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Zakaria Pintoo, captain of the Shadhin Bangla football team, passed away due to complications from heart disease at a city hospital on Monday morning.
He was 81.
The National Sports Award winner Pintoo had been admitted to the Ibn Sina hospital in the capital on Sunday.
He breathed his last at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital at around 11:45AM on Monday.
He left behind one son, three daughters, relatives, and a host of admirers to mourn his death.
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) confirmed the death of the legendary footballer on Monday.
BFF president, Tabith Awal, its senior vice president, vice presidents, executive members, general secretary, officials, and employees expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Pintoo and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Pintoo was born Naogaon on January 1, 1943. He represented both the Pakistan national football team and the East Pakistan football team, captaining the latter one on numerous occasions.
In 1971, a group of brave, pro-independence footballers formed a team and played 16 matches across India with the aim of garnering public support and raising funds for the Liberation War. The money from these matches were used to support freedom fighters. Pintoo led the team.
After the war, he returned to Bangladesh and took over as the captain of the national team. Under his leadership, Bangladesh took part in the 1973 Merdeka Cup in Malaysia.
In club football, Pintoo represented Mohammedan, one of the most popular clubs in Bangladesh, for a continuous period of 14 years.
In recognition for his contribution to the country’s football, he was accorded with the Independence Award in 1995, and the National Sports Awards in 1978.
BSS added, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday expressed condolences at the death of Zakaria Pintoo.
In a message, the Chief Adviser said he was shocked and saddened to learn that Zakaria Pintoo, a freedom fighter and the captain of historic Swadhin Bangla Football Dal, died on Monday morning.
“As the leader of that legendary team, he toured India to raise money and crucial support for our wartime government in exile. When he was not playing, he would be cheering up for our freedom fighters and emerged as a face of our liberation struggle,” said the chief adviser.
“After the war of independence, Zakaria Pintoo became our first national team captain. He was a legendary central back and a true defender of the Green and Red national colours.
When he ended his two decade-long playing career, he played a crucial role in organising sports. He was an out-and-out sportsman till this death,” Prof Yunus said.
“I pray for the departed soul. My condolences to his bereaved family and the sports fraternity—to whom Zakaria Pintoo was a true legend,” he added.
