Sharafat Ali (; born 1 June 1966) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a striker. Ali was praised for his goalscoring abilities, and is credited for scoring Pakistan's first ever goal in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the country's first participation in 1989.
Starting his youth career with local club Pak Fighters, Ali won the 1981 National Youth Championship with the regional Multan Division youth team. He later represented departmental side WAPDA throughout his career at the National Football Championship, winning two national titles.
Ali was a key player for Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s, initially standing out as a regular goal scorer in the 1984 Merdeka Tournament. In the 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Ali scored a hat trick in a 4âÂÂ1 victory against North Yemen, registering Pakistan's lone win in the competition. In 1987, Ali was appointed as captain for the 1987 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament. On 10 February 1989, Ali became the first player to score a goal for Pakistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in their first participation in the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification, scoring through a penalty kick in a 1âÂÂ4 loss against UAE. He also won the 1989 and 1991 South Asian Games with Pakistan.
Ali was born on 1 June 1966 in Multan in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The second oldest among four brothers, Ali matriculated from Government Pilot Secondary School in Multan.
Ali started playing football at the age of 10, joining Pak Fighters Football Club. During the 1981 National Youth Championship, Ali played for the Multan Division youth team, and scored the lone goal in the final against Sargodha Division youth team.
In 1983, Ali joined WAPDA, helping the side winning their first trophy in their first participation in the 1983 National Football Championship, scoring in the Penalty shoot-out which resulted in a 5âÂÂ4 final victory against Habib Bank. Sharafat was also part of WAPDA during the National Games, winning gold in the 24th edition of the National Games in 1992 and winning silver the following year.
Ali was first selected for the Pakistan national football team at the 1982 Bangladesh President's Gold Cup. The next year, he played in two test matches against the visiting South-West Region German team in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
Ali participated in the 1984 Merdeka Tournament, scoring in a 1âÂÂ2 defeat against South Korea U20, Primera B XI of Argentina, and two goals in a 2âÂÂ0 victory against Algeria U20. In the 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Ali scored a hat trick in a 4âÂÂ1 victory against North Yemen, registering Pakistan's lone win in the competition. The next year, he scored two goals at the 1985 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament held in Peshawar in a 1âÂÂ0 victory against Nepal and a 1âÂÂ3 defeat against Bangladesh. He also participated in the subsequent 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament held in Islamabad.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics qualification in April 1987, he scored a brace in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Nepal. In 1987, Ali was appointed as the 36th captain of the Pakistan national team when Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament was held in Lahore. His long range goal in the 1987 South Asian Games against Maldives placed Pakistan second in the group stages, to advance to the third place match against Bangladesh where he again scored the lone goal in the 41st minute to win the bronze medal for Pakistan.
On 10 February 1989, Ali became the first player to score a goal for Pakistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in their first participation in the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification, scoring through a penalty kick in the 83rd minute in a 1âÂÂ4 loss against UAE. Ali played in the 1989 South Asian Games, scoring a goal in a 2âÂÂ0 victory against Maldives along with Qazi Ashfaq, as Pakistan passed the group stages and won the title by defeating Bangladesh in the final.
In the subsequent 1991 South Asian Games in Colombo under the captainship of Ghulam Sarwar, Ali again won the gold with Pakistan, after defeating Maldives in the final by 2âÂÂ0. Ali thus became the only Pakistani player to represent the national team in three South Asian Games editions and to have a medal in all three.
Ali served as coach of WAPDA from 2011 to 2012 in absence of Khalid Butt.