Fan Cup voting launched ahead of ABG University Cup

The inaugural Anvir Bashundhara Group (ABG) University Cup 2026, an initiative of ABG Bashundhara Group Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir, is set to take place for the first time on Sunday.

However, the battle for supporters’ votes has already begun ahead of the on-field action.

To increase audience and supporter engagement, the organisers have launched Fan Cup voting, allowing supporters to vote for their favourite university through the tournament’s designated website.

Voting will remain open until 5:00pm on 13 November. Supporters can cast their votes by visiting the website and selecting their preferred university using their email address.

Each email address can be used to cast only one vote. Email verification and passwords are not required.

After voting, or at any time during the campaign, supporters can check the universities’ standings on the website’s Fan Cup Leaderboard. The leaderboard will display each university’s total votes, percentage share and daily voting figures. The entire voting process can be monitored live on the website.

The ABG University Cup 2026 is being organised for the first time with the aim of encouraging young people to participate in sports and developing a professional sporting culture at university level.

Ahead of the tournament, a ‘Captains’ Meet and Greet’ was held on Saturday night at the residence of ABG Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir in Bashundhara Residential Area. Among those present were ABG Sports City Director Imrul Hassan, adviser Bidyut Kumar Bhowmik, T-Sports Executive Director Tasvir Ul Islam, Operations Manager Salman Hasan and Ikram Hossain Rafi. Captains of all 20 cricket and football teams, along with students, also attended the event.

The cricket and football tournament will begin on 25 October at ABG Bashundhara Sports City, with matches in both sports scheduled to take place under floodlights at night.

Ten of the country’s leading private universities will participate in the competition. They are American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), North South University, BRAC University, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Sonargaon University, United International University (UIU), Fareast International University, University of Scholars and Daffodil International University.

The universities will compete for separate cricket and football titles. The organisers have announced prize money of Tk10 lakh for each champion team and Tk5 lakh for each runner-up. Alongside the attractive prize money, the tournament will give university students an opportunity to showcase their talent and skills in a professional environment.

ABG’s initiative is being viewed as an important step in the continued development of the country’s sports infrastructure and the creation of modern sporting facilities for young people. Building on Bashundhara Kings’ international success and the development of ABG Sports City, the tournament aims to further strengthen university-level sports.

The participating captains said the opportunity to demonstrate their talent and abilities in a professional setting was a matter of great pride. They believe initiatives of this kind under the leadership of ABG Chairman Sayem Sobhan Anvir will strengthen sporting culture at universities, help young athletes develop their skills and play an important role in producing the next generation of sporting stars in Bangladesh.