Malika-e-Noor announces retirement from women’s football team

LAHORE: Malika-e-Noor, the most experienced player in Pakistan’s women’s football history, officially retired from international football on Friday.

As a defender, she played an important role since joining the inaugural Pakistan women’s football team in 2010.

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On image-sharing social media platform Instagram, Noor admitted that retiring was the toughest decision she has ever made. While she had hoped to extend her tenure with Pakistan, evolving circumstances prompted her to announce her retirement.

She described it as a challenging choice and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent Pakistan and thanked her family, teammates, coaches, and fans for their steadfast support throughout her career. Despite stepping away from international competition, she would continue to play domestic football.

Looking ahead, Malika-e-Noor aims to continue her football journey at the club level. She stressed the importance of nurturing young athletes, especially girls, to pursue their aspirations in sports.

Malika-e-Noor was currently serving as the vice-captain of the Pakistan women’s national football team when she announced her retirement. She has also captained the Pakistan Army team.

As of 2023, she has played over 200 professional matches, scoring a total of 98 goals across various competitions.

Her career highlights include scoring the opening goal for Young Rising Stars in the final of the 2010 National Women Football Championship. The footballer led her team to a 2-0 victory over WAPDA and earned the Top Scorer award.

She continued to showcase her scoring prowess and leadership throughout her career, notably scoring 16 goals in six matches for Pakistan Army at the 2014 championship. She was awarded the Misha Dawood Trophy for the tournament’s best player.

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On the international stage, Malika-e-Noor made history by scoring Pakistan’s first competitive victory goal from a penalty spot in the 2010 SAFF Women’s Championship against Maldives.