Sahal Abdul Samad

Early life and youth career

Sahal was born in Al Ain, UAE, to Malayali parents from Kerala, India and completed his 14 years of schooling at New Indian Model School in Al Ain. He started to play football at the age of eight. In 2010, Sahal joined the Al Ethihad Sports Academy to train in professional football. After completing his studies in UAE, he moved to Payyannur in Kannur, Kerala, India, to complete his degree and to play university football. A few months after starting his degree, he was spotted by a coach of SN College in Kannur, who persuaded him to switch colleges. After good performances at university-level tournaments, he joined the district Under-21 side, and then the Kerala team, to compete in the Santosh Trophy.

Kerala Blasters

2017–2018: Kerala Blasters B and senior team debut

Sahal's performance in the 2017 Santosh Trophy was noted by scouts of Kerala Blasters, who signed him to his first ever professional contract and put him on the reserve side for the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division. In the fourth match against FC Kerala, he was appointed as captain for the rest of the season. He scored seven goals from ten games and became third top-scorer in the league. As the senior team was struggling with points in the 2017–18 Season of ISL, manager René Meulensteen decided to promote some youth players, including Sahal, to the senior team. Due to the team's poor performance, Rene was sacked after the match and David James took over for…

Youth

Sahal was named in India U23's squad for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers. He made his debut with the under-23 team on 11 March 2019 against Qatar U23 in a friendly prior to the tournament.

Senior

Sahal was included in the preliminary squad of the Indian senior team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but did not make it into the final squad. In May 2019, he was named in the squad for 2019 King's Cup. Sahal made his debut for the Indian senior team on 5 June 2019 in a 3–1 loss against Curaçao in the 2019 King's Cup. Sahal was named in the 23-men Indian squad for the 2021 SAFF Championship in Maldives. He scored his first international goal against Nepal on 16 October 2021 in a 3–0 victory in the final of the tournament after coming as a substitute in the 86th minute. After an impressive 2021–22 season, Sahal made it to the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He scored his second international goal on 11 June 2022 against Afghanistan, where he came in as a substitute for Sunil Chhetri in the last moments of the regular time and scored the winning goal in the added time and helped India win the match 1–2 at full-time. In May 2023, Sahal was included in the final squad for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup by the coach Igor Štimac. On 9 June 2023, he played his first match of the Intercontinental Cup by starting against Mongolia and scored the opening goal in the 2nd minute, as India won the match by the score of 2–0.

During his early days at the Blasters, Sahal mainly played as an attacking midfielder or central midfielder and was noted for his dribbling ability and creativity. Although Sahal initially played as an attacking midfielder, he was later moved to a winger role in the midfield. He has also been occasionally used as a defensive midfielder and even as a centre-forward. Sahal is considered as one of the best players in the Kerala Blasters' history. He is regarded as one of the best midfielders in India by many football pundits and fans.

Sahal was born on 1 April 1997, in Al Ain, UAE into a Malayali family which originally hails from Kavvayi, Payyanur in Kannur. He attended the New Indian Model School, Al Ain until 2015 and is an alumnus of the school. He pursued bachelor's degree from S. N. College, Kannur. On 10 June 2020, Sahal signed a deal with German multinational sportwear company, Puma, as its new ambassador. In June 2020, Sahal auctioned his national team jersey, which he wore during the World Cup qualifiers. He donated the proceeds of the auction to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to help prevention activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2022, Sahal became the Indian ambassador of the global energy drink company, Predator Energy. In June 2022, Sahal got engaged to Reza Farhath, a state-level badminton player and married her in July 2023.