Sher-e-Bangla Cup starts tomorrow

The Sher-e-Bangla Cup 22nd National Football Championship kicks off tomorrow across the country after a four-year gap.

This will be the biggest-ever domestic competition with 72 teams including all 64 districts taking part in ten qualifying zones.

The ten zonal champions will later join hosts Natore and defending champions Noakhali in the final phase, which begins on May 16. The qualifiers will end on May 13.

After the knockout stage, the 12 teams will be split into four groups in the final round, to determine who will play in the semifinals. The final round is expected to end early in June.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) will use its own funds to meet the Tk 11.76 lakh budget, tournament committee chairman Abdus Salam told a press conference yesterday at the Bangaban-dhu National Stadium conference room.

Salam felt sorry for not having a sponsor for the huge event but said he was happy that the tournament is rolling on after four years.

"If we can stage it every year as per schedule, I think we will be able to supply enough new faces to boost the game," said Salam.

BFF general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal held the previous executive committee of the federation responsible for organising the meet only once during their tenure, back in 2000 when 67 teams participated in the meet.

"We have decided to resume all the national domestic competitions starting with the Sher-e-Bangla Cup. We will hold the Biman Cup Under-14 meet and the Suhrawardy National Youth Championships very soon," Helal informed.

He also defended the decision to include Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan (BKSP) for the first time.

"It is the only sports institute in the country and we want to give the young footballers more exposure.

BFF president SA Sultan who was also present, hoped that all the tournaments that had been neglected in the past will see light of day during their term.

"This is our attempt to give the domestic football a go," the BFF chief added.

The qualifying round will be held in nine venues with the education and services zones sharing the Kamlapur Stadium.

Seven matches will be played on the opening day.

Opening day's matches
Jaipurhat v Sirajganj (at Jaipurhat), Chuadanga v Meherpur (Chuadan-ga), Gopalganj v Narail (Gopal-ganj), Comilla v Sunamganj (Comilla), Cox's Bazar v Feni (Cox's Bazar), Bhola v Jhalokathi (Bhola), Nilphamari v Panchagarh (Nilphamari).