First Division Hockey League to begin on 20 September

The First Division Hockey League is set to return on 20 September after a three-year hiatus, with all 11 participating clubs confirming their participation in the domestic competition.

The decision was taken at the first meeting of the newly formed First Division League Committee at the Bangladesh Hockey Federation conference room on Tuesday.

The meeting was chaired by Harun-or-Rashid, deputy commissioner of the Motijheel division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and chairman of the league committee. Officials from the federation and league committee, along with representatives of all 11 clubs had attended the meeting.

The player transfer window was unanimously fixed for 6 and 7 September.

The clubs had initially demanded Tk5 lakh in financial assistance each. However, as the federation could not commit to that amount, general secretary Ishtiaque Sadeque offered Tk2.5 lakh to each club to help revive the competition.

Each club will be allowed to register a maximum of 22 players, while foreign players will not be permitted in this year’s competition to give local players greater opportunities.

Clubs can also recruit up to four players from BKSP and four from the three armed forces — Army, Navy and Air Force.

The league will be played in a single round-robin format, with the committee hoping the competition will help revive domestic hockey after the long break.