Abdul Ghani Minhat
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdul Ghani Bin Minhat | ||
| Date of birth | 23 December 1935 | ||
| Place of birth | Kampung Solok, Rantau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia | ||
| Date of death | 28 September 2012 (aged 76) | ||
| Place of death | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1968 | Selangor FA | 108 | (97) |
| 1969 | Negeri Sembilan FA | 3 | (3) |
| National team | |||
| 1956–1963 | Malaysia | 39 | (31) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1969 | Malaysia | ||
| 1970–1973 | Selangor FA | ||
| 1983–1985 | Selangor FA | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Ghani bin Minhat (Jawi: ابدول غاني مينهات 23 December 1935 – 28 September 2012) was a football player who represented the team Selangor FA and Negeri Sembilan FA in the 1950s until the late 1960s. He played as a striker and winger while representing Singapore and Malaysia. He was sent by FAM to undergo a training session at Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany and other countries. He was known as the Raja Bola (Malay for King of Football) and is considered one of Malaysia's greatest football players.
Datuk Ghani Minhat was born on 23 December 1935 in Kampung Solok, Negeri Sembilan. Ghani later attended Princess Road School (now Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan Raja Muda) at the age of 10 in 1945. He represented the school football team and only played bare footed. Two years later, Ghani attended Sekolah St. John's Kuala Lumpur and continued to play for the school team. In 1951, his talent was spotted by local police officers who later gave him his first ever football boots. In that time, only professional footballers can afford football boots as it was very expensive during the late 1950s.
At the age of 17, his talent was later spotted by police officers who later invited Ghani to play with the Police Depot Football Team in the Selangor League. He was asked to play in the left wing position, even though he was right footed. He used this opportunity to develop his left footed skill.
In 1955, Ghani was chosen to play with Selangor FA in their attempt to win the HMS Malaya Cup for the first time in 6 years. Selangor faced Singapore in the finals and Ghani help Selangor beat Singapore 2–1 with Ghani scoring one goal to give Selangor first cup in six years. His performance was praised by his team mates. Shortly after the match, he was called up by national coach, Neoh Boon Hean to represent the Malaya national team in a friendly against Cambodia.
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