Zohib Islam Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri (; born 15 February 1990) is an Afghan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Over his two-decade career, he became a pivotal figure in Afghan football, representing clubs across Asia and North America while captaining the Afghanistan national team. Known for his defensive resilience and leadership, Amiri earned 71 caps and scored six goals for his country. He captained Afghanistan to their historic 2013 SAFF Championship victory, solidifying his legacy as one of Afghanistan's most iconic footballers.

Early life Amiri was born on 15 February 1990 to an ethnic Hazara family in Kabul, with his family originally hailing from Bamyan. Growing up he played football often on the streets of Char Qala in eastern Kabul, using a homemade ball made of rolled up fabric stitched together. During the Taliban rule he often witnessed executions at the national stadium.

After rising tensions in Kabul, Amiri's family moved to Karachi in Pakistan as refugees, where he eventually joined an amateur team at the age of twelve at the Agha Khan Sports Academy, along with his elder brothers, as a striker. After Hamid Karzai took over as president of Afghanistan, his family returned to Afghanistan in March 2005 for a cousin's wedding, joining a local club named Shoa Kabul FC.

Club career

Early career After playing for Shoa Kabul FC, he played for Kabul Bank from 2007 until 2009, which provided financial stability to players during the war in Afghanistan. He later played at Ferozi from 2009 until 2011.

Mumbai FC Amiri joined Mumbai FC in 2011, and quickly became one of the star players at the club. Following his impressive performances during the 2012–13 I-League he received the award for the fan's players on the season. Despite reviving this prestigious award his contract with Mumbai FC was not renewed and Amiri began thinking of moving to Bahrain or Oman to play club football, but ultimately decided to stay in India.

Dempo SC On 11 January, Amiri along with Tolgay Özbey signed for Indian club Dempo on a one-year contract, and received shirt number 18. He made his debut against Rangdajied United and scored. On 7 April he was involved in an ugly brawl in a match between Dempo SC and his former club Mumbai FC.

On 30 May both Amiri and Özbey signed extensions with Dempo.

On 4 April 2015, he scored two goals, including one only one minute from time to salvage a 2–2 draw with Sporting Goa.

DSK Shivajians In January 2016, Amiri announced signing a contract with Indian football club DSK Shivajians. He finished the season with DSK Shivajians last but did not relegate with his team because other clubs withdraw from the league.

Chennai City In January 2017, Amiri joined Chennai City FC in the Indian I-League.https://web.facebook.com/photo.phpfbid=352888461765264&set=a.104241199963326.1073741829.100011323381767&type=3&theater[author=Mustafa9127 ] Chennai City FC players (A to Z) Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 March 2021. He left after disagreement with the coach.

New Radiant In January 2018, Amiri signed for Maldivian club New Radiant, which played at the top tier Dhivehi Premier League.

Blainville In 2019, he briefly played with A.S. Blainville in the Canadian Première ligue de soccer du Québec, playing in cup matches, earning a red card in one.

Gokulam Kerala On 2 November 2019, it was announced that Amiri joined Gokulam Kerala for 2019 i league.

Return to Blainville Amiri also played with Blainville in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Real Kashmir

In 2021, ahead of the 2021–22 I-League season, Amiri joined Real Kashmir. He also appeared with the club in 2021 IFA Shield.

Later career Amiri made his third return to Blainville in 2021, playing for the club until 2024. He lastly returned to his home country, joining Afghanistan Champions League club Abu Muslim in October 2024, helping the side to clinch the 2024–25 season title. Amiri officially announced his retirement from football at the end of the season, after a controversial 8–0 victory against Adalat Farah which secured the league title for his team at the end of the competition amid allegations of match-fixing.

International career Amiri made his debut in the 2005 SAFF Gold Cup against Maldives. He was part of the Afghanistan squad for the 2011 SAFF Championship, where they reached the final for the first time. Wearing number 3 he contributed many memorable performances, including scoring one of the goals in Afghanistan's biggest ever victory over Bhutan.

Two years later Amiri served as captain for Afghanistan at the 2013 SAFF Championship, and was the rock of which the Afghan defense was built on. He scored goals in a 3–0 win over Bhutan and a 3–1 win over Sri Lanka. He played a crucial role as Afghanistan made it to the final for a second consecutive time an achieved a 2–0 victory against India.

In May 2014 Amiri captained the squad to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives. On 22 May he scored the first goal of the game with a bullet header in Afghanistan's 3–1 victory over Turkmenistan at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. This was also Afghanistan's first every victory at the AFC Challenge Cup in eight attempts. After Afghanistan's 0–0 draw with Laos that confirmed their progression out of the group stage, an accident occurred while the Afghan players were being driven back to their hotel. Amiri suffered minor injuries, along with Faisal Sakhizada, Ahmad Hatifi, Balal Arezou, and Mustafa Azadzoy, the latter of which will have to take three weeks off to recover, missing the semi-finals against Palestine. Former coach Mohammad Yousef Kargar and current coach Erich Rutemöller also suffered minor injuries.

Career statistics

International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAfghanistan2006102007202008802009302010102011121201392201482201741201830201970202150202230202310202440Total716 Scores and results list Afghanistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Amiri goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Zohib Islam AmiriNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 7 December 2011 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India 2–0 8–1 2011 SAFF Championship2 2 September 2013 Halchowk Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal 1–0 3–0 2013 SAFF Championship3 4 September 2013 Halchowk Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal 2–1 3–14 14 May 2014 Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait 1–3 2–3 Friendly5 22 May 2014 Addu Football Stadium, Addu City, Maldives 1–0 3–1 2014 AFC Challenge Cup6 10 October 2017 Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2–2 3–3 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours

Afghanistan SAFF Championship: 2013

Real Kashmir IFA Shield: 2021

References

External links

Zohib Islam Amiri archives at Khel Now