Photo: Collected
Anvir Bashundhara Group (ABG) is set to organise cricket and football tournaments together for the first time. The initiative aims to draw university-going young people to the field and to build a new competitive atmosphere in the country’s sporting arena.
The competition has been named the ‘ABG University Cup’. It will be staged with international-standard sports infrastructure and corporate sponsorship, along with plans for live television broadcast. Those involved hope the event, featuring the country’s private universities, will open a new horizon in university-based sports competition.
The tournament’s matches will be held in the current month of October at Bashundhara Sports City’s two international-standard venues, Bashundhara Kings Arena and Anvir Cricket Stadium. The opening cricket match will be played on 25 October and the opening football match on 26 October.
Ten teams each from 10 of the country’s private universities will take part. The teams will be divided into two groups. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, and the semi-final winners will face each other for the title.
All matches will be played under floodlights. In both cricket and football, the champion team will receive Tk 10 lakh each in prize money, while the runners-up will get Tk 5 lakh each.
The first ABG University Cup will conclude with two finals: the football final on 3 November and the cricket final on 13 November.
ABG Sports City has been developed as a full-fledged sports complex with multi-dimensional facilities in Bangladesh’s sporting arena. It has arrangements for hosting various sports, including football, cricket, basketball, boxing, squash, futsal, swimming, padel tennis and badminton. One of the hallmarks of this sports hub is infrastructure suited not only to domestic competitions but also to international-level sporting events.
Bashundhara Kings Arena is one of the main attractions of ABG Sports City. International and domestic football competitions are held regularly at this FIFA-recognised football venue. It is also the home venue of Bashundhara Kings football club. In building infrastructure centred on a club’s own stadium, Kings Arena is a notable example not only in Bangladesh but in subcontinental club football as well.
Right beside Kings Arena is Anvir Cricket Stadium, which has already caught the attention of sports lovers. The cricket series between Bangladesh and Malaysia was recently held at this ground. By hosting international cricket, the stadium has signalled new potential in the country’s sports infrastructure.
Md. Imrul Hasan, a familiar figure in the country’s sporting arena, is the director of Bashundhara Sports City. He is also the president of Bashundhara Kings and serves as senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
On the purpose of the event, Imrul Hasan said Bashundhara Group has always worked for the development of sports in the country. As a full-fledged sports complex, ABG Sports City has the facilities needed to host domestic and international competitions in various sports.
He said the main goal of the ABG University Cup is to make the young generation more interested in sports and to widen the scope of sports practice at university level.
On the tournament’s future plans, Imrul Hasan said the event is initially starting with cricket and football, with 10 teams each in the first edition. However, there are plans to hold the ABG University Cup on a larger scale with 50 universities this coming December. In that case, he expressed hope, the reach and scale of the competition will grow further.
Sports competitions at school, college and university level have long been held in Bangladesh. Inter-university tournaments also take place regularly at university level. But the ABG University Cup carries special significance because, under a single initiative, a large-scale competition is being held under corporate sponsorship around two popular sports, cricket and football.
It is expected that floodlit play, attractive prize money, international-standard venues and plans for live television broadcast will give the event a new dimension beyond conventional university-level sports competitions.
For university students, the initiative will increase opportunities for developing talent, building a competitive mindset and taking part in sports regularly. At the same time, sports-based communication and an environment of healthy rivalry among educational institutions may grow stronger.
All things considered, the ABG University Cup is not merely a cricket and football tournament; it is also an initiative to make university-level sports more organised, attractive and spectator-oriented. If the possible larger event in December is carried out drawing on the experience of the first edition, a new trend may begin in the country’s university sports arena.
