Masood Fakhri

Masood Fakhri (Punjabi: مسعود فخری; 16 November 1932 – 6 September 2016) was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a left winger.^[2][3][4][5] A former Pakistani international, Fakhri was well known for his time with Indian Kolkata clubs East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.^[6][7][8] He was the first Pakistani footballer to score a hat trick in an international game at the 1954 Asian Games, and the first player from South Asia to play in England, where he played for Bradford City before prematurely retiring.^[9]

Fakhri was born on 16 November 1932 in Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, In 1955 Saadat Hasan Manto’s highly-acclaimed short story Toba Tek Singh immortalised this town.^[2]

Fakhri began his career with Pakistan Raiders Club of Lahore in 1949.^[10] At the age of 18, he represented Punjab in the second National Football Championship held at Quetta in 1950, he won the third season played two years later in 1952.^[11][12] He also returned to Raiders Club the same year to play in the Rovers Cup in India where his team lost to Bombay Amateurs in the semi-finals, and they also beat Central Railways in the third place match.^[10][13][14]

He started playing for clubs in India in 1952, and was 20-year-old when he signed with Calcutta Football League side East Bengal.^[15][16][17] During his first season with the club, Fakhri helped his side win the Calcutta Football League and the prestigious Durand Cup.^[18][19][2] Fakhri usually played as a Left winger and had scored 14 goals in the Calcutta Football League alongside scoring the winning goals in his first two matches against East Bengal's biggest rivals, Mohun Bagan, and thus became a fan favorite among East Bengal supporters.^[2] Fakhri also helped the team win the DCM Trophy.^[2][20]

From April to May 1953 he also returned to Pakistan representing North-Western Railway at the National Football Championship.^[10][12] Upon returning to Kolkata, he was part of the East Bengal team that played against German side Kickers Offenbach the following month.^[21] He also scored 5 goals in the Calcutta Football League.

In August 1953, he was part of the East Bengal senior team's tour to the World Youth Festival in Bucharest, where he scored a goal against Lebanon XI in their 6–1 win and against Germany in the third-place play-offs in a 2–5 defeat.^[22] He also featured in the friendly against FC Torpedo Moscow the same month.^[23][24] The team returned from Europe to participate in the IFA Shield and reached the final where they faced Indian Cultural League. In August 1953, the Pakistan Football Federation reportedly prohibited Pakistani players from playing in India without a permit,^[25][26] but East Bengal still fielded Masood Fakhri and fellow countryman Niaz Ali, stating they had received permission from the PFF. On 3 October 1953, in the 1953 IFA Shield final against the Indian Cultural League on the third replayed final, Fakhri scored for East Bengal in the 34th minute.^[27] The game would result in a 1–1 tie.^[28] The I.C.L. team lodged a complaint with the Indian Football Association immediately after the match against East Bengal over their fielding the Pakistani players.^[28] On 11 October 1953, the IFA announced I.C.L. as the winners of the IFA Shield^[29][30] after East Bengal failed to produce a written permit for the Pakistani players from the PFF and suspended the club from all football activities until 31 December 1954.^[29] East Bengal challenged the decision and took the IFA to court after receiving a letter from the PFF president, Dr. A. M. Malik on 25 October 1953,^[31] and had their suspension revoked.^[32]

In 1954, when the National Football Championship was held in Lahore, he returned to his former team this time featuring under the name of Punjab Blue, finding the net in the 80th and 85th minutes against North-Western Railway in the final winning by 3–0.^[10]

In 1955, Fakhri signed with another Kolkata club, Mohammedan. He helped the team reach the 1955 Rovers Cup final, finishing as runners-up, losing to Mohun Bagan. The following year, he would go on to win the tournament with Mohammedan Sporting against Mohun Bagan where the team avenged their loss from the previous year.^[2][33]

Fakhri was contacted by Bert Flatley, an English Football Association (FA) coach, regarding the idea of joining Bradford City. The team participated in the English football league's third division. On August 8, 1956, Fakhri officially signed a contract with the team following negotiations with Peter Jackson, the manager of the club at the time. In addition to paying his fare of £120, City secured him employment at Bradford's textile factories. He left football early for personal reasons in 1957 after just one season with the team.^[2][34]

Fakhri made his international debut with Pakistan at 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament against Ceylon.^[35] The same year, he played in a friendly match against Iran in Karachi which resulted in a draw.^[10] He also played in the 1954 and 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.

Fakhri had most notably scored a hat-trick and became the first player from Pakistan to do so as his national team thumped Singapore 6–2 in a group stage match at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines. He completed the hat-trick in 5 minutes, scoring at the 42nd, 43rd and 47th minutes of the match.^[36] He had also scored goals against India and Myanmar during the period.^[3]

Fakhri married Rhoda Eileen and lived in Llanrwst, North Wales. His brother's family settled in Great Britain as well.^[2]

After retiring from football, Fakhri lived out the rest of his life living in Bangor Teifi, Wales.^[2] He died in September 2016 at the Gwynedd Hospital in Wales.^[37][11]

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fakhri goal.

• National Football Championship:
  • Winners (2): 1952, 1954

• Calcutta League: 1952^[40]
• Durand Cup: 1952^[41]
• DCM Trophy: 1952

• Rovers Cup: 1956
  • Runners-up: 1955

• Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament: 1952^[42][43]
• Runners-up: 1955
• Third place: 1954^[44]

• List of footballers who achieved hat-trick records
• List of Pakistan national football team hat-tricks
• List of foreign players for SC East Bengal

• Roy, Gautam (1 January 2021). East Bengal 100. Allsport Foundation. ISBN 978-8194763109.
• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• Chatterjee, Partha. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Post-colonial Histories (Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1995).
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.

• Masood Fakhri at National-Football-Teams.com