Abdul Jabbar (; 1945 â 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 one of the first and few Pakistani footballers to play professional football abroad, joining a club in Turkey.
Jabbar was born in 1945 in Shah Baig Line, in the Lyari locality of Karachi.
Jabbar started playing football from childhood, and started his senior club career with Bijli Sports Club at the regional Karachi First Division League in 1962. He also represented the Karachi Division team at the National Football Championship.
Jabbar moved to East Pakistan based departmental side PWD Sports Club in 1964, and moved to Victoria SC the next year. He later represented EPIDC and Dhaka Mohammedan. During his stay in the Dhaka League, he also represented Dacca Division at the National Football Championship.
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 ðdman Yurdu. Both stayed at the club for six months. Jabbar made two appearances with the team against Ankara Demirspor and Hacettepe during the 1967âÂÂ68 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.
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 0âÂÂ2, but the series was levelled with a victory of 4âÂÂ1 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 scored a hat trick in a 4âÂÂ7 defeat against Turkey at the tournament.
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 Aà Âgabat, 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 2âÂÂ1 victory.
Jabbar died on 25 March 2014, at the age of 69.