Football in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, cricket and hockey are pushing football hard for its place as the nation's number one sport. Victories at an invitation tournament in Myanmar in 1995, the 8th SAF Games Football Tournament in Nepal in 1995 and the 3rd SAFF Championship on own home soil in 2003 are the most significant honours of the Bangladesh Football Federation. In the 1980s and 1990s, several home-grown players ventured abroad. From 1991 to 1993, top Indian clubs East Bengal and Mohammedam from Calcutta signed a total of 10 footballers from their neighbours. Bangladesh's best-known players are Kazi Salahuddin, who played in Hong Kong in 1979, and Md. Kawser Hamid, Kolkata Mohammedan S/C, who since the end of their playing careers have devoted their time to developing the code in their home country - both at club and international level.