Bangladesh unveils new jersey with mother tongue theme, two stadiums under BFF for 22 years

The new jerseys of the Bangladesh men's and women's football teams have been unveiled in a special ceremony. Breaking with tradition, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) organized the event on a large scale at the National Sports Council (NSC) auditorium outside its own building. The formalities of allocating Kamalapur Bir Shrestha Shaheed Sipahi Mustafa Kamal Stadium and Sylhet District Stadium for BFF's use for 22 years were also completed at the same ceremony.

A busy international schedule is ahead. Jamal Bhuiyan's Bangladesh will start the FIFA Asian Cup campaign with a match against Malaysia in Indonesia on September 25. On the other hand, the women's team led by Maria Manda will take to the field in the Asian Games football event on September 14. Their opponent in the first match will be North Korea.

Keeping this important journey of the two teams in mind, BFF's official jersey partner 'Dour' has unveiled the new jerseys.

The participation of the fans is also behind the design of the new jersey. The CEO of the race, Abid Alam Chowdhury, said that about 1,300 designs were submitted by Bangladeshi football fans from different parts of the world. From there, 34 elements were selected to create the new jersey design.

The main theme of the home jersey is the mother tongue. One of the features of the jersey, made with special technology and design, is that it has the ability to dry in just eight minutes, according to the organizers.

The price of the players' match jersey has been set at 1,600 taka. The version made for fans is priced at 700 taka. The jersey will be available at 165 Infinity stores in the country. There will also be an opportunity to buy it online through the race website.

At the jersey unveiling ceremony, pictures of Bangladesh men's team captain Jamal Bhuiyan and women's team captain Maria Manda wearing the new jersey were displayed on a big screen.

BFF President Tabith Awal said that the jersey is not just a piece of clothing, it is a symbol of the country's identity and emotions.

‘The jersey is another flag of ours. There are really few crazy football fans like Bangladesh in the world now. Our goal is for the fans to feel proud after wearing this jersey.’

At the event, State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque also emphasized on developing Bangladesh’s football jersey as a strong brand internationally. He said that the government has allocated Tk 50 crore seed money for BFF. This money will be kept in the bank and a large part of its profits can be spent on the activities of the federation.

After the jersey was unveiled, a memorandum of understanding was signed between NSC and BFF on the same stage for two stadiums. General Secretary Imran Hossain on behalf of BFF and Sports Director Zahed Parvez Chowdhury on behalf of NSC signed the agreement.

Under the agreement, BFF will be responsible for the maintenance and development of Bir Shrestha Shaheed Sipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur, Dhaka, and Sylhet District Stadium.

However, BFF President Tabith Awal clarified that the matter is not a permanent transfer of ownership. The ownership of the two stadiums will remain with the NSC and other federations can also use them if necessary.

Kamalapur Stadium was already being used mainly for football. On the other hand, it is believed that the Sylhet District Stadium, which is under the management of BFF, can play a major role in resolving the country's football infrastructure and field crisis.

The State Minister for Sports said that there is a plan to allocate more stadiums for BFF use in stages in the future.