Atique Anam

Ever since Muhammad Ali's historic visit to Bangladesh 37 years ago, there has been this occasional speculation in local media as to what happened to the piece of land in Cox's Bazar which was promised to the legendary boxer.

He went close to creating history by winning the Mauritius Open on the European Tour before relinquishing his pole position because of one bad shot. Even so, he stands on the cusp of being the first Bangladeshi to directly qualify for the Olympics.

Struggle, struggle, surprise, disappointment. This seems to have become a pattern for Siddikur Rahman these days. Past his heady

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

As the football world reeled from the sensational punishments meted out to the two most powerful men of the game, one idyllic city in

Despite their waning prowess in South Asian football, there is one statistic that Bangladesh can take heart from and one that they

As the Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday disposed of the national team's 18th foreign coach Fabio Lopez only two-and-a-half

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

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.

When Mashrafe Bin Mortaza brought eight fielders to the wider slip cordon after the fall of the ninth Zimbabwe wicket,

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.

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

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

Berry Henson is a golfer with a difference or, at least it would seem so, from his laidback attitude and carefree approach. While most