Rahmat Akbari (born 20 June 2000) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Georgian Erovnuli Liga club Torpedo Kutaisi and the Afghanistan national football team.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdulnaser Rahmat Akbari | ||
| Date of birth | 20 June 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Jaghori, Afghanistan | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Torpedo Kutaisi | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Logan Lightning | |||
| Brisbane Strikers | |||
| 2015–2016 | QAS NTC | ||
| 2017–2018 | Brisbane Roar | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | Brisbane Roar NPL | 46 | (9) |
| 2017–2023 | Brisbane Roar | 82 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | → Melbourne Victory (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Melbourne Victory NPL (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2023– | Torpedo Kutaisi | 24 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Australia U17 | 15 | (6) |
| 2023– | Afghanistan | 7 | (1) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024 | |||
Club career
editBrisbane Roar
editOn 6 October 2017, Akbari made his professional debut in the opening round of the 2017–18 season, replacing Nicholas D'Agostino in the 83rd minute as Brisbane Roar were beaten 2–0 by Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
Melbourne Victory
editAkbari joined Melbourne Victory on a one-year loan in October 2018.[2][3][4] He made his Victory debut on 11 November 2018, replacing James Troisi in the 89th minute as they demolished the Central Coast Mariners 4–1 at home.
Return to Brisbane Roar
editOn 4 June 2019, it was announced that Akbari had returned to Brisbane following the completion of his contract.[5]
Torpedo Kutaisi
editOn 28 June 2023, Georgian top-flight club Torpedo Kutaisi announced it had signed Akbari on a 1.5-year contract.[6]
International career
editDue to his Afghan heritage, Akbari is available to represent Afghanistan national football team. On 7 March 2022, he reportedly accepted a call-up for Afghanistan to play in two hybrid friendly matches.[7]
Akbari was called up to the Afghan side to play Bangladesh in Dhaka in September 2023.[8] He made his debut in their 1–1 draw against Bangladesh at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on 7 September.
Personal life
editBorn in Jaghori, Afghanistan to an ethnic Hazara family, Akbari was raised in Pakistan for the first five years of his life, before his family migrated to south-east Queensland as refugees in 2005.Coming to Australia and playing football with his brothers at the local park. He ended up discovering football at the age of 8. This is where he first played for Beenleigh Lions. He eventually moved onto Logan Lightning and he played with them for several years before joining the Brisbane Strikers[9]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 15 May 2024[10]
- Note - also played for the Brisbane Roar NPL side in 2017 and 2018 seasons however the statistics can no longer be found on the competition website.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brisbane Roar NPL | 2019 | NPL Queensland | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Brisbane Roar | 2017–18 | A-League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 26 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | A-League | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 25 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| Total | 82 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 3 | ||
| Melbourne Victory (loan) | 2018–19 | A-League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Torpedo Kutaisi | 2023 | Erovnuli Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 125 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 137 | 3 | ||
- ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League
International goals
edit| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 March 2024 | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati, India |  India | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
editAustralia U17
References
edit- ^ "Rahmat Akbari". Brisbane Roar FC. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Rahmat Akbari". Melbourne Victory. Football Federation Australia. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Signing news: Victory secure exciting teenager Barnett". A-League. Football Federation Australia. 4 June 2019.
Rahmat Akbari was on loan at Victory from Roar for the 2018/19 Season
- ^ Rugari, Vince. "Victory sign exciting teen Akbari in time for A-League kick-off". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Jay Barnett". Melbourne Victory. Football Federation Australia. 4 June 2019.
- ^ "Welcome Rahmat Akbari" (in Georgian). Torpedo Kutaisi. 28 June 2023 – via Facebook.
- ^ Lewis, Dale (7 March 2022). "Aussie Akbari accepts Afghanistan call-up". FTBL. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Bangladesh face Afghanistan in first match tomorrow | Sports". BSS. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Cormack, Michael (22 July 2015). "Edens Landing teen Rahmat Akbari finds peace on the football field after migrating to Australia". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Rahmat Akbari at Soccerway
- ^ "Vietnam − Australia Match Summary" (PDF). ASEAN Football Federation. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
External links
edit- Rahmat Akbari at National-Football-Teams.com
- Rahmat Akbari at Global Sports Archive
- Rahmat Akbari at Soccerway