# Abdul Jabbar (footballer)

Abdul Jabbar (Urdu: عبدالجبار; 1945 – 25 March 2014), was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a forward. Jabbar played as an inside left forward. He represented the Pakistan national football team from 1967 to 1969, and is the first Pakistani player to score four goals in a single international match. He is also one of the first and few Pakistani footballers to play professional football abroad, joining a club in Turkey.

## Early life

Jabbar was born in 1945 in Shah Baig Line, in the Lyari locality of Karachi. He started playing football from childhood, and started his club career with Bijli Sports Club.

## Club career

He started his senior career with departmental side Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD). He soon became a part of the Karachi division team at the National Football Championship, and later joined Dhaka Wanderers in Dhaka, East Pakistan. He later played for Dhaka Mohammedan, Victoria and EPIDC at the Dhaka First Division League.
After making a good impression with the national team in a match against Turkey at the 1967 RCD Cup, on 6 April 1968, Jabbar along with his national teammate and fellow Lyari player Maula Bakhsh signed for Turkish First Football League club Mersin İdman Yurdu. Both stayed at the club for six months. Jabbar made two appearances with the team against Ankara Demirspor and Hacettepe during the 1967–68 Turkish First Football League.
After the fall of Dhaka, Jabbar joined Pakistan Airlines and continued to play for the team until his retirement from the game.

## International career

Jabbar started his international career in unofficial friendly series against American club Dallas Tornado during their worldwide tour in October 1967. In the first test played in Lahore, Pakistan XI was defeated by 0–2, but the series was levelled with a victory of 4–1 in Dhaka.
His performance led the selectors to include him in the national team for the 1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification in Rangoon in 1967. In the same year he was also part of the national team in the 1967 RCD Cup. He surpassed the hat trick barrier scoring four goals in a 4–7 defeat against Turkey at the tournament, becoming the first Pakistani footballer to do so in an international match.
He also played in unofficial games with the national side against teams from Soviet Union, such as FC Kairat in 1968, the Russian Central Army team in 1969, and in May 1969 when the national side went abroad playing against FC Aşgabat, Zarafshan XI, and Neftyanik. In the same year, he also participated in the 1969 Friendship Cup held in Tehran where the team played against Iraq and Iran, scoring the last winner goal against Iraq in a 2–1 victory.

## Death

Jabbar passed away on 25 March 2014, at the age of 69.

## Career statistics
### International goals

    Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jabbar goal.
List of international goals scored by Abdul Jabbar :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 28 November 1967 | Dacca Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan | Turkey | 1–5 | 4–7 | 1967 RCD Cup |
| 2 | 28 November 1967 | Dacca Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan | Turkey | 2–6 | 4–7 | 1967 RCD Cup |
| 3 | 28 November 1967 | Dacca Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan | Turkey | 3–7 | 4–7 | 1967 RCD Cup |
| 4 | 28 November 1967 | Dacca Stadium, Dacca, East Pakistan | Turkey | 4–7 | 4–7 | 1967 RCD Cup |
| 5 | 10 March 1969 | Amjadiyeh Stadium, Tehran, Iran | Iraq | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1969 Friendship Cup |