There is no shortage of enthusiasm for cricket and football in Bangladesh. Major matches also draw considerable interest from spectators and supporters. But this enthusiasm is not reflected in the country’s overall sporting performance in international rankings. Instead, Bangladesh is gradually falling behind in the global sporting arena.
Bangladesh ranked 175th among 202 countries in 2026, according to the latest data published by the World Sports Rankings (WSR). It is behind South Asian countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan. India ranked 46th, followed by Pakistan at 89th, Nepal at 113th and Sri Lanka at 126th. Bhutan, a small South Asian country, also ranked ahead of Bangladesh at 164th.
A review of the rankings over the past several years also highlights Bangladesh’s decline. The country ranked 127th in 2025, 122nd in 2024, 119th in 2023, 123rd in 2022 and 128th in 2021, meaning Bangladesh has fallen 48 places in the rankings in just one year.
People involved in sports say the decline is not the result of failure in any particular competition or during a specific period. Rather, it reflects broader shortcomings in the system for developing athletes, training, infrastructure, talent scouting and long-term planning.
Former national cricket team captain Shafiqul Haque Hira told Bonik Barta: “I see problems everywhere. I see major flaws in the stages through which players emerge, starting from the grassroots level. From player selection and nurturing to providing them with the facilities needed to develop world-class players, do we really have those opportunities?”
In his view, the Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education (BKSP), one of the country’s key institutions for developing athletes, has also failed to play its expected role. Only a handful of athletes emerge from the institution, while there have also been shortcomings in developing talented athletes to compete at the world-class level.
He said: “BKSP could have been our athlete development factory, but it’s not performing properly. Only one or two athletes emerge from there. And we’re unable to properly develop those who are talented and have the potential to excel. I haven’t really seen any high-quality athlete emerge since Alim [former athlete Qazi Abdul Alim]. So, if we want to produce world-class athletes and develop the ability to compete on the global stage, we have a lot of work to do in this area.”
The WSR ranking is essentially a research-based index that evaluates the overall sporting performance of different countries. Published annually since 2014, the ranking assesses the sporting performance of countries with a National Olympic Committee (NOC). Alongside various sports recognised by SportAccord, it also covers relatively new or not formally recognised sports that are popular internationally.
Sports analysts say one of Bangladesh’s major problems is its excessive focus on cricket. Although a strong sports economy has developed around cricket through spectators, sponsorships, broadcasting rights and commercial activities, other sports have not received similar opportunities. Consequently, many traditional sports are gradually disappearing or losing their competitive edge. Yet Bangladesh has still failed to achieve the desired success in any major international cricket competition. So the popularity built around a single sport cannot serve as a substitute for overall sports development.
A sizeable sports economy has already developed in Bangladesh around the sale of sports equipment and tickets, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, advertising and merchandising. According to estimates from various markets, its annual value could be BDT 50–70 billion or more. If professional leagues, modern infrastructure, an effective broadcasting system and the commercial development of sports other than cricket can be ensured, the market could exceed BDT 100 billion within the next few years. But people involved in sports believe that tapping into this potential will require more than simply capitalising on the interest of spectators and consumers. They say long-term investment, age-group training and international-standard coaching must be ensured in athletics, swimming, shooting, archery, gymnastics, weightlifting and other sports, including various Olympic events. The entire process, from identifying talent to reaching the international stage, needs to be brought under planned management.
The Olympics are among the world’s major sporting events, with the United States and China emerging as dominant powers. South Korea and Japan are also among the strongest teams, while neighbouring India has achieved considerable success. Although Bangladesh has participated regularly in the Olympics since 1984, it has yet to win a medal. Bangladeshi athletes have mainly participated through “wild cards” or special quotas. Golfer Siddikur Rahman was the first Bangladeshi to qualify directly for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Some athletes also competed at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, but they did not qualify directly or on merit.
Bangladesh has achieved limited success at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, SAFF Championship and Cricket World Cup. At the Asian Games, Bangladesh has won 12 medals so far — one gold, five silver and six bronze. The country’s only gold medal came in cricket at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. Bangladesh, meanwhile, has won a total of eight medals at the Commonwealth Games, which bring together countries of the Commonwealth. These include two gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
Shooting is now a shadow of its former self, despite having a golden past. In 2010, Sharmin Akter Ratna won gold in the women’s 10-metre air rifle event at the South Asian (SA) Games, as well as representing Bangladesh at the Olympics. Stressing the need for proper planning in the country’s sports sector, she told Bonik Barta: “The importance and investment given to cricket in the country haven’t been extended to any other sport. These sports have consequently lost attention. No one now wants to take up shooting, archery or chess. Yet we’ve still not become a very good cricket team. At global tournaments such as the Olympics, we have to rely on sports such as shooting, archery and kabaddi to represent Bangladesh. But we’re far behind in these sports because they receive little attention and no one invests in them. To do well, we need to bring in experienced people from abroad and set clear plans.”
Like shooting and archery, chess has also failed to produce much good news. Bangladesh has not produced a new grandmaster (GM) in 18 years since Enamul Hossain Razib became a GM in 2008. During the same period, the number of GMs in India has risen from 18 to 89. Young players Fahad Rahman and Manon Reza, however, are making progress towards achieving the title.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s fastest man, Imranur Rahman, was eliminated in the heats of the 100-metre sprint at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 27. He finished 27th among the 73 sprinters who competed in the event, reflecting the broader picture of Bangladeshi athletics at both global and regional competitions.
Football has also fallen behind alongside these sports. The 1990s are considered the golden era of football in Bangladesh. At the time, the Abahani-Mohammedan rivalry in Dhaka was a craze among young people. Bangladeshi players also travelled to India to play for clubs there, in addition to clubs in Dhaka. Monem Munna, Afzal Ahmed, Kaiser Hamid and Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib were among the stars of Bangladeshi football. But Bangladesh’s only success in a major international competition came in 2003, when it defeated the Maldives in the final of the SAFF Championship. The country also finished runners-up in 1999 and 2005.
Since then, Bangladesh’s football appears to have gradually faded away. As the standard of the game has declined, football is also losing spectators. In the latest FIFA rankings, Bangladesh’s men’s team is ranked 181st in the world, while the national women’s team is ranked 107th. The women won the SAFF Women’s Championship twice in a row, in 2022 and 2024. Most recently, they made history by qualifying for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for the first time in 2026. Yet the facilities and support available to women footballers remain far below those provided to cricketers.
Since winning the ICC Trophy in 1997 and entering Test cricket in 2000, cricket has been the country’s most popular sport. Other sports, meanwhile, appear to be gradually losing their glory. Bangladesh has yet to win an international trophy in cricket, however. Hockey, meanwhile, has been played at the national level since independence, but has produced no major success. Despite having some achievements at the junior level, Bangladesh’s senior team has yet to qualify for a major global tournament. Instead of turf, tournaments or success stories, the race for power within federations and internal politics seems to make the headlines throughout the year.
Former star player and joint secretary of the Hockey Federation Ariful Haque Prince believes investment must be increased to develop sports other than cricket and football in Bangladesh. He told Bonik Barta: “It’s worrying that we’ve fallen so far behind in the world rankings. The main reason is that we’re moving forward without targets. We need to set clear targets. We have to select a few sports and focus on developing them. That’s how we can make progress. If we want to make sports capable of contributing to the economy, we have to invest in them. Sport means investment. The government can’t do it alone, but we can’t rely solely on sponsors either. Both sides need to be involved in a plan covering at least 10 years. Only then can we expect some results. There’s no other way.”
At one time, district, upazila, divisional and school-level age-group tournaments held across the country were among the major attractions of Bangladesh’s sports scene. They produced renowned athletes every year. But this pipeline has narrowed over the past two decades, with many stadiums having closed because of mismanagement and a lack of proper infrastructure. Some stadiums have even been turned into grazing grounds for cattle and goats, while markets have sprung up in others.
Chattogram’s MA Aziz Stadium was allocated to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) for 25 years in 2025. Since then, sporting activities there have effectively come to a halt. The same is true of Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura, Fatullah Stadium in Narayanganj and Khulna Divisional Stadium. These stadiums once hosted international matches, but have remained largely unused for more than a decade. Assets worth hundreds of millions of taka are deteriorating, while children and young people are losing opportunities to play sports.
Jamilur Rahman, venue manager at Shaheed Chandu Stadium, told Bonik Barta: “No international match has been held at the Bogura stadium since 2006. In 2023, the Bangladesh Cricket Board cancelled the venue’s cricket status. No initiative has been taken to renovate the stadium since then.”
Former athlete and renowned sports organiser Nazrul Islam Rumi believes Bangladesh’s sports sector continues to lag because of its lack of competitiveness. He told Bonik Barta: “The biggest problem in Bangladesh’s sports sector is that we don’t pay enough attention to our position in the rankings or in international competitions. Although we participate in various international competitions, their scope and standard are often limited. We’ve had some success, particularly at the junior and women’s levels, but we lag at the senior level. Moreover, many of the events in which we win medals have limited international competition. We also need to move away from the notion that success in a few less competitive sports means Bangladesh’s sports sector as a whole has improved.”
People involved in the sector believe that despite Bangladesh having failed to achieve significant success in sports over the past few decades, every federation has been politicised. Political leaders have been appointed to positions in almost all sports federations, including those for cricket, football and hockey. During the previous interim government’s tenure, ad hoc committees were formed in 47 national sports federations in seven phases between November 2024 and July 2025, creating widespread instability across the sports sector. Following a decision by the former interim government, Bangladesh also did not travel to India to play in the T20 World Cup held there earlier this year, triggering strong reactions at home and abroad. Tiger supporters also feared that it could strain relations with the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Bangladesh ranks 175th among 202 countries in the rankings for Olympic and non-Olympic sports, with just 3,438 points, according to WSR data. The United States tops the rankings with 299,712 points. Italy, Canada, China, Australia, Norway, France, Japan, Sweden and Germany follow the United States.
Former athlete Rafiqul Islam Kamal believes local-level academies and federations, alongside national institutions, need to be strengthened if Bangladesh wants to improve its position in the World Sports Rankings. He told Bonik Barta: “Over the past few decades, the National Sports Council has failed to make much progress. To contribute to the world rankings, we need to develop athletes at the local level. For that, the National Sports Council, various sports federations, BKSP and academies need to be strengthened. If this can be done, we should see good results internationally within a few years.”
Against this backdrop, State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque has outlined various government plans to improve Bangladesh’s competitiveness at national and international levels. He told Bonik Barta: “One of the major reasons sports other than cricket have fallen behind is the lack of future and financial security for athletes. So the government has taken initiatives to establish sports as a sustainable career rather than merely a source of entertainment or a hobby. We’ve introduced a monthly sports allowance for athletes. Sports where Bangladesh has a realistic chance of winning medals at the international or Olympic level, such as shooting, archery, chess and hockey, are being prioritised under a ‘Special Action Plan’. Notun Kuri is part of that plan. Many athletes capable of representing Bangladesh in the future will emerge from this programme.”