Back غازي صلاح الدين Arabic جازى صلاح الدين ARZ কাজী সালাউদ্দিন Bengali/Bangla Kazi Salahuddin Spanish قاضی صلاحالدین (بازیکن فوتبال) Persian Kazi Salahuddin French Kazi Salahuddin ID Kazi Salahuddin Polish Kazi Salahuddin Portuguese Kazi Salahuddin Turkish
 Salahuddin in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kazi Md. Salahuddin | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1953[1] | ||
| 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 | Dhaka Abahani | 43 | (40) |
| 1975–1976 | Caroline Hill FC | 18 | (0) |
| 1976–1984 | Dhaka Abahani | 103 | (81) |
| Total | 204 | (153) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971 | Shadhin Bangla | ||
| 1973–1983 | Bangladesh | 30 | (8) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Dhaka Abahani | ||
| 1985–1986 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1988 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1988–1989 | Brothers Union | ||
| 1992–1994 | Dhaka Abahani | ||
| 1993–1994 | Bangladesh | ||
| 1994–1994 | Muktijoddha Sangsad | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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.[2] 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 Bangladesh's first professional sports athlete.[3]
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.[4] In international football he has scored 8 goals for the Bangladesh national team in 30 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's 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 1985 and 1992. Salahuddin also had less successful coaching spells with Brothers Union and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC in 1988 and 1994 respectively.[5] 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.[6]
His contribution to football has seen him win numerous accolades, most notably the Independence Day Award in 1996, which is the highest state award in Bangladesh. He was also named as the Sports Writers Association's Best Football Player and Best Coach in 1979 and 1992 respectively.[7]
- ^ Sadi, Al Musabbir (6 May 2023). "Take it from the legend". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "About US". saffederation.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "Goal Programme – Bangladesh Football Federation – 2005". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
- ^ কাজী সালাউদ্দিন: বাংলাদেশের প্রথম সুপারস্টার. Utp al Shuvro (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ কাজী সালাউদ্দিনের জন্মদিন (in Bengali). RTV. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ Rahman, Anisur (1 January 2010). "Salahuddin kept the ball rolling round the year". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "National award eludes most Swadhin Bangla footballers". New Age. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.