The Bangladesh women鈥檚 team was in the spotlight after retaining the SAFF Women鈥檚 Championship title, but the euphoria quickly shifted to the announcement that Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury had received FIFA clearance to join the Bangladesh men鈥檚 national team.
Hamza, born in Loughborough, England, to a Bangladeshi mother, is set to don the national team colours, ending the fans鈥� seven-year wait.
He received his Bangladeshi passport in late August and secured a no-objection certificate from the England Football Association in mid-September. The official FIFA clearance came through on December 19.
This development came at a time when the Bangladesh Football Federation saw a transition, with Tabith Awal elected as the new president on October 26, ending the 16-year tenure of Kazi Salahuddin.
The Bangladesh women鈥檚 team clinched their second straight SAFF title, proving their first title in 2022 was not a fluke.
Peter James Butler鈥檚 charges defeated six-time finalists Nepal 2-1 in the seventh edition of the SAFF final in Kathmandu on October 30. They had won the first title against the same opponent on September 19, 2022.聽
The team, captained by forward Sabina Khatun, had a stellar year, playing eight international matches and securing five wins, one draw, and two losses, which propelled them to 132nd in the FIFA rankings.
Bangladesh鈥檚 age-level women鈥檚 team also had success as they became the joint champions with India in the SAFF Under-19 Women鈥檚 Championship while lifting the SAFF Under-16 Championship title, beating India.聽
The national men鈥檚 team played eight international matches and could register only two wins and suffered six defeats to see them placed at 185th, two steps below last year.
The two victories came in friendlies against Maldives (2-0) and Bhutan (1-0), while they suffered identical (0-1) defeats in other matches in September and November, respectively.
Spanish coach Javier Cabrera鈥檚 charges conceded 12 goals in four FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying round-two games, losing to Palestine 5-0 and 1-0, Australia 2-0, and Lebanon 4-0.
In the boy鈥檚 age-level football, Bangladesh鈥檚 only success came in the SAFF U-20 Championship 2024, where they beat hosts Nepal 4-1 in the final to win the tournament.
Otherwise, they lost the SAFF Under-17 Championships final 2-0 against India in Bhutan. They also suffered early exits in the group stages of the AFC Under-20 and Under-17 Asian Cup 2025 qualifiers.
In club competitions, Bashundhara Kings won a historic treble by winning the Bangladesh Premier League, Federation Cup, and Independence Cup before lifting the inaugural Challenge Cup.
But under Romanian coach Valeriu Tita, Kings lost all three games in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League 2024鈥�25.聽
The ongoing Bangladesh Premier League was delayed due to an unfavourable political situation that saw the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5 following the student mass uprising began early in July.聽
Interim government adviser Asif Mahmud took charge of the ministry of youth and sports after former minister Nazmul Hasan went into hiding.
Two football clubs, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra, withdrew from the league, leaving national team captain Jamal Bhuyan without a club for the season.
The long-standing football venue crisis deepened, including the reconstruction of the Bangabandhu National Stadium, but there was a sigh of relief as the NSC allocated the MA Aziz Stadium in Chattogram for 10 years to host football matches.
Tragically, the Bangladesh football fraternity mourned the loss of five Swadhin Bangla Football Team members this year: captain Zakaria Pintoo on November 18, Bimal Kar on September 19, Saidur Rahman Patel on August 8, Aminul Islam Suruj on July 29, and Fazle Sadain Khokon on December 7.
