| Jamil Akhtar | |
| Birth Date: | Unknown |
| Death Date: | Unknown |
| Death Place: | Pakistan |
| Position: | Forward |
| Years1: | 1950–1954 |
| Clubs1: | Rangers FC |
| Years2: | 1950–1953 |
| Clubs2: | Punjab |
| Years3: | 1954–1955 |
| Clubs3: | East Bengal |
| Clubs4: | Pakistan Railways |
| Nationalyears1: | 1952–1955 |
| Nationalteam1: | Pakistan |
| Birth Place: | British India |
Jamil Akhtar (Urdu:) was a Pakistani footballer who played as an inside left forward. Considered as one of the earliest pioneering footballers in Pakistan history,[1] he was the fifth captain in the history of the Pakistan national football team after Osman Jan, Abdul Wahid Durrani, Muhammad Sharif and Moideen Kutty.[2] Akhtar also played for East Bengal in India.[3]
Akhtar played for Lahore club Rangers FC throughout his career.[4] He represented Punjab University football team from 1948 to 1951. In 1950, he played for Rangers FC at the Rovers Cup in 1951 in Bombay. He won the Lahore District Soccer Championship with the club in June 1951.[5] He also represented Punjab in the National Football Championship from 1950 to 1953, captaining the team in the last year. He also played for Pakistan Railways at the National Football Championship.[6] [7] [8] [9]
In 1954, he played in India for the Calcutta Football League club East Bengal.[10] In 1958, Akhtar played for Lahore club Zamindars FC.[11]
Akhtar first represented Pakistan in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament in Ceylon. He also played for Pakistan at the 1953 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.[12]
He also represented Pakistan at the 1954 Asian Games at Philippines. In a preparation match, he scored against a Singapore combined Colony XI in a 4–1 victory on 24 April 1954.[13] He scored a brace against Singapore 6–2 in a group match, where Masood Fakhri had notably scored a hat-trick, and Moideen Kutty scoring the resting goal of the match.[14] [15] Akhtar subsequently became the fifth captain in the history of the Pakistan national football team at the 1954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, scoring a goal against Ceylon in a 2–1 victory.[16]
He also scored in a 4–2 victory against Burma at the next 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. At the exhibition matches at the beginning of the tournament, he scored a hat trick against an East Pakistan XI on 14 December in a 3–1 victory.
Note: Exact figures of Pakistani players before 1989 are not yet known and yet to be researched. Below are goals recorded.
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 April 1954 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore | 2–2 | Friendly | [17] | |||
| 2 | 2 May 1954 | Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines | 1–1 | 6–2 | 1954 Asian Games | |||
| 3 | 2–1 | |||||||
| 4 | 21 December 1954 | Calcutta FC Ground, Kolkata, India | 2–1 | 1954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament | ||||
| 5 | 17 December 1955 | Dacca Stadium, Dhaka, East Pakistan | 4–2 | 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament |