Ghulam Abbas Baloch


Ghulam Abbas Baloch, was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a forward. Abbas represented the Pakistan national football team from 1961 to 1963.

Early life

Abbas grew up in a poor family in Saifi Lane, Baghdadi, Lyari. Belonging to the Sheedi community, Abbas' paternal ancestors belonged to East Africa, who came during the Indian Ocean slave trade. His relatives from Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania often came to Pakistan to visit his grandfather, and Bilawal Belgium, a famous banjo musician who also belonged to Abbas's family.
He completed his primary education at SM Lyari School and passed his matriculation examination privately. He studied up to the intermediate level at SM College, earned a BA from Urdu College, and obtained both an LLB and an MA from Karachi University.

Club career

Early career

Abbas plied his trade in numerous clubs in West Pakistan, such Baloch XI, Gul Muhammad Lane, Saifi Lane Club, Nisar Sports Club, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Karachi Port Trust FC, PIA FC.

East Pakistan

In 1962, he joined the East Pakistan-based club Victoria SC and won three titles, including the First Division League, Aga Khan Gold Cup, and Independence Day Tournament. During the Aga Khan Gold Cup final against feeder team for South Korea, Abbas, who played as an inside-left, scored in a 5–1 victory. Prior to his impressive stint at Victoria, Abbas represented Mohammedan SC in 1961, where he won the domestic double in his lone season. He also finished top scorer in the league with Mohammedan with 42 goals including 5 hat-tricks.

Final years

In 1967, Abbas won the All-Pakistan Mohammad Ali Bogra Memorial Tournament while representing KMC, toppling runners-up Mohammedan SC by two points in the four team round-robin tournament.

International career

Abbas received his first callup to the Pakistan national team for three exhibition matches against Burma on home soil. In the second friendly, held in Karachi on 20 January 1961, he scored a brace in a 4–0. Abbas scored the first goal for Pakistan in the Summer Olympics qualifiers against Iran on 4 October 1963. The game held in Tehran ended in a 4–1 defeat, and after Pakistan won their home leg in Karachi by a single goal, they were knocked out of the qualifiers on aggregate score. In 1964, Abbas was selected by the Pakistan national football team for their tour to China.

Post–playing career

Abbas was appointed Pakistan Football Federation General Secretary in 1995, and held that position till 1999. He was also the founding general secretary and Chairman of the Sindh FA. During his time as Sindh FA chairman, Abbas was accused of selecting provincial teams based on personal bias.
On 31 December 2010, the Pakistan Football Federation awarded him with an honorary AFC gold medal.

Personal life and death

Abbas' elder brother Fida Hussain died after an addiction to drugs. His younger brothers, Ghulam Ali was also a footballer, while his other younger sibling Saba Dashtyari was a popular professor who died by gunshot wounds amidst the political turmoil in Balochistan.
Abbas had a profound friendship with fellow teammates Abdul Ghafoor and Abdullah Rahi, who hailed from the same neighbourhood. He died on 4 April 2014 due to a long-term illness. His death was condoled by FIFA president Sepp Blatter and AFC president Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

Honours

Victoria SC
Mohammedan SC
Individual