Pakistan International Kaleemullah became the first home-grown player to sign with a US side, after penning a deal with USL Pro League’s Sacramento Republic FC.
The striker, who scored 18 goals in 17 appearances for FC Dordoi Bishkek in the Shoro Liga, had been on trial with the MLS hopefuls for the past month or so and sufficiently impressed coach Preki to earn a contract at the helm.
“The signing of Kaleemullah demonstrates the continued mission of Republic FC to bring the best players from around the world to our Capital City,” said Republic FC Technical Director Graham Smith. “His scoring prowess is well documented, but it may also still take a little time for him to both learn the style of play in the U.S. in addition to Preki’s coaching style.”
The move also marks the fruition of hard work by Kaleemullah’s representative team, Kora Stars, who had been working on transfers for the striker for the past few months. And with the Chaman native finally sealing his move, his agent Adel Saad claims it could be a major turning point for Pakistani football.
“Kaleem is an immensely talented lad and I know that there is a lot of talent in Pakistan, talent waiting to be given a chance. Korastars wants to do something good for Pakistani football.”
Kaleem’s success story has painted a brighter picture of Pakistani football and Kora Stars’ Director of Pakistan and Eastern Operations Taimoor Khan added that their agency will be looking to tap more local talent in the future.
Great achievement. A sign of bright future in football
(Aslam from Lahore)
Newly signed forward Kaleemullah entered for Republic FC in the 66th minute making what is believed to be the first appearance for a Pakistani-born player in a United States professional match. Kaleemullah immediately made an impact, using impressive speed down the middle and creating chances.
In the 80th minute substitute forward Gabe Gissie broke the tie, scoring his first professional goal. Gissie took the ball down the right wing and slotted his shot into the lower left corner of the goal, putting Republic FC up 2-1 for good.
(Aslam from Lahore)
You can watch match of Kaleem ullah in US professional league for Secramento FC here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2elog63_Q
Kaleem ullah is playing a match in US league, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2elog63_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2elog63_Q/////////////////////////https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2elog63_Q