Let us go back to November 2025. At Dhaka’s National Stadium, Bangladesh faced India in an Asian Cup qualifier. The cheapest gallery ticket cost Tk 500, and within six minutes of going on sale online, every ticket in the general gallery had sold out.
Since Hamza Choudhury’s arrival, international football at home had felt like a festival, and tickets for national team matches had become a golden deer.
Not even a year later, the SAFF Championship is being held in Bangladesh, but the picture this time is completely different. Bangladesh begin their campaign at 8pm on Thursday, against Bhutan, after India and Pakistan meet in the afternoon.
One ticket covers both matches, which is why the cheapest ticket has been set at Tk 1,000. Yet more than half the tickets were still unsold as of Wednesday.
It says a lot that organisers of a continental tournament like SAFF had to offer a discount only a day before the opening match, when tickets for Hamza’s first game vanished in six minutes.
Even the discount is confusing. Tickify first announced 50 per cent off for students, then edited its post to limit it to up to 100 students.
Bangladesh will not have Hamza for the opening match against Bhutan. Still, with a tournament like SAFF on home soil, where the whole country dreams of winning the title after 23 years, the hope had been that interest among spectators would be even higher. There may be objections over the ticket prices. Even so, the gap between the frenzy over last year’s India match and this year’s picture shows the distance between expectation and reality in Bangladesh football.
Recent performances on the pitch have contributed to that gap. After Hamza’s arrival, supporters began to dream about Bangladesh football again.
A player with Premier League experience was playing in the red and green jersey, joined by Shamit Shome, Farhaan Ali Wahed, Zayyan Ahmed, Fahmedul Islam and several other players raised abroad.
At one point, there was even talk that football might eat into cricket’s popularity. The interest in national team matches, the frenzy over Hamza on social media and the return of spectators to the stadium made it seem that Bangladesh football had turned a corner.
The biggest occasion for that frenzy was supposed to be the SAFF Championship at home. Bangladesh last won this title in 2003, their only success, and now there is a chance to lift the trophy on home soil after 23 years.
The added strength from Hamza and the others, familiar surroundings and the support of fans gave plenty of reasons to dream of the title.
But the ASEAN Cup dealt a heavy blow to those expectations. Bangladesh lost all three matches against strong sides from South-East Asia.
After defeats to Malaysia and Singapore, they conceded nine goals against hosts Indonesia. Over the three matches, Bangladesh scored two goals and conceded 13.
The 9-2 defeat by Indonesia in particular raised a question among supporters: why is the reality on the pitch so harsh despite such high hopes for Hamza and the others?
Still, it would not be right to judge Bangladesh’s full ability by the ASEAN Cup result. The opponents were strong and the preparation was limited. But it is also true that the performances on the pitch could not live up to the frenzy and expectation built around Hamza.
That puts extra pressure on this SAFF. The discussion and excitement around the expatriate footballers over the past year and a half will face its biggest test in this home tournament.
If Bangladesh cannot win the title after all the effort, expectation and talk, the question will arise of how long the frenzy around the expatriate players can last.
Zahid Hasan Ameli, a former national striker and a member of the 2010 SA Games-winning team, thinks the same. In his view, supporters want to see success at the end of the day.
He told Daily Waadaa:
“Without success, nothing has any value, however big the stars in that team. At the end of the day, everyone wants to see success. If we cannot win SAFF, this frenzy will not last. We are already feeling the effect of the ASEAN Cup collapse. Ticket sales have dropped, and we cannot see much enthusiasm among ordinary people about SAFF. If we cannot win SAFF now as well, people’s interest will undoubtedly fall.”
Bangladesh’s 28-man squad for this SAFF includes nine expatriate players: Hamza, Shamit, Farhaan, Jamal, Tariq, Zayyan, Zidane Yusuf, Quazem Shah and Shuki Itofusa.
Some have played in European football, some grew up in North American systems and some in Asia. Such variety is undoubtedly positive for Bangladesh football. But matches are not won on names alone. How well organised the side is as a team, how effective they are on the pitch and how calm they stay in tense moments will be the real test.
A team built around so many expatriates has yet to play together at full strength in a major tournament. So even if there is optimism about individual ability, the question remains how well they will understand each other on the pitch.
The biggest worry is the attack. There is no proven, reliable number nine. Ronan Sullivan’s injury forced a change in the attacking plans, and one alternative is 19-year-old Mahi Khan, who has yet to make his international debut.
The England-based striker played three matches for Bangladesh in the recent Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers without scoring. Even so, with a shortage of options, coach Thomas Dooley has called him up.
Hamza is also unavailable for the first match, so the responsibility for goals will rest largely on local forwards and midfielders. That is another big challenge for Dooley.
The coach, though, is dreaming of the title. At the press conference before the tournament, Dooley said:
“As a footballer and as a coach, you prepare for matches like this. You wait for the big tournaments. The pressure over the last 23 years was perhaps greater than it is now. Because now we are ready, and we are confident that we can do well. We will try to win this tournament.”
New captain Topu Barman, who came to the press conference with the coach, also stressed the importance of the first match. In his view, there is no alternative to a good start.
Topu said:
“We always give a lot of importance to the first match. When you go out to play a tournament, the first match is certainly very important. We will take the field against Bhutan to win. We want to give good football to the whole of Bangladesh, so that supporters can feel confident watching us and keep faith in us. This tournament is very important for us.”
At SAFF, there is little room for error. Bangladesh play only two group matches. If they win the first against Bhutan, the team can go into the next match against Sri Lanka with confidence. But Sri Lanka cannot be taken lightly either.
They have added a group of expatriate players and strengthened themselves, so even at home, Bangladesh cannot relax.
Bangladesh’s challenge in this SAFF is not only to beat their opponents but also to prove their own ability. In a six-team tournament, the dream of reaching the final is not unrealistic.
In particular, with India sending a second-string side, Bangladesh have an opening to get ahead in the race for the title. But to use it, they will need team coordination and consistent performances on the pitch, along with individual skill. A strong team on paper does not guarantee success. The strength has to be shown on the pitch.
Still, judging Bangladesh’s success or failure at this SAFF by the count of a single trophy would hide the bigger picture. Players like Hamza Choudhury or Shamit Shome can strengthen the national team, bring supporters back to the stadium and inspire a new generation.
But the long-term development of the country’s football needs investment and planned initiatives at the grassroots. The biggest crisis in Bangladesh football may not be a lack of talent, but the lack of a consistent system to bring that talent to international standard. Adding a few players raised abroad can fill the gap temporarily, but they cannot replace the whole system of the country’s football.
This SAFF is therefore a stage for two kinds of test for Bangladesh. The first is on the pitch: fulfilling the dream of winning the title after 23 years. The second is off the pitch: creating a path to turn the frenzy around Hamza and the others into a lasting football culture.
After winning SAFF in 2003, Bangladesh football fans dreamt anew. Twenty-three years on, that dream is in front of them again. Whether Hamza and the others can do it will be answered on the pitch.
But winning the title will not end all the problems of Bangladesh football. And even without the title, the positives of Hamza’s arrival and the inclusion of expatriate players cannot be denied. The most important thing is that, whatever the result of this SAFF, the interest created around Hamza and the others must be turned into a lasting strength for the country’s football.