Photo: Collected
The lack of modern infrastructure has long been one of the principal crises of the country’s sporting scene. International-standard grounds, advanced training facilities, gymnasiums and rehabilitation arrangements for players initiatives to build a complete sporting environment with all of this together have also been limited. Against that reality, ABG Sports City, which has grown up in the Bashundhara Residential Area of the capital, has opened the door to new possibilities in the country’s sport. From football to cricket, from squash to hockey, by creating modern facilities for various games, this sports complex is not merely bringing infrastructural change; it is also transforming the environment and culture of sporting practice.
ABG Sports City, built on some 300 bighas of land, has become a notable example of private initiative in Bangladesh’s sporting arena. Bashundhara Group’s long-term planning, investment and commitment to sport are reflected in this undertaking. Such integrated sports infrastructure by a private corporate house is rare in South Asia. As a result, ABG Sports City has created a distinct identity in the country’s sports sector while also creating an opportunity to showcase Bangladesh’s capability on the international stage.
Alongside the expansion of its business activities, Bashundhara Group has been engaged in various social responsibility initiatives since the 1980s; the company began the work of building this sports city in 2019. Constructing playing fields alone is not its main objective; rather, the aim is to encourage the new generation towards sport, to create opportunities for the development of talented players, and to carry the country’s sporting arena forward to international standards. To realise this goal, the necessary infrastructure has been built in stages for football, cricket and other games.
ABG Sports City is a practical example of the major change that private sector participation can bring to the spread of sport in the country. The regular sporting events held at its grounds and training centres are generating fresh interest among young people. The scope for taking up sport as recreation, as healthy living and as a profession is also widening. Such initiatives can also play an important role in keeping young people away from drug addiction and negative activities and engaging them in physical and mental development.
Bashundhara Kings Arena is among the main attractions of ABG Sports City. Suitable for international football, this venue has already established an important position in Bangladesh’s sporting arena. When the National Stadium became unsuitable for hosting international football, Kings Arena emerged as an effective alternative for the country. Home matches of the World Cup qualifiers, AFC Cup matches and events such as the South Asian age-group women’s football competition have been held at this ground. It has therefore also played an important role in reducing dependence on foreign grounds for hosting international matches.
Another example of Kings Arena’s acceptance on the international stage was found in the visit of the technical delegation associated with the Brazil national football team. Ahead of India’s FIFA friendly against Brazil, a technical team came to Bangladesh last August to review the ground and the venue’s facilities, and inspected the National Stadium in Dhaka and Bashundhara Kings Arena. The delegation praised the Kings Arena ground, the practice ground and the players’ gym and recovery facilities as being of international standard. Recognition of this kind is not merely the success of a single sporting facility; it is also a positive message for Bangladesh’s sporting system.
Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan dreams of long-term change in the sporting arena. In the planning of this sports city, built on his initiative, importance has been given to the new generation. His four sons — Sadat Sobhan Tanvir, Safiat Sobhan Sanvir, Sayem Sobhan Anvir and Safwan Sobhan Tasvir — are playing a role in carrying this undertaking forward through their interest in sport and their patronage. Their aim is not merely to build their own sporting institution; it is to make the practice of sport in the country broader and more dynamic.
ABG chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir believes there is ample scope for creating new possibilities in Bangladesh’s football. In remarks published in Kaler Kantho on 18 October 2021, he said that although football is one of the most popular and attractive games in the world, the game has not received the importance expected of it in Bangladesh. His expectation is that good-quality footballers will emerge from the academy of the Bashundhara Sports Complex in future, and that the development of sport in the country will be accelerated if other business houses too come forward in the sporting arena. He also dreams of Bangladesh playing on the stage of the football World Cup.
Legendary hockey player and sports personality Abdus Sadeque has assessed Bashundhara Group’s initiative in the country’s sporting arena positively. In remarks published in Kaler Kantho on 12 January 2026, he said that Bashundhara Group has taken a major step in the country’s sports sector by building grounds, stadiums and infrastructure for various games. He also highlighted the success of Bashundhara Kings, the group’s interest in cricket, the laying of turf for hockey, and its initiative to spread padel tennis in Bangladesh. In his view, sport in the country will become richer still if other business houses too come forward in forming teams and extending patronage.
The sporting affection of chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and the members of his family is well known, said Md Imrul Hasan, director of ABG Sports City, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Football Federation, president of Bashundhara Kings and deputy managing director of Bashundhara Group. He said their aim is to present Bangladesh positively in the international sphere through sport and to raise the country’s profile. In his words, the chairman’s support for the development of the sporting arena has always been positive. They are hopeful that, in the next few years, the benefits of the initiative taken at ABG Sports City will become still clearer in the country’s sporting arena.
In Imrul Hasan’s view, opportunities for training and competition in various games are increasing as a result of the construction of modern sports infrastructure. At the same time, new fields of employment are being created. Arrangements to engage young people with sport and encourage them towards healthy living also exist at this sports city.
Bashundhara Kings Arena was formally inaugurated on 17 February 2022 by Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan. The following year, on 3 September, the first international match was held at the ground, against Afghanistan. Since then, the venue’s activities have expanded further through the hosting of international and domestic football.
A non-residential football academy was launched at ABG Sports City on 5 October 2024 with the aim of building the future generation of footballers. There are plans to launch a residential academy later, once the construction of the dormitory is complete. Through this, the opportunity will be created to train talented young people regularly and build them into skilled players. Those concerned expect that, in the long term, national-level footballers will emerge from this academy.
Alongside football, progress is also being made in cricket. The Bangladesh team has played an international match against Malaysia at the Anvir Cricket Stadium. There are also plans to host warm-up matches ahead of visits by international teams. Along with international matches, Premier Cricket League games have also been held at this ground. At the same time, the ABG Cricket Network team has begun taking part in the cricket league. Through these activities, the field of cricket training, competition and player development is expanding.
Beyond football and cricket, events in other games are also increasing at ABG Sports City. An international squash competition was recently held here, in which players from 11 countries including Bangladesh took part. The second edition of the Zulkan Fighting Championship, an international combat sports competition with the participation of seven countries — ‘ZFC-2: Pride of Bangladesh’ — has also been organized.
To spread sport at the university level, an initiative has been taken this month to organize football and cricket tournaments with 10 private universities each. There are plans to widen the scope of this competition further in future. Through this, along with engaging university students in regular sporting practice, new opportunities for the development of talent will be created.
The work of laying the astroturf for hockey is also nearing completion. Once it comes into use, opportunities for practice and competition in a modern environment will increase, and the possibility of hosting international hockey matches and tournaments here will also be created in future. It is in this way, by building the necessary infrastructure for multiple games, that ABG Sports City is developing into a multi-dimensional sports centre.
As part of its future plans, ABG Sports City has decided on the naming of several important facilities. The cricket stadium will be named ‘Shah Alam Cricket Stadium’, the hockey stadium ‘Abdus Sadeque Stadium’, and the international-standard swimming pool will be named ‘Abdus Sobhan Swimming Pool’.
Naming sporting facilities after Shah Alam and Abdus Sadeque will create the occasion to remember the contributions of personalities associated with the country’s sporting arena. Abdus Sobhan, on the other hand, was the father of Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and one of the students of the first batch of the University of Dhaka. He was a good swimmer and took part in competitions for the Bengal team of that time. Through the naming of the swimming pool after him, an initiative has been taken to honor his own sporting past.
ABG Sports City is also planning to organize an unconventional sports and entertainment festival with several of the country’s traditional clubs. If an event of this kind is held, the participation of sports lovers will increase and a new field of mutual contact and competition between various clubs will be created.
The development of sport in Bangladesh does not depend on talented players alone; regular training, modern infrastructure, efficient management, opportunities for competition and long-term patronage are all needed. The ABG Sports City initiative has created the possibility of advancing in all these areas at once.
Building grounds and training facilities for various games, hosting international competitions, producing players through academies, and the effort to draw young people towards sport — taken together, this sports city is an important addition to the country’s sporting arena. The more its activities expand, the greater the opportunity to bring forward new players, to create sport-related employment and to raise Bangladesh’s profile on the international stage.
This initiative of Bashundhara Group may in future encourage other business houses of the country to build sports infrastructure and extend patronage as well. In that case, the significance of ABG Sports City will go beyond the boundaries of a sports complex and become part of a larger sporting movement. In that journey towards the dream of making Bangladesh’s sport more organized, more modern and internationally competitive, ABG Sports City has already made a notable place for itself.
