Anisur Rahman

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin promised a lot of reforms when he was elected for a third term last month, but unfortunately he is confronted with the same old problem.

The reply will probably be in the negative if the casual Bangladesh sports fan is asked whether he or she is satisfied with the efforts of the 521-member contingent in the just-concluded 12th South Asian Games in India. Dig a little deeper however, and the story that emerges is one of meagre facilities that have shackled the individual athletes' admirable dedication and determination to make the country proud beyond the border.

"Please, don't lose the ball frequently; hold the ball as much as you can. If you make the same mistakes tomorrow [Saturday], then you will get no medals and will have to go back to Dhaka empty-handed," was coach Gonzalo Sanchez Moreno's appeal to his charges ahead of today's semifinal match against hosts India at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati.

They were once labelled 'bad girls' and faced a lot of odds in and outside their own homes, but they persisted on their beloved paths. Now those same women have turned into the pride of the nation.

Unheralded Shakil Ahmed broke a two-decade-long gold drought in the pistol event of the South Asian (SA) Games

Swimmer Mahfuza Khatun Shila brought another occasion for the national anthem to be played in India after producing a South Asian Games new record

Ahead of the South Asian Games, the focus of the swimming events rested on Shahjahan Ali Rony, Mahfizur Rahman Sagar and Mahfuza Khatun Shila.

After a strenuous six-hour journey from Dawki, the starting point of the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya from Bangladesh, to Guwahati, co-hosts of the

The 12th South Asian Games got underway yesterday at the Indira Ghandhi Athletics Stadium in Assam with a glamorous opening

The curtain on the 12th South Asian Games (SAG), known as the South Asian Olympics, rises today at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati, with a view to boosting team spirit and amiable relationship among the countries of the region.

A brace from Hassan Naiz gave Maldives a winning start in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup as the SAFF Suzuki Cup semifinalists beat Cambodia 3-2 in a pulsating Group B encounter at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday.

The Bangladesh Olympic opened their Bangabandhu Gold Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Bahrain in Group B opener at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday. Winger Yousuf Sifat provided Bangladesh with an 18-minute lead but Bahrain midfielder Jasim Al Shaikh equalised the margin only five minutes later to deny the young Bangladesh side a similar outcome to their senior team.

The Bangladesh Olympic team are looking forward to weighing their level as they take on Bahrain in the first Group B fixture of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore today.

Hosts Bangladesh got off to a winning start in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup with a nervy 4-2 win over Sri Lanka in the opening match at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore yesterday. Striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony struck a brace while Nabib Newaj Jibon and Zahid Hossain netted one goal apiece to give Bangladesh the victory against the Sri Lankan youth side who, however, gave a run for the money to the hosts by making it 3-2 at one stage.

The Bangladesh national football team will be hoping to move on from their disappointing performances in the recently concluded SAFF Suzuki Cup when the hosts begin their Bangabandhu Gold Cup campaign by taking on Sri Lanka in the opening match at the Shamsul Huda Stadium in Jessore today.

The way police with guns surrounded the ground at the Jessore Police Line gave an impression that a foreign team were preparing themselves for the Bangabandhu Gold Cup. But in realityit was the Bangladesh national football team who were having their second-day practice session yesterday afternoon ahead of Friday's opening match against Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh coach Fabio Lopez congratulated his players for a brave performance against the Socceroos and also thanked the home crowd for turning up in great numbers yesterday.

The security arrangements for today's World Cup qualifier between Bangladesh and Australia at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) could be compared only to the one taken for the friendly between Argentina and Nigeria, hosted at the same venue in 2011, said Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, DIG of Police.

Hosts Chittagong Abahani clinched the inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup title in style after coming back from a goal down to beat East Bengal 3-1 in a pulsating final at the MA Aziz Stadium yesterday. The port city team, which hosted this tournament as part of its grand design to rebuild the side as one of the strongest football clubs in the country, lifted its first major silverware as well as exacted a sweet revenge for its opening match defeat against the Kolkata giants, who were the only unbeaten side ahead of the final.

Will the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong turn blue or red & gold today? We will get the answers after the grand final of the inaugural Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup involving hosts Chittagong Abahani and Kolkata giants East Bengal that kicks off at 7:40pm today. But whoever wins the title of the eight-team event, it will be their first on Bangladesh soil.