Fourth Pakistani Footballer Joins Afghanistan’s Champions League


Midfielder Zain-ul-Abideen has signed up for Afghanistan’s football club, Abu Muslim FC, for the Afghan league which is scheduled to start soon.

Zain is all set to feature for the Farah-based club in the third season of the Afghanistan Champions League, where he joins fellow Pakistani winger, Shayek Dost, and center-back, Abdullah Shah.

The midfielder is the latest addition to Pakistan-based footballers who will be participating in the ACL. The previous was left-back, Junaid Shah, who penned a contract with Paktia Wahidi FC for a year where he will represent them in the league and different cup competitions.

Shayek paved the way for the green shirts in December as he became the first Pakistani footballer to sign a contract in this season’s ACL. His defensive prowess was hailed by many, as he helped the Pakistani left-back, Junaid Shah, in defensive situations against Cambodia. Shayek ran up and down the field, helping the team in transitional play.

One of the reasons why Abu Muslim FC signed Dost is due
to a defensive issue the club encountered last season. The club came second in the previous season of ACL, with defensive woes being the reason they didn’t win the competition.

A total of 12 teams played in last season’s ACL, but only two finished the competition without a loss.

Abu Muslim wants someone who restricts the other team from scoring freely. Their attacking statistics were almost identical to the team above them, but the defending statistics were twice as bad.

Source: Pro Pakistani