Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman will visit Bangladesh from November 23-26. In his presence, the final of the National Football Championship is planned to be held at the National Stadium in Dhaka on November 24 or 25. Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy, one of the vice-presidents of the BFF and chairman of the District Football Championship Organizing Committee, said this at the logo unveiling ceremony of the competition today.
Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy said at a press conference held at the BFF building, ‘We will hold the final of the National Championship League, which started on August 30, on November 24 or 25 at the National Stadium in the presence of the AFC President. The U-17 National Championship will also start in the middle of the National Championship.’
Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan will be the chief guest in the opening match between Munshiganj and Madaripur districts at the Munshiganj Stadium on August 30. Since the fields of many district stadiums are unsuitable during the ongoing monsoon season, the game will start in full swing from mid-September.
Since 2008, the District Football Association has been formed out of the District Sports Association. Although it is a separate organization, the DFA does not have its own field. As a result, it has to depend on the District Sports Association to organize games. That is why there is no district football league in many districts. Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mahbub-ul-Alam, who was present as the chief guest at the logo unveiling ceremony, said in this regard, ‘We are aware of this problem. On the occasion of this tournament, I have discussed with each DC through Zoom conference. Every district administration will be very sincere in organizing this game. There will be no problem in this. We also have instructions to allocate fields for the game.’
The National Football Championship is being held after three years. 64 districts are participating in it. Many districts have not had a district league for a long time. Since there is no football in the district, it is quite difficult to form a district team. Regarding this, BFF Vice President Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy said, ‘We will not go into the discussion of what has happened or not in the last 10-15 years. A new Bangladesh is being built after August 5, 2024. The new committee of BFF is also working on new initiatives. The Ministry of Youth and Sports is supporting us. This tournament is being organized in that light. We hope that players will come out of this. In addition, our member Iqbal Hossain is also working on the district leagues.
The BFF has divided the 64 districts into 8 zones geographically. Within the 8 zones, serials 1-8 have been made according to the Bengali alphabet. Through that serial, the opponent will be determined and a team will play two matches on a home-and-away basis. The 32 winning teams of the first round will play again on a home-and-away basis. From there, the 16 winning teams will go to the knockout round. In total, 112 matches will be held.
The government will provide BFF with 10 crore taka for the national championship, under-17 and women’s age-based tournaments. BFF is receiving this financial assistance from the government under the Youth Festival. Other federations are also organizing many tournaments on the occasion of the Youth Festival. Although the Sports Ministry provides financial assistance to them, it is only giving half of the money to BFF, ‘Out of the 20 crore taka for the Youth Festival, we are giving 10 crore taka to football. The rest of the money will be given according to the needs and demands of other federations.’
Football is a very popular game. As it was lagging behind, the sports advisor allocated a large budget to the BFF at the grassroots level. Although the BFF received large financial assistance from the ministry, they seem to be hesitant to follow the instructions of the National Sports Council. The National Sports Council has asked for 15 percent from the ticket sales revenue of the Singapore-Bhutan match and 10 percent from the TV rights, but the BFF has not yet given it.
The previous government had also allocated 20 crore taka to the BFF for the development of football. The then committee of the federation could not provide an accurate account of that money. However, the current committee decided to open a separate bank account in the last executive committee meeting for complete transparency of the government’s accounts.
FAQ
When is AFC President Sheikh Salman visiting Bangladesh?
Sheikh Salman will visit Bangladesh from November 23 to 26, 2025.
When will the National Football Championship final be held?
The final is planned for November 24 or 25, 2025, at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
How many districts are participating in the National Football Championship?
A total of 64 districts are participating in the championship after a gap of three years.
