Azmat Ali

Azmat Ali (আজমত আলী; 15 March 1956 – 29 November 2022) was a Bangladeshi football player and coach.

Club career
In 1976, Azmat impressed during a local tournament in Gazipur against a team that included star players from Mohammedan SC, one of whom, Mohammed Mala, brought him to Dhaka Third Division League club, The Muslim Institute, for the league final against Shajahanpur SC. Despite the defeat in the final, his performance caught the attention of Mohammedan's General Secretary, Aman Chowdhury, who signed him to a Tk 10,000 contract in 1977.

In the first division, the Dhaka League, he missed the league's first phase before making his debut in the Super League against Brothers Union, a club which he would join the following year, after appearing only four times for Mohammedan. During the 1981–82 Aga Khan Gold Cup final against Bangkok Bank, Azmat produced the best performance in his career as Brothers won the tournament as joint champions.

International career
In 1980, Azmat featured for the Bangladesh U19 team during the 1980 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers and went on to represent the team in the main event the following year. In 1981, Abdul Gafur Baloch, the U19 national team coach, gave him the opportunity to play in the first Bangladesh President's Gold Cup with the Bangladesh Red team. Although almost entirely composed of players who had participated in the AFC Youth Championship earlier that year, they managed to outshine the senior national team (Bangladesh Green) and finish as runners-up in the tournament.

In 1982, he made his debut for the Bangladesh national team during Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam International Cup, under coach Gafur Baloch. Azmat captained the national team during both the 1986 Pakistan President's Cup and 1987 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup. He also captained the second-string national team (Bangladesh Green) during the 1986 Bangladesh President's Cup. He was also an integral part of the senior national team's defence line during the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers alongside Kaiser Hamid, AKM Abdul Baten and Imtiaz Sultan Johnny.

Post-playing career
Azmat served as coach of Dhanmondi Club and Bangladesh Navy, following his retirement as a player in 1992.

Death
In June 2018, Azmat was involved in a road accident which left him with severe head injury.

In November 2021, he was handed Tk10 lakh from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the treatment of his heart disease.

On 29 November 2022, Azmat died at his residence in Gazipur Sadar.

Honours
Brothers Union
 * Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1981–82

Mohammedan SC
 * Federation Cup: 1983