Abdullah Shah (footballer)

Syed Abdullah Shah (born 6 February 2001) is a Pakistani professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Afghanistan Champions League club Abu Muslim and the Pakistan national team.

Early career
Shah started his youth career with Mehran FC in 2013, and was selected by the Islamabad under-14 team for youth national championships after trials. In May 2017, Shah was shortlisted in the Islamabad Football Association squad for their tour in Gothia Cup held in Shenyang, China while playing for Mehran. In August 2017, he captained the Islamabad team in the Gothia Cup, where he scored a goal in a 12–0 win against Rising Sun Soccer Academy from India. The team were crowned champions after defeating FC Zhaoqing Lixun from China by 7–6 in the penalties. Shah was also named player of the tournament.

POPO FC
Abdullah then moved to POPO FC, playing often as a right-back, and becoming a regular call up for the senior squad at the age of 16. He was subsequently called by Pakistan Premier League department Khan Research Laboratories in November 2017, but the move seemingly failed to materialise.

Mehran
In 2018, Shah returned to his youth club Mehran FC.

Sui Southern Gas
After a brief stint at Karachi club Abdul FC, he joined the departmental side Sui Southern Gas in 2021. He made 4 appearances in the 2021–22 Pakistan Premier League until the league was cancelled shortly after starting.

Dhivehi Sifainge
In July 2022, he joined Dhivehi Sifainge in the Maldivian Second Division, becoming the second youngest Pakistani footballer to feature in a Maldivian League at the age of 21, after Saadullah Khan who had previously joined Dhivehi Premier League club BG Sports in April 2015 at the age of 20.

Abu Muslim
On 2 February 2024, Shah signed for Afghanistan Champions League club Abu Muslim, joining national team fellow Shayak Dost.

International career
In 2015, Shah represented Pakistan at youth level in the AFC Under-14 Football Festival in Dushanbe.

In August 2022, Shah was called up for a trials with the senior national team. In November the same year, he was included in Pakistan's squad for a friendly against Nepal, Pakistan's first fixture in nearly three-and-a-half years because of the Pakistan Football Federation's suspension by FIFA. He went on to make his debut in the eventual 0–1 defeat. In October 2023 he represented Pakistan U23 in AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Futsal career
Alongside his football career, Shah also played futsal at club level. In July 2017, Shah participated in the Neymar Jr’s 5 tournament with Chitral futsal club Highlanders FC in Brazil. Shah started playing for Team Eighteen in Islamabad since the establishment of the club in 2018. He also played for the futsal section of Abdul FC during his stay at the club from 2020 to 2021.