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Sport in Bangladesh is a popular form of entertainment as well as an essential part of Bangladeshi culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh followed by football. Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is one of the top 10 cricketing nations of the world and has regularly qualified for the Cricket World Cup since 1999, the country achieved arguably its greatest heights in Cricket, when it defeated three of the top-rated teams in 2015 Cricket World Cup to qualify for the quarterfinals. In 2015, they white-washed Pakistan and clinched the series by 3-0 and in another major achievement they won a series against India by 2-1 in the same year, they beat South Africa 2–1 in an ODI series and cemented their spot in Champions Trophy 2017.
In football, Bangladesh is only the second team from South Asia to have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup (1980). The country's greatest success in football was their 2003 SAFF Gold Cup triumph along with winning gold at the 1999 South Asian Games. The Shadhin Bangla football team was one of the first instances of a national sports team representing the country internationally, during their tour of India amidst the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1]
The National Sports Council (NSC) is the governing body to controls all the sports federations and councils in the country and is responsible to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. There are a total of 46 different sports federations affiliated with the NSC.[2] Bangladesh Games is the largest domestic multi-sport tournament in the country, where athletes and sports teams from all the districts participate.
- ^ "Shadhin Bangla Football Team: The underappreciated heroes". The Business Standard. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "All Affiliated National Federation/Association". National Sports Council. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.