Aminul sets Bangladesh sports on reform track

State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque has completed his first six months in office, driving a broad agenda to overhaul Bangladesh’s sports landscape and upgrade grassroots infrastructure. Haque recently shared his new journey with Daily Sun, highlighting major policy milestones and outlining long-term goals for the national sports sector.

Recently Aminul unveiled a master plan to expand playing facilities across rural and urban regions. The initiative focuses on constructing a sports field in every union and developing modern futsal grounds across all city corporations. To restore a proper athletic environment, non-sporting events in stadiums have been banned. This firm stance led to the removal of shop structures and auto-rickshaw garages and charging point's from the Bir Sreshtho Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur.

Reflecting on his transition into office, Aminul emphasised a smooth administrative process under unified leadership.

"I do not see any obstacles. The Prime Minister is leading the way, and all ministers, state ministers, and bureaucrats are following the same rhythm," Aminul said. "We are working smoothly toward our goals, especially in sports, and since the Prime Minister is directly giving sports the highest priority, there is no room for any complications."

To reform sports governance, the National Sports Council (NSC) formed ad-hoc committees across 27 sports federations on 18 July. The primary responsibility of these committees is to hold elections within 90 days. Addressing this transition, Aminul acknowledged the existing challenges.

"The thing is, we had a complex situation lasting 17 years, and that knot cannot be untied in one day or even six months, but we are trying," he explained. He noted that district sports association elections are being expedited to ensure elected bodies soon take charge of Dhaka-based federations.

Alongside athletic reforms, the ministry is accelerating youth development.

"The youth sector is moving at the same pace," Minister stated. "We are doing a lot of work regarding youth, especially ensuring employment, which is our biggest priority." Skill development programmes in freelancing have launched across all 64 districts, accompanied by new training modules on artificial intelligence. Through the World Bank-assisted Earn Project, need-based training is being provided to guarantee a minimum of 60% job placement for educated young men and women.

Highlighting his proudest milestones, Aminul pointed to the nationwide "Notun Kuri" sports talent search and a new sports allowance. "Alhamdulillah, Notun Kuri are providing sports allowances to players as professional recognition, which is a first in the history of Bangladesh, it’s a great achievements," he noted. Currently, 300 athletes receive this financial backing, with plans to expand the programme to 500 recipients.

The ministry also plans to establish ten international-standard sports villages and integrate compulsory sports education from the fourth grade. Looking ahead, Haque is stressed that ongoing work across infrastructure and athlete welfare aims to firmly establish sports as a secure profession. "I will not call it successful just yet because our work is ongoing," he concluded.