Season opener highlights football’s ground realities
In a repeat encounter of last season’s Challenge Cup fixture, Federation Cup winners Bashundhara Kings thrashed Bangladesh Premier League champions Mohammedan by 4-1 in the curtain-raiser of the new football season at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla yesterday..
20 September 2025, 02:30 AM
Interview / ‘Modern football demands athletes’
In a freewheeling interview with The Daily Star's Atique Anam at the team hotel in Dhaka, the former West Ham United midfielder opened up about his football methodology, plans for the future, the shortcomings of the federation, men's football, and the controversies he has found himself in.
27 July 2025, 04:00 AM
'Time the officials paid back for the sacrifice of players and coaching staff'
In a conversation with The Daily Star, Alfaz Ahmed spoke about the secret of Mohammedan's success in the league and what he expects from the club in the wake of this title triumph.
18 May 2025, 09:00 AM
‘Hamza has helped us raise the level and quality of our game’
In this interview with The Daily Star, Bangladesh Football Federation president Tabith Awal spoke about both women's and men's teams and the controversies surrounding football.
7 April 2025, 02:00 AM
Bangladesh football riding the Hamza wave
When Bangladesh football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan told the press on Thursday, “It feels our [Lionel] Messi is here,” about the arrival of Hamza Choudhury, he wasn’t exaggerating.
22 March 2025, 01:00 AM
Rebel women footballers at a dead end?
The 18 senior players of Bangladesh national women’s team, who have been boycotting training since head coach Peter Butler returned to the country, seem to have shot themselves on the foot after refusing to sign contracts offered by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Monday.
12 February 2025, 02:04 AM
The World Cup should not be a mere extension of the IPL
For those cricket fans who have got used to enjoying the sight of batters steamrolling bowlers of all ilk over the past 65 days or so, will the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies may prove to be a bit of a turn-off.
28 May 2024, 18:00 PM
Should Murshedy get away with sweeping dirt under the rug?
In stark contrast to many developed nations where people in power often relinquish their positions in face of charges of corruption or incompetence even before allegations are proved in a show of true accountability -- there is a disturbing tendency to brush aside all sorts of allegations, even after proven, under the rug by the people in power in countries like Bangladesh, which ranks among the lowest in various corruption indexes.
25 May 2024, 02:00 AM
The Ronaldo of Bhutan
He has the same swagger as Cristiano Ronaldo; he even has the same hairstyle and the same shirt number as his idol. And like the Portuguese striker, he is the most valuable player of his side.
28 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Booters salvage face-saving win
Bangladesh ended their nightmarish SAFF Suzuki Cup campaign with a face-saving 3-0 victory over 10-man Bhutan at the Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum yesterday. Topu Barman gave the men in red the lead with a header in the 8th minute before Shakhawat Hossain Rony scored on either side of the break as Bangladesh won their first points after defeats against holders Afghanistan (4-0) and Maldives (3-1).
28 December 2015, 18:00 PM
'Bangladeshis are nice people'
Ali Ashfaq -- a name that evokes admiration and inspiration in equal measure. In the context of South Asian football, he is a giant, with a career adorned by many an accolade. Ashfaq has been playing for the Maldives national team for such a long time and has such an excellent record in front of goal -- the 30-year-old forward has scored 46 times in 104 international matches in a career spanning 11 years and he also holds the highest scorer's
27 December 2015, 18:00 PM
History keeps repeating itself
It seems as though Bangladesh have resigned themselves to the fate of being early contenders to exit from the SAFF Championships, a tournament where they once used to walk into the semifinals. It seems as though they have got into the habit of causing their own downfall and giving their supporters lots of reason to remonstrate before the exit.
26 December 2015, 18:00 PM
The future is here
The Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum is a place for the future. Perched on a hillock in the suburb called Karyavattom, some 17 kilometres from the city-centre, Greenfield is the epicentre of a sporting hub, which belies its location and the meagre importance of Kerala in India's sporting map.
24 December 2015, 18:00 PM
A shambolic start
All the pre-tournament talk of resolve and redemption from the Bangladesh players came to nothing as they made a shambolic start to their SAFF Suzuki Cup campaign, a phenomenon becoming all-too-familiar in recent times, going down against defending champions Afghanistan 4-0 at the Sports Hub of Trivandrum yesterday.
24 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Booters eye redemption
The mood in the Bangladesh camp and that of their first match opponents, Afghanistan, couldn't have been any more contrasting on the eve of today's Group B fixture of the SAFF Cup. While the Afghans were causing a hubbub over organisational inefficiency, Bangladesh were trying to maintain a low profile while keeping their focus on the match against the defending champions.
23 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Trivandrum misses the vibe
As the football world reeled from the sensational punishments meted out to the two most powerful men of the game, one idyllic city in
22 December 2015, 18:00 PM
It's make or break against Afghans
Despite their waning prowess in South Asian football, there is one statistic that Bangladesh can take heart from and one that they
22 December 2015, 18:00 PM
Another sorry exit
As the Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday disposed of the national team's 18th foreign coach Fabio Lopez only two-and-a-half
24 November 2015, 18:00 PM
Socceroos too good for hosts
They came, they won, and they left with three valuable points -- that is probably the most suitable way to sum up Australia's short trip
17 November 2015, 18:00 PM
The biggest day yet
The wait is finally over. The Australia national football team, affectionately called the Socceroos by their fans at home and across the world, are in Dhaka. And the Socceroos will be taking on Bangladesh team at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5:30pm today in a World Cup qualifying fixture, which has been the most anticipated tie for all Bangladeshi football fans ever since the draw was made in April this year.
16 November 2015, 18:00 PM
Winning the Aussie way
When Mashrafe Bin Mortaza brought eight fielders to the wider slip cordon after the fall of the ninth Zimbabwe wicket,
11 November 2015, 18:00 PM
Mustafiz can have three iPhone 6s
Just after getting called up for the ODI series against India, young Mustafizur Rahman had asked his uncle to get him an iPhone 6 Plus. The uncle, who lives in United States, told the bowler that he would get his wish fulfilled only if he took a three-wicket haul in one of the three matches.
21 June 2015, 18:00 PM
A thankless job
Janee Kaske's tee shot on the eighth hole yesterday escaped the sight of the ball boys who were supposed to indicate where the ball
29 May 2015, 18:00 PM
The perks of being a pro golfer
Berry Henson is a golfer with a difference or, at least it would seem so, from his laidback attitude and carefree approach. While most
27 May 2015, 18:00 PM
Siddikur & co fall behind
As Siddikur Rahman shaped up to swing for the approach shot on par-three 16th hole on the back nine of the Kurmitola Golf Club, a
27 May 2015, 18:00 PM
A case of misplaced priorities?
In the wake of Bangladesh cricket team's historic series win against Pakistan on Sunday, a cabinet meeting, presided over by the prime minister...
21 April 2015, 18:00 PM
Still no rainbow
It was interesting to note the desperation in the words of AB de Villiers after South Africa lost their semifinal match against New Zealand by such a small margin yesterday.
24 March 2015, 18:14 PM
200 is the new hundred
There was a time, not too long ago, that reaching a hundred in a one-day international was thought to be the pinnacle of achievement
21 March 2015, 18:06 PM