Youth and Sports Minister Nazmul Hassan Papon is mulling to open the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) in Dhaka partially before the expiration of its renovation works project comes to an end in December 2024.

The cricket fans of Khulna cannot remember the last time an international cricket match was held at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium (SANS) nor are they too optimistic about seeing one at the Rupsha-Bhairab shore any time soon.

The Kazi Salahuddin-led Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) continues to receive backlash from different quarters for their failure in sending the national women’s team to the Paris Olympics women’s qualifiers, and the latest attack came from Zahid Ahsan Russel, the state minister for Youth and Sports. 

“I think they (BFF) intentionally didn’t send the team. We will investigate why they intentionally did it, putting our image in jeopardy,” Russel told the reporters today at his National Sports Council (NSC) office

In a nation that lives and breathes cricket, it is ever so difficult for other sports to stand out and make its own position in the country’s sporting culture. Another factor is the mindset of the sports industry as the focus given to the non-cricket genres of sports and its athletes is predominantly dependent on success.