Imrul Hassan eyes more events, women’s competitions in next edition

ABG Sports City is planning to expand the ABG University Cup into a bigger multi-sport platform, with more events and dedicated competitions for female students in future editions, according to ABG Sport City Director Imrul Hassan.

The inaugural edition has so far featured football, with the cricket competition still to come. Imrul said the organisers were already looking beyond the first edition and wanted to make the event bigger and more inclusive.

“This is the inaugural edition of the ABG University Cup, and we have completed only half of the programme. The football competition is over, but the cricket event is still to come. We have plans to organise the next edition on a much larger scale, with some new events. We also want to arrange competitions for female students so that they can take part,” Imrul told Daily Sun.

The football final between Daffodil International University (DIU) and American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) at Kings Arena, ABG Sports City on Tuesday offered the organisers an encouraging glimpse of the tournament’s potential.

Thousands of students filled the stands, creating an atmosphere that the Bashundhara Kings President said reminded him of the passionate crowds that once followed football in Dhaka.

“I watched the entire match sitting among the spectators. The huge crowd and the excitement among the fans reminded me of the 1980s and 1990s, when football enjoyed tremendous popularity in Dhaka. It brought back memories of the passion that once surrounded the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the match,” he said.

Imrul added that the response from students had been encouraging throughout the football competition, with the final attracting an even bigger crowd.

“We saw a lot of excitement among spectators in the previous matches too, but the turnout was much higher today. University students have a special passion for football, and we feel the ABG University Cup has been a complete success at this stage,” he said.

The organisers believe the strong student response provides a foundation for taking the competition to a wider scale, bringing more universities and sporting disciplines into the programme.

With cricket still on the inaugural edition’s calendar and plans for additional events and women’s competitions in the next edition, ABG Sports City aims to develop the University Cup into a broader platform for university-level sports in Bangladesh.