Maziar Kouhyar

Qamaruddin Maziar Kouhyar (Dari: مازیار كوهيار, born 30 September 1997), is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League North club York City. He is the first Afghan to play professionally in Great Britain.[3]

Maziar Kouhyar
Personal information
Full name Qamaruddin Maziar Kouhyar[1]
Date of birth (1997-09-30) 30 September 1997[2]
Place of birth Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 York City
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2013 Coventry City
2013–2016 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Walsall 21 (1)
2021–2022 Hereford 25 (4)
2022– York City 3 (1)
National team‡
2017– Afghanistan 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:04, 9 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:05, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan,[3] Kouhyar moved to England as a two-year-old due to conflict in his home country.[4] His parents settled in Handsworth suburb of Birmingham and his father worked as a pizza delivery driver, before returning to Afghanistan to work as an interpreter, leaving his mother to bring up the four children.[3] At the age of eleven he was spotted by a Coventry City scout after attending a Saturday football session with his cousin, and joined the club's youth system.[3]

Walsall

After being released from Coventry at the age of sixteen, he played in Sunday league football, before being spotted by a Walsall scout whilst playing in a local Powerleague.[3] After a trial, he subsequently joined the club.[5] He went on to sign a two-year scholarship with the club, progressing to sign his first professional deal in February 2016, on a one-year contract with the option of a further year.[5] He made his professional debut in August 2016, in a 2–0 defeat to Chesterfield, replacing Kieron Morris as a substitute.[6] He scored his first goal for Walsall in an EFL Trophy tie against Grimsby Town on 30 August 2016.[7] On 9 December 2016 he signed a new contract with Walsall until the summer of 2019.[8]

In a November 2020 interview following his departure from the club, Kouhyar spoke out against abuse he had received during his time with the club in which he had been labelled a "terrorist" by a teammate.[9]

Hereford

In March 2021, Kouhyar signed for National League North side Hereford having been away from football for eighteen months with an ACL injury.[10] Despite the early cancellation of the season, Kouhyar was part of the Hereford team that made it to the 2021 FA Trophy Final, defeated 3–1 by league below Hornchurch.[11]

After scoring three goals and registering an assist as his side pushed for the play-offs, Kouhyar was awarded the National League North Player of the Month award for February 2022.[12] This award came after reported interest from Football League scouts.[13]

York City

On 22 March 2022, Kouhyar signed for National League North side York City on a free transfer.[14]On the 15th April, Kouhyar scored his first goal for York in a 1-0 National League North victory over Spennymoor Town.

International career

In October 2016, he received his first call-up to the Afghanistan senior side for the friendly against Malaysia.[4] While he was on international duty with the national team, he picked up an injury which cost him a minimum of three months without playtime and required knee surgery.[15] Kouhyar made his formal debut for Afghanistan in a friendly 2–0 loss to Oman on 30 August 2017.[16] In 2018 he rejected a call-up for a home match against Palestine as his family did not want him to travel to Kabul.[3]

Kouhyar scored a first international goal in March 2022, scoring the first in an eventual 3–0 victory over Kuwait Under-23.[17]

Personal life

Outside of football, Kouhyar attends an accountancy evening course.[3]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 April 2022.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 2015–16[18] League One 0000000000
2016–17[18] League One 6000001[lower-alpha 1]171
2017–18[19] League One 15110104[lower-alpha 1]0211
2018–19[20] League One 0010103[lower-alpha 1]151
Walsall total 211202082333
Hereford 2020–21[21] National League North 0000—2[lower-alpha 2]020
2021–22[21] National League North 25441—1[lower-alpha 2]0305
Hereford total 25441—30325
York City 2021–22[21] National League North 20——0020
Career total 4856120112668
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

International
Afghanistan score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kouhyar goal
List of international goals scored by Maziar Kouhyar
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
126 March 2022Emirhan Sport Centre, Manavgat, Turkey1 Kuwait1–03–0Hybrid friendly[17]

Honours

Hereford

Individual

References
  1. "Retained List 2015-16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. "Maz Kouhyar". 11v11. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  3. "Setting an example", When Saturday Comes, April 2019, pp16–17
  4. "Walsall's Maz Kouhyar delight over international call-up". Express and Star. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. "Walsall sign starlets Jordan Sangha and Qamaruddin Maziar Kouhyar". Express and Star. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  6. "Maziar Kouhyar - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  7. "Walsall 5 Grimsby 2". expressandstar.com. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  8. "Maziar Kouhyar: Walsall midfielder signs new contract with League One club". BBC. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  9. Hatfield, Luke (12 November 2020). "Maz Kouhyar: Walsall team-mate branded me a 'terrorist'". Express and Star. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. "Hereford FC sign Afghanistan international Maziar Kouhyar". Hereford Times. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. "FA Trophy final 2020–21: Hereford 1–3 Hornchurch". BBC Sport. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  12. "Trio Celebrate February National League North Accolades". www.thenationalleague.org.uk. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. Goddard, Ben (28 February 2022). "Maziar Kouhyar attracts attention from league scouts". Hereford Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. "Maziar Kouhyar signs for York City". York City FC. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  15. "Walsall Midfielder Maziar Kouhyar Undergoes Surgery". bescotbanter. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. "Oman vs Afghanistan 2 - 0 - FIFA Friendlies - 2017 - August - World Football". www.worldfootball.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  17. York City F.C. [@YorkCityFC] (27 March 2022). "Maziar Kouhyar scored in a 3-0 victory yesterday whilst on International duty with Afghanistan against Kuwait! Our new man flying 👊" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 March 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  19. "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  20. "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  21. Maziar Kouhyar at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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