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Adil Nabi (born 28 February 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cypriot First Division club Akritas Chlorakas.
He was an academy product at West Bromwich Albion, but never made a first-team appearance. Nabi was the first player to be loaned from the Premier League to the Indian Super League, playing in the 2015 season for the Delhi Dynamos. In January 2016, he joined Peterborough United, where he played 10 total games in two years before a loan to Nuneaton Town. Nabi then had a short spell with Scottish club Dundee before playing in Greece for OFI, Atromitos and Athens Kallithea.
On 4 October, he made his professional debut for the Dynamos in their opening match of the season against FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Chicão as they fell 2–0. He played only 31 minutes of the first five matches of the season for the New Delhi-based team, but said that he was experiencing a personal growth which would not have been possible had he been loaned to a lower-league English club. On 19 November, he scored his first professional goal, opening a 3–1 win over FC Pune City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
He added a second on 3 December, as the team who had already qualified for the play-offs came from behind to achieve a 3–3 home draw against Kerala Blasters. In the last game of the regular season three days later, he scored again in a 2–3 loss to Goa, and finished the season with 3 goals from 11 games as they were eliminated by the same team in the semi-finals; he was sent off for dissent on 15 December in a 3–0 away loss in the second leg.
On 3 February 2018, having gone 14 months without an appearance – with that being a dead rubber EFL Trophy game against Walsall – Nabi was loaned to National League North strugglers Nuneaton Town for the rest of the season. He played five games for them as a substitute, and did not score.
On 26 January 2022, Nabi signed for Atromitos also in Greece's top flight, on a deal until 2024. A year and a day later, he signed for Super League Greece 2 club Athens Kallithea.
After a season out of professional football, Nabi returned with another Cypriot team in July 2025, signing with newly-promoted First Division side Akritas Chlorakas.
Adil is eligible to play for Pakistan, his younger brothers, Rahis Nabi and Samir Nabi had already played for the Pakistan national football team. In June 2023, Adil confirmed his intention to play for Pakistan in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. However in March 2024, after receiving the documentation, Nabi along with Etzaz Hussain reportedly declined to play under the then management staff of the Pakistan Football Federation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Jordan.
Peterborough United
On 21 January 2016, Nabi joined Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract lasting until 2019. Two days later, as a 57th-minute substitute for Erhun Oztumer, he made his debut in English football, in the Posh's 2–1 loss to Gillingham in League One. On 13 February, he made his first start for the team, in their 0–4 loss to Bradford City at London Road. Speaking in January 2017, Director of Football Barry Fry said that: "Nabi was all set to go to Port Vale, but they sacked their manager (Bruno Ribeiro) and the caretaker-boss (Michael Brown) there is not so keen".
Dundee
Following his release from Peterborough, Nabi trained in the summer of 2018 at Dundee, and on 2 August he signed a six-month contract. He made his debut for the Scottish Premiership club nine days later, as a half-time substitute for Lewis Spence at home to Aberdeen, and forced a save in the 1–0 loss. He made ten appearances for the Dee, scoring once to open a 2–1 home loss to Kilmarnock on 6 October. Nabi was released by Dundee in December 2018, at the end of his contract.
Greece
In January 2019, Nabi announced on Twitter that he had signed for OFI. He described the move as "crazy". In his debut against Panetolikos on 20 January, he scored two free kicks in a 3–0 home win. He was named Superleague Greece's player of the week, and satellite channel Nova Sports named his goal as the best in Europe that week. Nabi scored a free kick very late into the second leg of the relegation play-offs against Cretan rivals Platanias that ensured a win and a place in the 2019–20 Superleague.
Cyprus
On 9 July 2023, Sky Sports had announced that Nabi had arrived in Cyprus to sign for Doxa Katokopias. Five days later, he was signed on a deal until the end of the season, and assigned the squad number 10. The move was the fifth country in the career, after previous spells playing in England, Scotland, Greece and India.
International career
Nabi played for England under-16 and under-17 national team during his teens, scoring 3 goals in his 9 games for the older age group.
Style of play
West Bromwich Albion academy manager Mark Harrison stated in November 2015 that Nabi was equally as gifted in technical and finishing abilities as the team's first-choice striker Saido Berahino, who had partnered Nabi at youth level.
Personal life
Nabi is of Pakistani descent. His younger brothers Samir Nabi and Rahis Nabi are also professional footballers, having progressed through West Brom's academy. He is a practising Muslim.
Career statistics
+Appearances and goals by club, season and competition West Bromwich Albion 2015–16 Premier League 0 Delhi Dynamos (loan) 2015 Indian Super League 3 Peterborough United 2015–16 League One 0 2016–17 0 2017–18 0 Nuneaton Town (loan) 2017–18 National League North 0 Dundee 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 1 OFI 2018–19 Super League Greece 4 2019–20 4 2020–21 0 2021–22 1 Atromitos 2021–22 Super League Greece 0 2022–23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Athens Kallithea 2022–23 Super League Greece 2 13 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2 Doxa Katokopias 2023–24 Cypriot First Division 37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 6 Akritas Chlorakas 2025–26 Cypriot First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
External links
Categories: 1994 Births, Living People, Athens Kallithea F.c. Players, Atromitos F.c. Players, British Asian Footballers, Cypriot First Division Players, Doxa Katokopias Fc Players, Dundee F.c. Players, English Expatriate Men's Footballers, English Expatriate Sportspeople In Cyprus, English Expatriate Sportspeople In Greece, English Expatriate Sportspeople In India, English Football League Players, English Men's Footballers, English Muslims, English People Of Pakistani Descent, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Cyprus, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Greece, Expatriate Men's Footballers In India, Footballers From Birmingham, West Midlands, Indian Super League Players, Men's Association Football Forwards, Nuneaton Town F.c. Players, Odisha Fc Players, Ofi Crete F.c. Players, People From Aston, Peterborough United F.c. Players, Scottish Professional Football League Players, Sportspeople Of Pakistani Descent, Super League Greece Players, Super League Greece 2 Players, West Bromwich Albion F.c. Players, 21st-century English Sportsmen, Akritas Chlorakas Players
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