Photo: Collected
Anvir Bashundhara Group (ABG) has taken up a new initiative. Its aims are to build a professional sporting culture at university level, to draw the young generation towards the field, and to take the country’s sports arena forward.
The logo of the ‘ABG University Cup 2026’ was recently unveiled by ABG Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir. Under his dynamic leadership, the tournament has opened up a new avenue of possibility for enriching the country’s sports arena and developing the talent of young athletes. This mega event begins on October 25 at ABG Sports City and is being held for the first time. The cricket and football tournaments will run simultaneously at night under floodlights. Ten of the country’s leading private universities will take part, and the teams will compete for the titles in separate cricket and football competitions.
The tournament is being seen as an important step in the continuing effort, under the patronage of ABG Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir, to develop the country’s sports infrastructure and create an international-standard sporting environment for young people. Bashundhara Kings have achieved international success, and ABG Sports City has been built with modern facilities; following these, this event will add further momentum to the progress of sport at university level.
Participating universities:
The 10 universities competing for the titles are American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), North South University, BRAC University, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Sonargaon University, United International University (UIU), Fareast International University, University of Scholars and Daffodil International University.
A colourful event titled ‘Captains Meet and Greet’ was held last Saturday night at the ABG Chairman’s residence in Bashundhara Residential Area, ahead of the tournament’s formal staging. It was attended by ABG Sports City Director Imrul Hassan, Adviser Bidyut Kumar Bhowmik, T Sports Executive Director Tasvir Ul Islam, Operations Manager Salman Hasan and Ekram Hossain Rafi. The captains of the 20 cricket and football teams also took part, along with students from various universities.
Prize money of Tk 10 lakh for the champion team and Tk 5 lakh for the runners-up has been announced for the tournament, to encourage young people to pursue sport professionally. This attractive prize has generated great enthusiasm and excitement among students. Those concerned expect that, besides giving players a competitive environment in which to showcase their talent, the tournament will also play an important role in producing national-level players in the future.
The captains attending the event said that such an opportunity to prove their merit and skill in a professional environment is a matter of great pride for them. They expressed the hope that this far-sighted initiative of ABG Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir will further strengthen sporting culture at university level and make a unique contribution to creating the future stars of the country’s sports arena.
