Safiullah Khan (
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
,
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
: ; born 13 March 1979) is a
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
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 lea ...
who played as a
forward. Khan made his international debut in 2005, and won the highest goal-scorer award in the
2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers, where he finished as the top-scorer with 5 goals. He is the first Pakistani player to score four goals in a single international match.
Early life
Khan was born in
Dir, in the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
of Pakistan on 13 March 1979.
Club career
Early career
Khan started his career with departmental side Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL) in 2000. After a year, he moved to Allied Bank, where he lastly participated in the inaugural
2004–05 Pakistan Premier League, where the team was dissolved at the end of the season.
Pak Elektron
Khan moved to
Pak Elektron in 2006, where he helped the team achieve the promotion to the top-tier after winning the
2007–08 PFF League.
Khan Research Laboratories
In 2009, Khan moved to
Khan Research Laboratories
The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. Established in 1976, the laboratory is best know ...
, winning the
2009–10 Pakistan Premier League and the
National Challenge Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
.
International career
Khan debut was on 16 June 2005 which was the second game in a series of three games against
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the game finished 1–0 loss to Pakistan.
After a three year absence Khan was selected to play in an
AFC Challenge Cup qualifier against
Brunei
Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
on April 6, 2009. In the match he scored four goals with the game finishing 6–0 in Pakistan's favour,
becoming at the time, the first in Pakistan soccer history to score four goals in an international fixture.
With 5 total goals, he finished as joint top scorer of the qualification round along with
Kasun Jayasuriya. On 8 April 2009 in the same competition Khan scored again in the 2–2 draw against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
Post-retirement
After retirement, Khan participated in the AFC Future Coaches Project programme in 2008 and 2010 under
Gyorgy Kottan in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. He later joined
University of Agriculture in
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
as Assistant Director Sports.
In 2014, he also participated in the ''FATA International Peace Football Cup'' with the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
football team.
Career statistics
International
:''Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Khan goal.''
Honours
Pak Elektron
*
Football Federation League:
2007–08
Khan Research Laboratories
*
Pakistan Premier League
The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ) is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's football clubs. The top tier of the Pakistan football league system, the PPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the PFFL B Division. The ...
:
2009–10
*
Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup
The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized ...
:
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
See also
*
List of Pakistan national football team hat-tricks
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Safiullah
1979 births
Living people
Pakistani men's footballers
Pakistan men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Khan Research Laboratories FC players