Qayyum Changezi

Qayyum Changezi

Changezi in 1958
Personal information
Full name	Abdul Qayyum Khan Ali Changezi[1]
Date of birth	(1935-12-25)25 December 1935
Place of birth	Quetta, British India
Date of death	25 June 2005(2005-06-25) (aged 69)
Place of death	Lahore, Pakistan
Position(s)	Forward, Full-back
Youth career
	Hazara Club Quetta
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1950	Afghan Club Quetta
1953–1959	Balochistan
1955–1956	Karachi Kickers
1950s	Karachi Mohammedan
1956	Hazara Club Quetta
1960s	Quetta
1960s	Faisalabad
1963	Dhaka Mohammedan
1963–1965	Railways
International career
1955–1963	Pakistan
Managerial career
1977	Shaheen FC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abdul Qayyum Khan Ali Changezi (Urdu: عبدالقیوم خان علی چنگیزی; 25 December 1935 – 25 June 2005), commonly known as Qayyum Changezi, was a Pakistani footballer. A versatile player, Changezi played in multiple positions, including forward in the centre or as an inside left, and as full back. Considered as one of the earliest legends in Pakistan football history, he was known for his leadership, free kicks, and goal-scoring abilities.^[2][3]

Early life

Belonging to the ethnic Hazara community, Changezi was born in Quetta in the Baluchistan Agency of British India on 25 December 1935.^[4][5][6]

Club career

Changezi sitting far left with Karachi Kickers during a final in a tournament in Travancore–Cochin state, South India in 1955

He developed an interest in football while attending high school, playing for Hazara Club Quetta in his youth until making his senior debut in 1950 with Afghan Club Quetta.^[7][8] In the 1950s, he toured in club tournaments in Iran and India with Karachi Kickers and Karachi Mohammedan, and in 1956 again with Karachi Kickers and Hazara Club.

Changezi started playing in the National Football Championship from 1953 and was a member of the Balochistan team that won the title in 1956 by defeating Pakistan Railways in Karachi on 11 November 1956, where he scored one goal in the final 2–1 victory, and was declared player of the year.^[3]

Changezi sitting at far right with Dhaka Mohammedan in 1963

Later on in 1959 under his captainship, Balochistan defeated East Pakistan in Hyderabad on 7 November 1959, achieving their second league title.^[3] In the same tournament, he scored 6 goals in the 9–0 victory against Sindh Green. When the National Football Championship structure in Pakistan transitioned from provincial to divisional based clubs, he subsequently represented Quetta, Railways and Faisalabad. Under his captainship, Railways ended up in the second position in 15th and 16th National Championship in 1963 and 1965, after falling twice to Karachi, in the finals held in the cities of Karachi and Peshawar respectively.^[9] In 1963, Changezi represented Dhaka Mohammedan winning the Dhaka League and finishing top scorer of the tournament with 24 goals.^[10]

International career

Changezi (third standing from right to left), with the Pakistan national team in 1955

Changezi made his international debut with the Pakistan national team during the 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.^[3] In his debut match, Changezi scored a hat-trick including two penalty goals against Burma, becoming the second Pakistani player to do so after Masood Fakhri.^[11]

Changezi leading the Pakistan national team

In 1958, Changezi was omitted from the squad for the 1958 Asian Games due to misbehaviour.^[12] The next year he was included in the squad for a tour to Burma. In late 1959, Changezi captained the team in the 1960 Asian Cup qualifiers hosted in Kerala, India, where Pakistan faced Iran, India and Israel twice each in the qualifiers. Although Israel managed to qualify by topping the group, Pakistan achieved a memorable victory over Iran by 4–1 and secure a draw against Israel, finishing in third place in the group, ahead of hosts India but behind Iran.^[3]

Changezi (far left) during a friendly match against Indonesia in 1960

Changezi also captained during the 1960 Merdeka Tournament hosted in Malaya.^[13] Under his captaincy, Pakistan recorded some famous victories including a 7–0 walloping of Thailand, and a 3–1 win over then Asian powerhouses Japan.^[13][14] Although Changezi was not included in the squad for the 1962 edition of the Merdeka Cup, in 1963 Changezi played a series of home friendly games against China under the captainship of Muhammad Umer, marking his final appearances for Pakistan.^[15][16][17]

A few months later during a 1963 global tour, Germany's Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf faced aircraft issues, leading to an unexpected stay in Pakistan.^[14] The Pakistan Football Federation invited the club to play friendly matches against select XI teams from East and West Pakistan. Fortuna enthusiastically accepted, competing against teams like East Pakistan Sports Board XI in Dacca, which included Changezi as captain, where he scored East Pakistan's consolation goal from a long-distance free-kick in a 1–4 defeat.^[14]

Managerial career

In 1977, Qayyum was appointed as manager of the Shaheen FC club which toured in the Afghanistan Republic Day Festival Cup in Kabul.^[18]

Personal life

His younger cousin Younus Changezi also played for the Pakistan national team from the 1960s till early 1970s, and was later appointed as manager of the national team in the 1980s. In 2003, Qayyum Changezi replaced M.N. Jehan as chairman of the selection committee of the Pakistan Football Federation by Arshad Khan Lodhi, following the newly elected president Faisal Saleh Hayat.^[19]

Changezi died on 25 June 2005 in Lahore, due to a heart attack. His dead body was transported to his native city Quetta for burial.^[a]

Legacy

In 2014, the Qayyum Papa Stadium in Mari Abad in Quetta was inaugurated after his name.^[21][22]

Career statistics

International goals

Note: Exact figures of Pakistani players before 1989 are not yet known and yet to be researched. Below are goals recorded.

List of international goals scored by Qayyum Changezi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	17 December 1955	Dacca Stadium, Dhaka, East Pakistan	Burma		4–2	1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament	[11]
2							[11]
3							[11]
4	15 December 1959	Maharaja's College Stadium, Kochi, India	Iran		1–4	1960 AFC Asian Cup qualification	[23]
5	5 August 1960	Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya	Thailand	3–0	7–0	1960 Merdeka Tournament	[24][25]
6	18 August 1960	Singapore	South Vietnam	1–0	2–2	Friendly	[26]

Honours

Balochistan

• National Football Championship: 1956, 1959

Pakistan Railways

• National Football Championship runner-up: 1963, 1965

Dhaka Mohammedan

• Dhaka League: 1963

Individual

• 1963 − Dhaka League top scorer (24 goals)

See also

• List of Pakistan national football team captains
• List of Pakistan national football team hat-tricks

Notes

1. Although the source indicate he died aged 80, Changezi was born in 1935, dying near the age of 70.^[20]

References

1. "Israel Official Games 1948-1959". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
2. Hyat, Kamila (2014-06-29). "The years of dreams". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
3. Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part I". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
4. InpaperMagazine, From (2013-01-13). "In-depth: Pakistan football". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
5. Baloch, Shezad (2014-04-02). "Festivity in the air: Making headlines for the right reasons". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
6. Wasim, Umaid (2021-11-26). "Balochistan's boundless passion for football has nowhere to go but an event is keeping the flame alive". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
7. "Unique Star School edge Ibrahim Ali Bhai School". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2024-05-30. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
8. "Leisure Leagues set to hold school football". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
9. "Pakistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
10. Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
11. "Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952-1955". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2022-08-20. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
12. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Saturday 10 May 1958" – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "SPORTS WORLD: End to gloomy era of Pakistan football in sight". Brecorder. 2006-11-18. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
14. Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
15. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Thursday 31 January 1963". Retrieved 2024-05-22 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Monday 04 February 1963". Retrieved 2024-05-22 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Thursday 07 February 1963". Retrieved 2024-05-22 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Afghanistan Republic Day Festival Cup (Kabul, Afghanistan)". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
19. "Absent Faisal Saleh Hayat officially declared PFF chief". DAWN.COM. 2003-08-29. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
20. "Footballer dies". DAWN.COM. 2005-06-27. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
21. Independent, The (2019-08-03). "Fear and persecution in Pakistan's Hazara community". Head Topics. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
22. "'Under siege' - Fear and defiance mark life for Pakistan's minority Hazaras". inkl. 2019-07-04. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
23. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Wednesday 16 December 1959" – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "But they don't look the best, The Straits Times, 6 August 1960, Page 16". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
25. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Saturday 06 August 1960" – via British Newspaper Archive.
26. "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Saturday 20 August 1960" – via British Newspaper Archive.

Bibliography

• Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.

External links

• Qayyum Changezi at National-Football-Teams.com
• 70 Years of Pakistani Football - Qayyum Changezi