Jaffar Khan

Jaffar Khan is a Pakistani football manager and former goalkeeper who represented the Pakistan national football team. He currently serves as the head coach of Pakistan Army F.C.

Early life and education

Khan was born on 20 March 1981 in Paniala, which is located in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. He belongs to an ethnic Pashtun family. At the age of 16, he began his football journey by playing club football with Khyber Club Paniala.

Career

Khan entered the Pakistan Army in 1998 through a sports quota. He played for Pakistan Army F.C. from 1998 until 2019. In 2000, he kept a clean sheet during the PFF President's Cup final against Allied Bank to secure a 1–0 victory. He helped his club retain the trophy in 2001 and later set a goalkeeping record between 2006 and 2007 by not conceding a goal through 16 matches.

In 2001, he reportedly received offers from a first division side in Korea and a second division club in the UK. However, his superiors in the Pakistan Army did not grant him permission to join these clubs.

The national team manager John Layton discovered Khan in early 1999 while managing the Pakistan youth team. He featured at the 2000 AFC Youth Championship in Tehran and earned Man of the Match honors during a 2–1 win against the United Arab Emirates. His senior international career began with an English tour against Coventry City in 2001. Khan played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification and a friendly series against Sri Lanka in 2002. He also represented the national under-23 team during the 2002 Asian Games.

Khan replaced Haroon Yousaf as the national team captain in November 2003 during a match against Kyrgyzstan. He led the under-23 side to the final of the 2004 South Asian Games where his saves secured a 1–0 win over India. During his tenure, he captained the squad at the 2005 SAFF Gold Cup and the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. In December 2009, he publicly announced his retirement following a fallout with coach György Kottán, though he later returned to captain the under-23 side at the 2010 Asian Games.

His final match for the national team took place against Macau at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification. A knee injury sustained during an Inter-Services Football tournament ruled him out of the 2013 SAFF Championship.

After retiring from active play, Khan obtained an AFC License C and completed a specialized goalkeeping course in Bahrain. He served as the goalkeeping coach for the Pakistan national team from 2014 to 2015. In 2019, he became the goalkeeping coach for Pakistan Army F.C. and was appointed head coach of the club in 2021. In August 2023, he took the role of goalkeeping coach for the Pakistan under 16 national team for the SAFF U16 Championship in Bhutan.

Personal life

Khan served as a Non-Commissioned Officer within the Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army. During the 2007–08 season, he was summoned to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in Congo. While he was away on military duty, the national team lost a match to Iraq by a score of 7–0.

Awards and recognition

He is recognized as one of the most successful goalkeepers in the history of Pakistani football. On 7 May 2009, Khan received the AFC Distinguished Services Award from FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Kuala Lumpur. This honor was presented during the AFC 23rd Congress.