Mohammad Shahjahan (footballer)

Mohammad Shahjahan
Shahjahan during his playing days
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Shahjahan
Date of birth 1920
Place of birth Dacca, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Date of death (aged 72)[a]
Place of death Dhaka, Bangladesh
Position Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1935 Victoria SC
1938–1939 East Bengal
1940–1947 Kolkata Mohammedan
1948–1956 Dhaka Mohammedan
Managerial career
1952 Pakistan
1954 East Pakistan
1948–1960 Dhaka Mohammedan
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mohammad Shahjahan (Bengali: মোহাম্মদ শাহজাহান; 1920 – 7 April 1992) was a Bangladeshi football player and administrator. He is only the second East Pakistani, followed by Sheikh Shaheb Ali to coach the Pakistan national team.

Early life

Born in Laxmibazar, Old Dhaka, British India in 1920, Shahjahan's passion for sports developed while studying in St. Gregory's High School. Eventually, he gained admission to Bangabasi College in Calcutta.[1]

Club career

Victoria SC

Shahjahan turned to football with Victoria SC in Dhaka in 1935.[2]

Calacutta League

After moving to Calcutta, he joined Gymkhana team. In 1938, he joined East Bengal in the Calcutta First Division League, playing as the club's inside-right for the club until 1939.[3] The following year, he joined Kolkata Mohammedan, remaining at the club until the partition of India, playing as a outside-left and winning the numerous titles. He also served as club captain during the latter stages of his stint.[1][4]

Dhaka Mohammedan

Following partition, Shahjahan represented Dhaka Mohammedan as a coach-cum-player while also serving in the club's administration.[5] He also served as club captain in 1948, however, after assaulting the referee during a match against E.B. Railway, Shahjahan, along with his teammate Atflaf Hossain, was suspended for the remainder of the season.[6]

Other sports

During his time at Bangabasi College in Calcutta, he competed in the 400-metre and 800-metre sprint events at the Bengal Olympic Athletics meet. He also represented the hockey teams of both East Bengal Club and Kolkata Mohammedan in the Beighton Cup, and participated in several Olympic trials for the India national hockey team.[1] He was also an emerging Kabaddi player, representing his regional team at the All-India Olympic Games.[4]

Coaching career

In 1952, Shahjahan would become the coach and assistant manager of the Pakistan national team for their participation in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.[1][7] In the tournament, Pakistan would win over Sri Lanka and Burma.[8] Pakistan finished with the same number of points in the table and emerged as joint winners of the tournament after their encounter with India ended in a goalless draw.[8] He also coached East Pakistan in the National Football Championship in Lahore in 1954.[9] In 1965, he was included for the East Pakistan Sports Federation coaching committee as an honorary instructor alongside Rashid Ahmed.[10]

Post-playing career

Alongside Khwaja Nooruddin of Kolkata Mohammedan and several other sports personalities, Shahjahan helped form the East Pakistan Sports Federation (EPSF) in Calcutta prior to the partition of India. He served as its assistant secretary, while Nooruddin was the general secretary.[11] The organization was later merged with the East Pakistan Sports Association and reintroduced in 1951, with Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury serving as its president.

Following partition, Shahjahan moved to Dhaka and became the general secretary of Dhaka Mohammedan, a position he held from 1948 to 1960. He inaugurated the Mohammedan club tents in both 1949 and 1957.

In 1956, he helped the club facilitate numerous players who joined from Dhaka Wanderers. In the same year, he was coach alongside Hafiz Rashid and Abbas Mirja and in 1957, Mohammedan won its inaugural First Division league title.[12] He was also team manager when Mohammedan reached the quarter-final of the IFA Shield in 1958.[2]

Shahjahan would go on to become a member of the governing body of the EPSF, also served as the honorary secretary. He would eventually resign in 1967, stating that:

"Today, EPSF is in the grip of politics. EPSF is now the training centre of politics in Dacca."

Mr. Shahjahan's statement after his resignation with the EPSF.[13][14]

For the GANEFO, Shahjahan led the march carrying the banner of East Pakistan.[15] In 1962, he commentated the fourth hockey test match between the Pakistan hockey team and Kenya hockey team.[16]

Following the Independence of Bangladesh, he served as the president of Bangladesh Athletics Federation and secretary of Bangladesh Olympic Association. Shahjahan received the National Award in 1976.[4]

Death

Shahjahan died on 7 April 1992.[4][a]

Honours

Player

Kolkata Mohammedan

Manager

Pakistan

Individual

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Although some news sources indicate Shahjahan died on 3 April, primary source confirm his death on 7 April 1992.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Times of Ceylon 1952.03.14 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Pakistan Observer 1965.06.13 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Team Archives of Quess East Bengal FC | Official Website". www.eastbengalfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "::Sport::15th Anniversary Special". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Yet Another Win For Mohammedans". The Pakistan Observer. 26 June 1956. p. 6.
  6. ^ "The Indian Express 28 Jul 1948". Google Books. p. 7. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1970.06.24 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952-1955". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Sports". The Pakistan Observer. 20 October 1954. p. 6.
  10. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1965.11.30 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  11. ^ "EASTERN PAKISTAN SPORTS FEDERATION". Amrita Bazar Patrika. 13 July 1947. p. 6. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026 – via Endangered Archives Programme.
  12. ^ "Mohammedan Sporting Club: The fall that hurt the most". The Business Standard. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1967.06.03 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1967.06.02 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1965.11.26 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  16. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1962.12.18 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
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