Sports lovers in the country are once again hopeful about the future of Bangladeshi football. With expectations for the sport to move forward with renewed energy, a host of prominent figures from the sports arena attended today’s Bangladesh-Singapore match at the National Stadium. Among them were familiar faces from the cricket world.
Former captain of the Bangladesh cricket team and ex-president of the cricket board Faruque Ahmed, another former captain and the country’s top opener Tamim Iqbal, as well as Naeem Islam—popularly known as “Sixer Naeem”—were all present at the stadium to watch Hamza and Sumit in action.
Also in attendance to witness the footballers’ magic on the field were former captain of the national football team and BNP’s Dhaka North convenor Aminul Haque, along with Bangladesh Cricket Board directors Mahbub Anam, Sheikh Sohel, and Aziz Al Kaiser Tito.
BNP’s Joint Secretary General Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie and several party leaders and activists were also present at the stadium to watch the Bangladesh-Singapore match.
The match, part of the Asian Cup qualifiers, kicked off at 7 PM on Tuesday. From early in the day, football fans began gathering around the stadium. By midday, the entire area had transformed into a sea of people.
All 18,300 tickets allocated for general spectators sold out shortly after online sales began. Ahead of the match, cricketers extended their best wishes to the footballers. National team pacer Rubel Hossain posted a photo of the football team on his verified Facebook page with the caption: “Best of luck, Bangladesh.”
