Bangabandhu Cup Football
Revenue earning is one of the major targets of the organizers from any international sports event like the Bangabandhu Cup Football Tournament underway in Dhaka. To achieve the object, the State support is essential, with which none can disagree.
We know that a good crowd attendance inspires the athletes to display their best. The television channels telecast matches live from the stadium and the multinational companies contribute by giving advertisement of their products.
The concluded 2nd edition of the Indian Super League drew huge crowds, (27,111 on average, highest 68, 340), earned huge revenues and got worldwide circulation. Chennai FC became champions beating Goa 2-1 in the final. The private business magnate Nita Ambani and the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) deserve the credit of the success of the tournament and we saw the India to win the 11th SAFF Cup football title a few days ago.
But in the case of the Bangabandhu Cup, a few thousand spectators watched all the matches except one so far held. The reasons are the weak coverage and the Home teams’ performance.
Bangladesh cut a very sorry figure throughout the year 2015. They could not win a single match in the qualifying round of the World Cup Football – 2018 and the Asian Cup Football – 2019. It means that the technique and the style of the Bangladesh team should be changed to Spain’s Tiki-Taka because the footballers are weak in physique. I think that the Bangladesh Football Federation may take lessons from the AIFF about making a tournament successful.
Abdullah Akber
Dhaka
