Former India football captain Shabbir Ali has been appointed as head of delegation for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup 2027 (qualifiers) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Thanks to AIFF for giving me this honour. Got the chance to serve the nation again after 30 years in a different capacity,” said Shabbir Ali.
“I was the technical director/coach and manager of the Indian national team and pre-Olympic Under-23 team in 1995 and 1996. The team had won the SAF Games at Chennai in 1995 and had also finished runner-up in the SAARC Cup at Colombo in 1995,” Shabbir added.
Shabbir Ali: The Sniper Who Never Missed — Still Hitting Life’s Biggest Targets At 70
Shabbir had played for the Indian team from 1974 to 1984. He had 100 caps to this credit and scored 30 goals for India. The Hyderabad player captained the Indian team in three tournaments in 1981. Indian were the semifinalists at the Merdeka tournament in Kaula Lumpur. Shabbir also led the Indian team in the Great Wall Cup in Beijing, China, in 1984.
Shabbir had also turned up for the Indian Youth team (Under-19) from 1972 to 1974. He captained India in 1974 and finished joint winners with Iran. This was incidentally the last trophy won by India at the Asian level. Shabbir was the top scorer in the tournament with five goals.
Shabbir, who is a Dhyan Chand awardee, had coached Mohammedan SC, Salgaocar SC, Fransa FC, Mahindra, Peerless SC, Abbas Union FC and Godavari FC. He also managed the state teams of Goa, Bengal and Telangana.
