New Bangladesh football jerseys launched at Tk 1600 as BFF gains control of two stadiums
The Bangladesh Football Federation unveiled new jerseys for both its men's and women's national teams at a special event held outside its own premises, at the National Sports Council (NSC) auditorium, breaking with the organisation's usual low key approach to such launches.
The National Sports Council also formally handed over two venues to the BFF during the ceremony, allocating the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur and the Sylhet District Stadium to the football body for a period of 22 years.
The men's side will debut the new kit when their FIFA ASEAN Cup campaign begins against Malaysia in Indonesia on 25 September, while the women's team wear theirs first at the Asian Games against North Korea on 14 September.
Ahead of both campaigns, the BFF's kit partner Dour unveiled the design, revealing that 1,300 submissions from Bangladeshi football fans around the world were whittled down to 34 elements ultimately used in the finished jersey.
Dour chief executive Abid Alam Chowdhury explained that the home shirt draws its central theme from the mother tongue, incorporating fabric technology that allows the jersey to dry within just eight minutes of being worn during play or training.
The player edition retails at Tk 1,600, a price Chowdhury attributed largely to the fabric used, while a cheaper fan version priced between Tk 700 and Tk 800 is expected to follow once it receives formal approval from the BFF.
Supporters can currently purchase the jersey through 165 Infinity outlets nationwide or via Dour's website, though calls were made during the event for the brand to eventually open its own dedicated showroom for offline collection.
BFF president Tabith Awal described the jersey as carrying deep symbolic weight for supporters. "The jersey is another flag for us. There are truly few countries in the world with football supporters as crazy as those in Bangladesh," he said.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque, himself a former national team captain, reflected on how far kit culture had progressed.
"In our time, there were no such events around jerseys or any practice of turning them into a brand," he said, praising the shift towards professional branding.
The minister also confirmed that Tk 50 crore has been set aside as seed money for the BFF, part of a wider Tk 1244 crore allocation the government has distributed across the country's 41 sports federations this year.
On the commercial side, marketing committee chairman Fahad Karim explained that Dour pays the BFF a monthly share of jersey sale profits under their agreement, removing the federation's previous burden of directly funding kit production each season.
Following the jersey launch, a memorandum of understanding was signed on the same stage between the BFF and the National Sports Council, formally transferring management responsibility for the Kamalapur and Sylhet venues to the football federation.
Tabith clarified that ownership of both venues remains with the NSC, with the BFF instead responsible for maintenance and security, while other federations retain the right to use the stadiums when required.
"These stadiums are for all sports, not for any one federation," he said.
Aminul Haque said the handover reflected a broader shift in how the government is approaching sports infrastructure.
"We have started from zero. We are focusing on restoring a sports-friendly environment at stadiums across the country, starting with the National Stadium and including Kamalapur Stadium and Sylhet," he said, also confirming that hybrid grass installation work was already underway at the Sylhet venue.