Mohammedan to defend Super Cup

Fallen giants Mohammedan will have a chance to defend their Super Cup title when the big-budget domestic football tournament returns in May after a decade-long gap.

Mohammedan have failed to win a Bangladesh Premier League title since the introduction of professional league in 2007. However, the Motijheel-based outfit won two out of the three editions of the Super Cup held in the intervening time.

The Black and Whites won the inaugural Super Cup in 2009 before regaining the title from archrivals Abahani in 2013, the last-time the crore-taka tournament was held.

Following a decade-long gap due to a lack of interest from sponsors, the tournament is set to be staged again this April. Despite not being directly eligible for automatic qualification, which is reserved for the league's top four, Mohammedan made it due to Saif Sporting Club's departure from the top-flight football.

According to Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag, Mohammedan will be one of the four direct entrants to the tournament, which will feature six total BPL clubs.

Mohammedan had finished fifth in the last league, but since Saif Sporting, who finished third, opted out of top-tier football, Mohammedan will play alongside the rest of last season's top three, including Bashundhara Kings, Abahani and Sheikh Jamal.

"The Super Cup will be held from April 2 to 13 with six teams. Three teams will play be split into two groups. The top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals followed by the final," Shohag told reporters yesterday.

"The two other teams will be selected from the seven lowest teams of last year's table through playoffs on February 14 and 28," the BFF official added.

With the Bangabandhu National Stadium undergoing renovation and the teams' unwillingness to play at the Kamalapur stadium, the tournament might be staged at the Bashundhara Kings Arena or a venue outside Dhaka -- likely in Sylhet. Shohag said the decision would be taken following a meeting with sponsors within a few days.