Kazi Salahuddin
Kazi Md. Salahuddin (Bengali: কাজী সালাউদ্দিন; born 23 September 1953) is a Bangladeshi former football player currently serving as the president of South Asian Football Federation and Bangladesh Football Federation. He was a member of the Shadhin Bangla Football Team, which played across India to raise awareness about the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. He played for and captained the Bangladesh national team, retiring in 1983. Salahuddin is the first football player from the country to play abroad in the professional league in Hong Kong and is considered to be Bangladsh's first professional sports athlete.
|
Salahuddin in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kazi Md. Salahuddin | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Dacca, East Bengal, Pakistan (present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh) | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966 | Gamma Sports Association | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968 | Dilkusha SC | 18 | (14) |
| 1969 | Wari Club | 22 | (18) |
| 1970–1972 | Mohammedan SC | 0 | (0) |
| 1972–1975 | Abahani Krira Chakra | 43 | (40) |
| 1975–1976 | Caroline Hill FC | 18 | (0) |
| 1976–1984 | Abahani Krira Chakra | 103 | (81) |
| Total | 204 | (153) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971 | Shadhin Bangla | ||
| 1973–1983 | Bangladesh | 31 | (8) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Abahani Krira Chakra | ||
| 1985–1986 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1988 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1988–1989 | Brothers Union | ||
| 1992–1994 | Abahani Limited Dhaka | ||
| 1993–1994 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1994–1994 | Muktijoddha Sangsad | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In domestic football, he has 139 goals in the Dhaka League and 14 goals in the Dhaka Second Division League. He is the second highest goal scorer in Bangladeshi top-tier football and is one of the two players to have scored 150 goals in domestic football, both his records come second to Sheikh Mohammad Aslam. In international football he has scored 8 goals for the Bangladesh national team in 31 official games. He holds the record of scoring the country's first ever goal at the AFC Asian Cup, coming in their maiden appearance in the tournament in 1980. He has been Dhaka League top scorer five times in 1969, 1973, 1977, 1979 and 1980.
Salahuddin was appointed as the head coach of Bangladesh on four occasions in 1985, 1987, 1993 and 1994. As the coach of his former club Abahani Limited Dhaka he won the Dhaka League in both 1985 and 1992. Salahuddin also had less successful coaching spells with Brothers Union and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC in 1988 and 1994 respectively. As the president of Bangladesh Football Federation, he introduced the Bangladesh Super Cup in 2009 and a second-tier professional league, the Bangladesh Championship League in 2012.
His contribution to football has seen him win numerous accolades, most notably the Independence Day Award in 1996, which is the highest state award given by the country's government. He was also named as the Sports Writers Association's Best Football Player and Best Coach in 1979 and 1992 respectively.