Shafiat Sobhan Sanvir And Bashundhara Kings Directors Celebrate As Bashundhara Kings Champions Of Bangladesh Premier League
Bashundhara Kings have emerged as the champions of Bangladesh Premier League in their maiden appearance with two matches to spare after playing a 1-1 draw with traditional Mohammedan Sporting Club on Thursday.
Bashundhara Kings President Imrul Hassan was ecstatic after Kings confirmed the title as he felt that Kings’ long cherished dream of the becoming the champions of the apex domestic football league of Bangladesh has taken the club to new heights.
“My happiness cannot be expressed in words. Our footballers have exceeded all our expectations. It has been the fulfillment of our long held dream. This feeling cannot be compared to any other triumph,” told Imrul Hassan at a rally by Bashundhara Kings fans on Thursday.
‘Bringing back the golden days of Bangladesh’s football’ was the motto of Bashundhara Kings since it’s inception. In their maiden stint at the top tier of Bangladesh’s domestic football, Bashundhara Kings appears to have pulled off quite a successful season both in terms of the results and their goals and targets as they have successfully attracted full-house crowds both in their home venue at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Nilphamari and in away venues as well.
“Bashundhara Group entered the realm of Bangladesh’s football for two basic reasons. First was to bring back the lost popularity of football and secondly to bring in qualitative improvement in Bangladesh’s football. I would like to consider ourselves to be successful on both counts. If one observes keenly, this year’s BPL has been much more popular than the previous editions,” told Imrul Hassan.
“Moreover, the improvement in the quality of Bangladesh’s football has been evident in our national team’s performance. Our triumphs in FIFA pre-qualifiers and earlier in Asian Games speak volumes about the improvement in the skills of Bangladeshi booters. Bangladeshi footballers are now much fitter than they were a couple of years back and all these improvement have been the result of unending efforts from the clubs,” added Bashundhara Kings President.
Bashundhara Kings’ success in their maiden appearance has caught the attention of the spectators and rekindled the hope for a bright future of Bangladesh’s domestic football among the football loving Bangladeshis. Bashundhara Kings President Imrul Hassan credited the team effort for their success and thanked all their supporters and fans for their trust.
“I think everyone involved with the team needs to be credited for our success. Not just coach (Oscar Bruzon) but also players alike deserve praise for all the effort they put in the making of Bashundhara Kings,” told Imrul Hassan.
Bashundhara Kings President Imrul Hassan credited this phenomenal success to the corporate culture engrained in the club considering the club’s was borne out of the largest business conglomerate of the nation, Bashundhara Group.
“I feel that it’s important to note that one of the most important reasons of our success is the way we run our club. As Bashundhara Kings are a part of Bashundhara Group, our style of running the club has been inherited from Bashundhara Group as well. We have been practicing corporate culture in the workings of our club since the first day and that’s why I feel that we have been able to achieve success so early,” told Imrul Hassan.
This is the 2nd major soccer trophy for big-budgeted Bashundhara Kings in the season after the Independence Cup Football after finishing runners-up in the season’s curtain raiser meet — Federation Cup Football.
On July 20, Bashundhara Kings were poised for the country’s most prestigious league crown with three matches to spare, but Sheikh Russel KC destroyed their party beating them by 1-0 goal at Sylhet District Stadium.
The league title celebration of the Kings was further delayed as their encounter with Dhaka Mohammedan SC was washed out just after three minutes of the play due to heavy rain at the Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Nilphamari on Wednesday.
They celebrated their maiden league crown with two matches to spare against Saif Sporting Club on July 28 in Mymensingh and Chattogram Abahani on July 31 at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, securing highest 59 points from 22 matches with 19 wins, two draws and one defeat, four ahead of their nearest rivals Dhaka Abahani, which bagged 55 points from 23 ties.
Dhaka Mohammedan DC remained at the 8th slot collecting 24 points from 22 matches.
In the remaining 87-minute of the vital match on Thursday, Souleymani Diabate of Mali put traditional black and white team Mohammedan ahead in the 16th minute (1-0) while Brazilian footballer Marcos Vinicius restored the parity for the Kings in the 37th minute (1-1).
