Abdul Ghafoor (footballer)

Abdul Ghafoor Majna
Personal information
Full name	Abdul Ghafoor
Date of birth	3 August 1938
Place of birth	British India
Date of death	7 September 2012
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1958-1959	Karachi Kickers (West Pakistan)	??	(?)
1960	Mohammedan Sporting Club (Kolkata)	??	(?)
1961	Mohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka)	??	(?)
1962-1964	Victoria SC (East Pakistan)	??	(?)
1965-1969	Mohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka)	??	(?)
National team
1959-1967	Pakistan	??	(?)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Abdul Ghafoor Majna (3 August 1938 – 7 September 2012) was a Pakistani professional footballer. He played as a midfielder. Ghafoor was also a former captain of the Pakistan national football team.

Career overview

Ghafoor was nicknamed the "Pakistani Pele" and "Black Pearl of Pakistan". Ghafoor was part of Pakistan national football team setup when it was in the top 10 teams of Asia. According to The Express Tribune, he was "the last man alive from the days when the Pakistan football team was good enough to beat USSR, UAE and China – a far cry from the state of affairs right now.".^[1]

Club career

Ghafoor played in Dhaka in the 1960s and before that, he represented Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) in the Calcutta League, India and Karachi League, Pakistan.

Personal life

Ghafoor was born in British India. When playing for Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) in Dhaka, Ghafoor met his wife Sabiha and then later they married. His wife Sabiha also has a predilection for football. Ghafoor and his wife Sabiha then later lived their life in Lyari, Karachi. Ghafoor sons' are Footballers too. His son Abdul Ghani has played football for different domestic teams. And his another son Abdul Waheed has also played for Pakistan Army FC.

Death

Ghafoor died in Lyari, Karachi after a prolonged battle with paralysis and disease as a poor broken man. Ghafoor left behind 2 sons and 3 daughters as mourners.^[2]^[3]