Bangabandhu National Stadium

Bangabandhu National Stadium
Location Dhaka
Owner Bangladesh Football Federation
Capacity 36,000[1]
Field size 105 × 68 metres
Surface Desso GrassMaster
Tenants
Bangladesh national football team

Bangabandhu National Stadium, (Bengali: বঙ্গবন্ধু জাতীয় স্টেডিয়াম) also known as Dhaka Stadium, and formerly known as Dacca Stadium, is the national stadium and a multipurpose sports arena in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is located in the Motijheel area in the heart of the city. The stadium have been renovated quite a few times, most recently for the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. It had a capacity of close to 55,000 before the renovation, making it then the largest stadium in Bangladesh. It is still the largest stadium in the country.

Its current name was given to honour Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation, also known as "Bangabandhu" or "Friend of Bengal".

The Bangabandhu National Stadium is one of the main football venues in Dhaka, together with the 25,000 capacity Bir Shreshtha Mustafa Kamal Stadium.

History

The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka is the only venue in the world to have hosted an inaugural home fixture for two Test nations: Pakistan and Bangladesh. India were the visitors on both occasions: in 1954–55, when Dacca was the capital of East Pakistan, and in 1976–77, when the first unofficial Test match was held between Bangladesh against the touring MCC from England. And the following year the Sri Lankan national team visited Bangladesh to play a few one-day, two-day and three-day unofficial matches against BCCB XI and Bangladesh National team. After that teams like Deccan Blues from India and MCC toured Bangladesh several times to play against BCCB XI and Bangladesh national team respectively. Bangladesh national team then went to play in the ICC tournament for the first time during 1979 in England. They participated in the same tournament in 1982, 1986, and 1990 till they finally became the champion in the ICC tournament during 1997. After that, Bangladesh became the tenth nation to attain Test status. With a purpose-built cricket stadium being constructed on the outskirts of the city, the ground was taken out of commission at the end of the 2004–05 season, and handed over for the sole use of the Bangladesh national football team.

The stadium has a history of hosting number of historic sports event starting from cricket, football, hockey to boxing. In February 1978, boxer Muhammad Ali fought an exhibition boxing match at the stadium, the then Dacca Stadium,[2] with a 12-year-old Bengali boy.

On September 6, 2011, Bangabandhu National Stadium hosted an international friendly football match between the full-strength Argentina and Nigeria teams, featuring Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Javier Mascherano and John Obi Mikel among the other star players of both nations. Argentina won 3–1 with goals from then-Real Madrid teammates Gonzalo Higuaín and Ángel Di María, and an own goal from Nigeria's Elderson Echiéjilé with Chinedu Obasi scoring Nigeria's lone goal. Bangladeshi referee Tayeb Shamsuzzaman officiated the game in front of a high crowd of 25,000 despite huge ticket prices.[3][4][5]

Current use

Currently, the stadium is used for football and athletics. The total seating capacity is about 36,000. It was also home to the Bangladeshi cricket team until 1 March 2005.

The stadium is located next to National Hockey Stadium. The stadium was used for competitions of the 2010 South Asian Games, including football and athletics.

Cricket stats and records

The venue hosted its last international cricket match on 1 March 2005. After 2005, hosting of International Cricket status was shifted to Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, which was situated in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Till 2005 the venue has hosted

Renovation : 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Opening Ceremony

Bangbandhu National Stadium hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup co-hosted by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India on 17 February 2011. The stadium was exclusively modernized and renovated into a world class stadium to host the opening ceremony. The capacity of the stadium had been increased to 36,000, a large LED screen had been installed, a modern roof had also been attached over the press box. The entrances and VIP box have also been upgraded to host the grand gala inaugural ceremony. The press box, along with a refreshment stand and the VIP box have been revamped. The stadium now has state of the art facilities suitable for international sporting events.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/bangladesh/bangabandhu-national-stadium/
  2. ↑ "Ali will have new battle plan". The Eagle (Bryan-College Station, TX). Associated Press. 17 February 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 27 November 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ ARGENTINA VS. NIGERIA 3 - 1 Soccerway.com
  4. ↑ Argentina beat Nigeria 3-1 to avenge June's defeat BBC
  5. ↑ Messi inspires Argentina to win over Nigeria NDTV

External links

Coordinates: 23°43′40.2″N 90°24′48.4″E / 23.727833°N 90.413444°E / 23.727833; 90.413444

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