Bangladesh national football team
The Bangladesh national football team (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দল) is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1973 and of FIFA since 1974, even though the Bangladesh Football Federation was first founded in 1972. Bangladesh was elected as a member of the AFC Executive Committee in 1982–1986 and 1998–2002. The current Executive Committee was elected democratically, under an AFC approved constitution and direct supervision of FIFA & AFC, in October 2020.
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| Association | Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sub-confederation | SAFF (South Asia) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Javier Cabrera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain | Jamal Bhuyan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Jamal Bhuyan (83) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu (17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Bangabandhu National Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | BAN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FIFA ranking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current | 184 1 (4 April 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest | 110 (April 1996) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest | 197 (February–May 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First international | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh 2–2 Thailand (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 26 July 1973) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh 8–0 Maldives (Dhaka, Bangladesh; 23 December 1985) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Korea 9–0 Bangladesh (Incheon, South Korea; 16 September 1979) Iran 9–0 Bangladesh (Karachi, Pakistan; 18 February 1982) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Group stage (1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AFC Challenge Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2006) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2006) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAFF Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1995) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Champions (2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Website | bff | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bangladesh's national team debuted in 1973 and has yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. They were dismissed in the first round of their only Asian Cup appearance to date in 1980; by qualifying for it, Bangladesh is one of only two South Asian nations to achieve the feat. The nation's best results came at South Asian level where it won the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup and were gold medalists at the 1999 South Asian Games. Bangladesh was one of Asia's emerging teams in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, since the turn of the century, top-level football in Bangladesh is played somewhere in the shadow of the country's national cricket team. This is mostly due to inadequate budget allocation and lack of technical skills adaptation. To date, football remains a popular sport in Bangladesh but cricket remains the most popular sport in the nation.