Bashir Ahmed (born 1941) is a retired Bangladeshi international field hockey player and is the first Bengali player to represent the

Pakistan men's national field hockey team The Pakistan men's national field hockey team () represents Pakistan in international field hockey. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the governing body for Sport in Pakistan#Fie ...

. He was also a prominent

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and referee.

Early life

Bashir Ahmed was born in Mahut-tuli area in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. He studied in

Armanitola Government High School Armanitola Government High School is a secondary school for boys in Armanitola, in the old part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It celebrated its centenary in 2004. History This school was established in 1904 by the British government, as an experimental ...

. After he enrolled in the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

, he took part in field hockey, football, cricket and athletics. He was an active sportsman during the late '50s and '60s. The Dhaka clubs he played for included Mohammedan Sporting, Victoria Sporting, Brothers Union and National Bank of Pakistan (now Sonali Bank).

Field hockey career

National Hockey Championship

Bashir represented

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

in the National Hockey Championship for several years. He was also a member of the East Pakistan Sports Federation's hockey team that won its only match in the history of the championship. This match against

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

was played at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

on 1 April 1967.

International matches

In 1962, Bashir played two international matches from the Pakistan field hockey team against visiting foreign hockey teams, becoming the first Bengali player to do so. The games were played against teams of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. Both of these matches were played at

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, where Bashir played at right-out position.

Coaching and umpiring

Bashir was the head coach of the

Bangladesh men's national field hockey team The Bangladesh men's national field hockey team represents Bangladesh in men's international field hockey, and has won the bronze medal three times in the South Asian Games. It is administered by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation. History In Indi ...

at the

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games (), also known as Bangkok 1978 (), were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He coached Dhaka Mohammedan to the 1977-78 Dhaka Hockey First Division League title. In 1982, Bashir served as the coach of the first ever Bangladesh women. He was also an international hockey umpire and umpired in both the 1985 Men's Hockey Asia Cup and the

1989 Men's Hockey Asia Cup The 1989 Men's Hockey Asia Cup was the third edition of the Men's Hockey Asia Cup, the quadrennial international men's field hockey championship of Asia organized by the Asian Hockey Federation. It was held from 20 to 28 December 1989 in New De ...

Football career

Playing career

1961 Pakistan National Football Championship-winning Dhaka Division team

Bashir began his football career with Dhaka SC in the Second Division League. In 1962, he won four titles with

Victoria SC Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division Football League, Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football i ...

, including the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the club sides from leading football nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of the AFC Champions League ...

, Independence Day Tournament, and Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield. In 1959, he was a guest player for the

Dhaka Mohammedan Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka. Founded in 1936, it is one of the oldest and the most successful football club in the country, with a support base in all parts of the country. Th ...

team, which became the first East Pakistani club to lift the Aga Khan Gold Cup. He represented

at the National Football Championship in 1958, 1959, and 1960, emerging as champions in the latter. Bashir was the vice-captain of Dhaka Division during their National Championship triumph in 1961–62. In 1961 and 1963, Bashir represented East Pakistan in exhibition games against

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, scoring during a 1–11 defeat to China in a game held at the

Dhaka Stadium National Stadium, Dhaka () is a multipurpose sports arena and the national stadium of Bangladesh. Located in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, it is predominantly used for football matches and serves as the home venue for the Bangladesh national foo ...

on 24 January 1963. In June 1963, he represented the ''East Pakistan Sports Board XI'' during an exhibition match against Germany's

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

. He also represented the football teams of both

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

and

Jagannath College Jagannath University (JnU) () is a public university located in Sadarghat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded as ''Dhaka Brahma School'' in 1858 and renamed ''Jagannath School'' in 1872, and later renamed ''Jagannath College'' in 1884, the institution w ...

from 1952 to 1967.

Refereeing career

Bashir was a referee in domestic football. In 2008, he served as the chairman of

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānglādesh fūṭbôl fēḍārēshôn'') is the governing body that administers the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national teams, ...

's Referees' Committee.

Honours

Hockey

Victoria SC *Atiqullah Cup: 1958 National Bank of Pakistan *Pakistan Hockey League: 1963–64, 1966–67 Sonali Bank *Shaheed Smriti Hockey Tournament: 1976 Dhaka Mohammedan *Dhaka Hockey First Division League: 1977–78 (as coach)

Football

Victoria SC * Dhaka First Division League: 1962 *

: 1962 * Independence Day Football Tournament: 1962 *Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield: 1962 Dhaka Mohammedan * Dhaka First Division League: 1963, 1965, 1966 *

: 1959 (guest player), 1964 * Independence Day Football Tournament: 1963, 1966 *Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield: 1966 *Liaquat Ali Gold Cup: 1967 East Pakistan * National Football Championship: 1960 Dhaka Division * National Football Championship: 1961–62 Jagannath College *Ronaldshay Shield: 1962

Awards and accolades

* Best Sportsperson Award by the East Pakistan Sports Press Association (1966) * National Sports Award (1980) in field hockey * Grameenphone-Prothom Alo Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) * Star Lifetime Award (2016)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Bashir Living people 1941 births Sportspeople from Dhaka Pakistani male field hockey players Bangladeshi male field hockey players University of Dhaka alumni Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen Bangladeshi men's footballers Men's association football wingers Victoria Sporting Club players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Bangladeshi football referees 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen