Football in Bangladesh

Football in Bangladesh
Rural children playing football in a Bangladeshi village
Country	Bangladesh
Governing body	Bangladesh Football Federation
National team(s)	Men's national squad Women's national squad
National competitions
FIFA World Cup AFC Asian Cup SAFF Championship South Asian Games
Club competitions
List League: BPL BCL Senior Division League WFL Cups: Challenge Cup Federation Cup Independence Cup
International competitions
AFC Cup AFC Champions League

Football is currently the second-most popular sport in Bangladesh, after cricket,^[1] and is governed by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). An interest in cricket resulting from the nation's success in Test cricket and participation in the Cricket World Cup overshadowed the past fame in the nation's football legacy. However, More football tournaments are being organized in and outside Dhaka than in any other sport, and football fever grips the nation during every FIFA World Cup as well as the Copa America and UEFA European Championship. Federation officials and experts are still hopeful about the development of football in the country within the next ten years, despite huge financial obstacles, inadequate technical adaptation, and a lack of professionalism.^[2]

Before independence in 1971, the 30s and 40s saw the football rivalry between Kolkata and Dhaka started under DSA (Dhaka Sporting Association), which was mainly created to develop players in the east.^[3] The majority of the team was made up of students from Dhaka University, when they defeated Islington Corinthians 1–0, on 22 November 1937.^[4] The Dacca football team participated in the national football championship Santosh Trophy from 1944 until 1946.^[5] Eventually, after 1955, teams from East Pakistan would participate in the Pakistan National Football Championship.

During the Liberation War in 1971, football was the way to create international awareness about the war of independence. The Swadhin Bangla Football Team was established which played 16 matches in India and was officially received by the BFF in 2009. Zakaria Pintoo, who was the captain of that team and the first person to wave Bangladesh's flag in a foreign land.^[6][7]

The period before the 1990s saw national soccer fever in league football, specifically in the Dhaka League, which possessed club teams, that were famous both at home and abroad. League football was popular even before independence, from the 1940s to 1960s under Pakistan. There were several well-established football clubs in Dhaka in the 1940s, notable clubs that participated in the historical Dhaka League from 1933 until the country's partition from Pakistan were Wari Club, Victoria SC, Lakshibazar Club, East End Club, Central Jail XI, Dhaka Wanderers Club and Tejgaon Friends Union, EP Gymkhana, Railways, and Fire Service. A match between East Pakistan Governors XI vs. West Bengal XI was held in Dhaka in the late forties, which also attracted thousands of fans to the stadium.^[8] The first Dhaka League was won by Bangladeshi club Victoria SC in 1948, three years prior to the Mother Language Movement while still under Pakistani rule. Many of Dhaka's league teams went on to become among the most successful teams on the Asian continent (mostly between the 1970s to the early 1990s). The league also went as far as having players from top European teams. The late 1950s and 1960s saw, Bengali football starting to earn more popularity among the people, when the clubs took part in the Aga Khan Gold Cup, which was held in Dhaka every year. The President Gold Cup, was also a popular competition at the time, where clubs and national selected teams from all over Asia participated in.^[9][10]

After the establishment of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in 1972, India's Mohun Bagan became the first international football team to visit independent Bangladesh, and on 13 May 1972, they played against the country's unrecognized national team called the Dhaka XI, who defeated the Indian's 1–0.^[11] The national team played their first international match against Thailand in the 1973 Merdeka tournament in Malaysia. Enayetur Rahman became the country's first-ever goal scorer, during the game.^[12] After its membership with FIFA in 1976 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the national team participated in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup. Although Bangladesh failed to win a single game during the competition, their performances against North Korea and Syria impressed the whole country. But the team's best results came at the South Asian level where they won the South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup 2003 under György Kottán and were gold medalists in South Asian Games twice.^[9] The country took part in their first FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1986, and again during the 1990 qualifiers. The team produced a few memorable performances against Iran, China, and Thailand along the way. On 4 November 1995, Bangladesh won the 4-nation Tiger Trophy held in Myanmar, which was the country's very first major trophy.^[13][14]

Football was played both in the domestic leagues and abroad. Bangladesh Red were runners-up in the first President Gold Cup in 1981 and won it in 1989. Besides that, Bangladeshi clubs bagged two more titles abroad: Quaid-E-Azam Trophy of Pakistan in 1985 and Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Football of Bhutan in 2003.^[9] The early 80s and 90s was the country's golden period, the three traditional Dhaka League giants Mohammedan, Abahani Limited Dhaka and Brothers Union had fans from all over the nation. Soon the country's local clubs began to compete in continental tournaments, as in 1985, Abahani Limited Dhaka took part in the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, becoming the first Bangladeshi club to do so. The domestic competitions helped the popularity of footballs skyrocket in the country and 1988 also saw Mohammedan reach the semi-finals of the Asian Club Championship.^[15] Along with the club teams, the national football team was also at the center of attention of the football fans, who watched their beloved side to fight neck-to-neck before going down to the current Asian giants like Japan, South Korea, Iran, China, and the then strong teams like Syria and Thailand in competitions like Asian Cup qualifiers, World Cup pre-qualifiers and the country's President Gold Cup.^[16] The league also attracted internationally renowned players like Emeka Ezeugo and Nasser Hejazi.^[17]

The next decade saw a series of managerial changes in the national team and many famous coaches were appointed like the Austrian György Kottán and German Otto Pfister, who coached Ivory Coast to the qualification of their first FIFA World Cup finals in 2006. However, in 2006, Bangladesh reached the quarterfinals of the AFC Challenge Cup under Argentine coach Andres Cruciani and in 2010, Bangladesh won the 11th South Asian Games on home soil under the Serbian Zoran Đorđević, who left in February the same year. In 2007, the Bangladesh Premier League was introduced, replacing the historic Dhaka League which had been the country's main league competition even before its independence, this marked the start of a professional football league and the country's first ever wide open national league were teams outside of Dhaka could participate. The new league was introduced to improve the nation's footballing standards and to help produce future national stars, as the Bangladesh team was in the midst of bad results.^[18]

6 September 2011 was the most unforgettable moment of Bangladeshi football. Lionel Messi and his national team Argentina, played a friendly match against Nigeria at Bangabandhu National Stadium. Bangladeshi footballers were privileged to see the match and Bangladeshi footballers were encouraged and motivated by Argentine footballers. They believe Bangladesh football can go far ahead if world-class facilities are brought into the footballing system.^[19]

On 4 April 2011, Bangladeshi football legend Kazi Salahuddin was re-elected as the president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). He has come under controversy ever since he took charge of the BFF board.^[20] He took the first initiative of Bangladesh Super League known as "Koti Takar League". His initiations attract international players as well as highly-rated international coaches.^[21] However, the Super league failed to come into existence.

From 2010 to 2020, Bangladeshi football reached an all-time low, with a total of 15 head coaches being sacked by the BFF. This led to both domestic and international football losing popularity among fans and the country falling to the lowest FIFA rank in its history. Since the start of the decade, the BFF was forced to recruit expatriate players, as the country failed to produce talent due to no development at the grassroots level and an unorganized league structure.^[22] Nonetheless, foreign recruitment has not shown any sign of improvement in the national team and could not save the team from freefall. Domestic players also have shown a lack of basic football knowledge and skill, resulting from the shortage of quality academies present in the country, which is essential for player growth.^[23] BFF introduced the second-tier league in 2012 as season 5 of the Premier League was commencing.^[24] The league was named the Bangladesh Championship League, but since its inception the league has failed to maintain professionalism: a scenario similar to the top tier.

During the AFC Asia Cup 2019 qualification playoff round 2, under Tom Saintfiet, the team suffered its biggest humiliation against Bhutan. Following a 0–0 draw in the first leg in Dhaka, Bhutan inflicted a 3–1 defeat on Bangladesh at the Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, in the second leg. The result meant that Bangladesh would not be able to take part in AFC and FIFA arranged games for the next two years.^[25]

On 26 June 2019, Dhaka Abahani became the first Bangladeshi club to reach the 2019 AFC Cup knock out phase, by defeating Indian side Minarva Punjab 1–0 on aggregate.^[26]

The BPL was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a limited program of matches was in place through 2021. On 12 February 2022, it was announced that the BPL would return to its normal home-and-away format.^[27]

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) was established on 15 July 1972 as the governing body and has been a member of the FIFA since 1974 and AFC in 1973. The federation is responsible for organizing all club championships and the professional league. It is currently working with AFC's Vision Asia program to improve the domestic football infrastructure.

The BFF is presided by Kazi Salahuddin since April 2008.^[28]

• The Federation Cup (1980–present) is the country's premier cup competition. Only teams competing in the Bangladesh Premier League are eligible to partake in the cup. It is the only domestic cup competition in the country affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation.
• The Independence Cup (1972–present) is a secondary cup competition in which teams from the Bangladesh Premier League, Bangladesh Championship League, Service-Sectors and Universities can participate in.
• The Super Cup (2009–present) is the highest-budgeted football competition contested by clubs selected by the Bangladesh Football Federation.
• The Bangladesh Challenge Cup (2024–present) is a single match played between the winners of the Bangladesh Premier League and the Federation Cup
• The DMFA Cup (1984–1995) was a cup competition held in Dhaka and organized by Dhaka Metropolitan League Committee contested by teams from Dhaka.
• The Independence Day Cup (1948–1970) was a cup competition held in Dhaka during the East Pakistan era. The cup was contested by clubs and universities from Dhaka, and the cup final was held on 14 August to celebrate the Independence Day.

• The Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup (2015–present) is a biennial international club football tournament held in Chittagong.
• The Aga Khan Gold Cup (1958–1981) was a biennial continental club football tournament held in Dhaka. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of AFC Champions League (held for the first time in 1967), since it was the first organized international competition that involved clubs from Asia.^[29]

• The National Football Championship (1973–present) currently known as the Bangabandhu National Football Championship and previously referred to as the Sher-e-Bangla Cup is a district-level national football tournament contested by districts and government institutions of the country.

Competition	Edition	Winner	Final	Runners-up	Bangladesh's position	Venues	Final venue
Men's senior competitions
AFC Challenge Cup	2006	Sri Lanka	0–4	Tajikistan	Quarter-finals	3 (in 2 city)	Bangabandhu National Stadium
SAFF Championship	2003	Bangladesh	1–1 (5–4) (p)	Maldives	Champions	1 (in 1 city)	Bangabandhu National Stadium
SAFF Championship	2009	India	0–0 (3–1) (p)	Maldives	Semi-finals	1 (in 1 city)	Bangabandhu National Stadium
SAFF Championship	2018	Maldives	2–1	India	Group-stage	1 (in 1 city)	Bangabandhu National Stadium

Editions	Winners
1996–97	Malaysia
1999	Japan
2015	Malaysia
2016	Nepal
2018	Palestine
2020	Palestine

In a country whose population is predominantly Muslim, there is some resistance towards women's football. The women's game has struggled to gain a foothold in Bangladesh in the past and many tournaments dedicated to women have failed. Women's football finally saw light in Bangladesh when the first ever women's football tournament was staged under the Vision Asia programme in November 2007. Eight teams from different districts all over the country took part in the tournament and made it a success amidst security threats.^[30]

In October 2008, the first women's school football tournament was held under the Vision Bangladesh programme with BFF hopeful of continuing and developing the women's game in the country.^[31]

Women's football was included in the 2010 South Asian Games hosted in Dhaka, while the first Women's SAFF Championship was to be held that December in the country. Bangladesh had their first women's national team in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualifiers with India, Jordan and Iran in their group. The establishment of the Bangamata Primary School Gold Cup in 2011 by the Primary and Mass Education Department of the government led to more than a million female students from more than 60,000 primary schools taking part in the initial phase of the tournament.

• Anwar Uddin is the first player of South Asian descent to play in England's Premier League.
• Shahed Ahmed (Sporting Bengal United) Former Wycombe Wanderers player.
• Hamza Choudhury a Bangladeshi origin player who currently playing for Leicester City.
• Shamit Shome is a Bangladeshi origin player who is former Montreal Impact player and currently playing for FC Edmonton.
• Yousuf Zulkernain Haque a Bangladeshi origin player currently playing for Ipswich Town U-23 & Bangladesh National U-23 Football Team.
• Tariq Kazi is the first Bangladeshi player to play in a Europa League match for Ilves.
• Max Rahman a Bangladeshi origin player who is playing at IF Brommapojkarna U-19

• Football stadiums with a capacity of 20,000 or higher are included in this list.

#	Image	Stadium	Current capacity	Location	Opened	Home team(s)
1		Bangabandhu National Stadium	36,000	Motijheel, Dhaka	1954	Bangladesh national football team
2		M. A. Aziz Stadium	30,000	Chittagong	1955	Chittagong Abahani Limited
3		Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium	25,000	Mymensingh	1961	Dhaka Mohammedan Police Football Club
4		Sheikh Kamal Stadium	25,000	Nilphamari	1984
5		Mostafa Kamal Stadium	25,000	Kamalapur, Dhaka	2001	Bangladesh women's national football team Bangladesh Championship League Dhaka Senior Division League Dhaka Second Division League Dhaka Third Division League
6		Tangail Stadium	25,000	Tangail	1998	Tangail Football Team
7		Rangpur Stadium	25,000	Rangpur	1968	Rangpur Football Team
8		Bangladesh Army Stadium	20,000	Dhaka	1970	Bangladesh Army Football Team
9		Saifur Rahman Stadium	20,000	Moulvibazar	2005

• Das, Raktim (4 April 2022). "কলকাতার মোহামেডানের সঙ্গে গাঁটছড়া বাঁধছে ঢাকার মোহামেডান" [Mohammedan of Dhaka is tying knot with Mohammedan of Kolkata]. banglatribune.com (in Bengali). Kolkata. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

• Official website of Bangladesh Football Federation