Wazed Gazi

Wazed Gazi (; 1931 – 13 September 2018) was a Bangladeshi football player and coach.

Early life Wazed Gazi was born in 1931 in Barasat, British India. His ancestral home is in the Dhalbaria Union of Satkhira District. Gazi's father, Soleman Gazi, worked for the Calcutta-based Jessop & Company, and thus, Gazi spent his childhood in Calcutta. Eventually, Gazi began working for the West Bengal State Electricity Board on a monthly salary and also represented them in the West Bengal Office Football League. In 1955, he began participating in the Third Division of the Calcutta Football League with Victoria Club.

He was a member of the East Pakistan football team that won the King Mahendra Cup in Nepal in 1970.

Gazi also represented the Jessore District football team and was part of the team that triumphed in the Sher-e-Bangla Cup in 1976. Gazi notably led the Jessore Zonal team against the touring Dinamo Minsk in 1973. He also played against the Soviet club while representing Dhaka XI. In 1981, he acted as the assistant coach of Arambagh KS only during Nepal's ANFA Cup and helped them finish runners-up. Gazi joined Arambagh permanently as coach in 1984. He had numerous coaching stints at the club, the longest lasting from 1996 to 2002. The team finished fourth place in the eight team tournament. He also worked in the lower divisions, guiding Shantinagar Club to promotion to the Dhaka First Division Football League (second–tier) as the champions of the Second Division in 1994.

In 2005, he won the domestic double with Brothers Union, clinching both the Premier Division League and Federation Cup titles.

In 2007, Gazi returned to Sheikh Russel KC as coach for the inaugural professional league season. He spent two seasons at the club, guiding them to a fourth and third-place finish, respectively. Gazi retired from coaching after guiding Arambagh to a fifth-place finish in the 2009–10 Bangladesh League.

In 2011, Gazi was appointed technical advisor to Team BJMC. However, he left the role after falling ill during the club's 2013 King's Cup tour in Bhutan.

Death On 31 January 2012, Gazi was put on life support at Labaid Hospital in Dhaka. Although he soon recovered, he was forced to distance himself from football and left his role as the technical advisor of Team BJMC the following year.

On 13 September 2018, Gazi died at his residence in Jessore, Bangladesh.

Honours Player Team BJMC Dhaka First Division League: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973 All-Pakistan Ismail Gold Shield: 1967, 1968, 1969 Independence Day Cup: 1967

Dhaka Mohammedan Dhaka First Division League: 1975

Jessore District Sher-e-Bangla Cup: 1976

East Pakistan King Mahendra Cup: 1970

Coach Shantinagar Club Dhaka Second Division League: 1993–94

Brothers Union Dhaka Premier Division League: 2005 Federation Cup: 2005

Individual Sports Writers Association's Best Coach Award: 1989