World Cup and football in Bangladesh

People of different ages like to enjoy the world tournament collectively either at indoor television with family members or at outdoor television of big screen with friends and club members. People who never watch football or know anything about it, they also participate to enjoy the football storm. Even in the most remote areas, the World Cup fever penetrates into the minds of working-class people. These people wait for holding the World Cup, and then they like to enjoy it as the best experts with analytical motive regarding various teams and players.  

The FIFA World Cup makes the national harmony among the people of different classes and difference opinions in Bangladesh, albeit our motherland, Bangladesh has no hope to qualify for one in the near future due to its lagging behind getting rank 192 by the FIFA. But this excitement and enjoyment could gather motivation to compete any international standard football.

We are proud of the Shadhin Bangla Football Team during the Liberation War in 1971 as the team toured throughout India to play exhibition matches for raising international awareness and economic support in conducting the liberation war. The team handed over all the prize money to the government of Bangladesh.

After getting independence from in 1971, the Bangladesh Football Federation was founded on 15 July 1972. The BFF became affiliated with the AFC in 1973 and FIFA in 1974. The national team participated at Asian Cup final in 1980 and FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1986. The nation won the SAFF Championship once and gold medals in South Asian Games twice. After establishing the BFF, the national team played their international tournament in Thailand and Malaysia.

However, Bangladesh reached the quarterfinals of AFC Challenge Cup under Argentine coach Andres Cruciani in 2006 and won the 11th South Asian Games on home soil under the Serbian Zoran Djordjevic in 2010. Women's football was included in the South Asian Games 2010 hosted in Dhaka amid holding the first Women's SAFF Championship in the country. Bangladesh had their first team in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualifiers with India, Jordan, and Iran in their group.

In the past, a large numbers of football fans would come in Dhaka from other districts to enjoy football leagues and tournaments predominantly occurred between Mohammedan and Abahani sporting clubs. The fans of two teams were divided into two camps with festive mood. Wary, Brothers' Union and other football clubs met competition accordingly. But now, those prior fans have turned into reverse due to some repulsive causes surrounding teams and management. It is woeful that district and education institutional based football are almost dead with hardly any matches played in district and school-level in the last one decade.

Compared to the past, Bangladesh is not forming a team to arrange football competition in home and abroad for our national identity and prestige. They have no constructive plan to make getting into football more accessible in near future from the communities of grassroots rural based level to higher urban level. But no symptom is demonstrated in the appearance and behaviour of the inhabitants of Bangladesh since there is no deficiency of furore and festive mood when they see the FIFA tournament here.  In this connection, our authorities can play amenable role toward a combination of football culture comprehensively.  

We are to start anew around football programme for which a long-term plan should be prepared at the initial stage. In this connection, football and other sports should be made compulsory in all educational institutions. From the very beginning children must be preferred at primary school level. Subsequently, students of other educational institutions like secondary, higher secondary, college and university levels should be included in this regard. Even private and club level football could be emphasized equally by the concerned ministry of government.

District-based teams need to be strengthened by the interference of strong committee on behalf of the ministry of sports. Adequate financial allotment should be ensured in the national budget. Besides, non-governmental and volunteer-based organizations could proceed as per their own initiative to build-up upazila, district, division, and national wise football teams. Finance could be raised by subscription and donation of the affluent persons of the society. In many places there are no sports opportunities due to lack of proper care. By the government initiative adequate new playgrounds could be added alongside old playgrounds and stadiums need to be reformed.

Football fever grips the nation during every FIFA World Cup. Federation officials and experts are still optimistic in developing football in the country in the next ten years despite financial obstacles and lack of professionalism. Despite remaining many despairs on existing BFF and its management, we are proud of the Bangladesh Women's National Football team for their outstanding performance in SAFF championship in Nepal where Bangladesh women's team lifted the SAFF title 2022 by beating four-time finalist and hosts Nepal 3-1 in Kathmandu on last September.

Our Prime Minister has emphasized to strengthen on cultural practices, sports, and football alongside study to develop our children gradually as worthy citizens so that they keep them away from terrorism, militancy, drug, and corruption.
The writer is a retired professor & principal