cup qualifiers

Kaleemullah was also called up for the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup against Yemen and played in legs of the matches which were played at neutral venues in March 2015, due to security concerns in their respective countries. Pakistan could not beat the strong Yemen national team and lost 3–1 away in Qatar, and drew 0–0 at the home leg in Bahrain. Pakistan ended up getting knocked out of the World Cup Qualifiers on an aggregate score of 3–1.

2018 Asian Games and SAFF Cup

Khan had a dispute with PFF authorities as the former spoke out on the federation's incompetence which ultimately led him not to be selected for both events. PFF banned the Pakistani players to speak about this matter on any platform. In response Khan, the experienced star striker questioned how PFF could implement such an order considering none of the players are centrally contracted to them. To further complicate matters, PFF's Sardar Naveed Haider Khan accused the striker of signing a contract with Turkish fifth-tier side Izmirspor ‘for the money’ and neglecting national duty. However Khan disagreed by saying “My name was specifically omitted from the list by PFF president because of the statements I’d given about the working of the PFF and it’s very petty-minded of them to do that really.”

Style of play

Khan's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder, a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. As he came through the youth system, he was seen primarily as a midfielder, but since breaking into the first-team he has been used in more forward roles. Both Dordoi Bishkek and the Pakistan national team usually play a

4-2-3-1 In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a Association football pitch, pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the excepti ...

formation, and Khan is most often part of the three attacking midfield behind the central

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the centre for Dordoi Bishkek and on the right or left for Pakistan. He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Khan has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning. He has been compared with Lionel Messi due to his goal scoring record by the local media in Pakistan.

Career statistics

Club

:' *1.Includes statistics from AFC President's Cup and

. *2.Includes statistics from NBP President Cup, KPT-PFF Cup, Kyrgyzstan Super Cup, Ala-Too Cup, and Legend Cup.

International

International goals

U-23

:''Scores and results table list Pakistan's goal tally first.''

Senior

:''Scores and results table list Pakistan's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Khan Research Laboratories * Pakistan Premier League:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

; Runner-up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* PFF Fair Play Trophy: 2013 * KPT–PFF Cup Third Place: 2010 * AFC President's Cup Runner-up:

;Dordoi Bishkek * Shoro Top League:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Kyrgyzstan Cup:

* Kyrgyzstan Super Cup: 2014 *Ala–Too Cup: 2015 K-Electric * NBP President's Cup Third Place: 2017

Country

;

Philippine Peace Cup The Philippine Peace Cup was a four-nation international football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) which involves the national teams of the Philippines and three invitees. The inaugural edition took place in 2012, ...

: Third Place:

Individual

* Pakistan Premier League Top Goalscorer:

(35 goals) * Pakistan Premier League Best Player: 2013 * PFF Player of the Year: 2013 * Kyrgyzstan League Top Goalscorer:

(18 goals) * Kyrgyzstan Football League Best Player: 2014 * First Pakistani football player to be a top scorer for any foreign league outside Pakistan. * First Pakistan home grown player to play Professional Football in America. * First Pakistani to score 100 club career goals (42 outside of Pakistan).

Records

* Record for most Pakistan Premier League goals in a 30-game season: 31 goals * Record for most hat-tricks scored in the Pakistan Premier League in one season: 7 (

) * Record for most goals scored by a Pakistani footballer in Asian competitions (club football): 9 goals * Dordoi Bishkek Record Goalscorer: 18 goals (5th in Ranking)

References

External links

* *
Pakistan national team profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Kaleemullah 1992 births Living people People from Killa Abdullah District Pakistani footballers Pakistani expatriate footballers Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association football forwards Association football midfielders Pakistan international footballers Khan Research Laboratories F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Kyrgyzstan Expatriate soccer players in the United States FC Dordoi Bishkek players Sacramento Republic FC players FC Tulsa players Pashtun people Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in Kyrgyzstan USL Championship players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Najaf FC players Expatriate footballers in Iraq Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in Iraq Asian Games competitors for Pakistan Kyrgyz Premier League players