The Cafu–Caniggia drama has exploded into one of the biggest sporting embarrassments Dhaka has seen in years. For weeks, organisers painted a glittering picture: Brazil’s World Cup–winning captain Cafu and Argentina’s iconic forward Claudio Caniggia would fly into Dhaka, take their seats at the National Stadium, and watch a “Latin showdown” unfold before them. Video messages, posters, and relentless social media promotions turned their supposed arrival into a citywide countdown.

But just before 11 December— the day the legends were meant to land — the entire fantasy collapsed.

Organisers quietly admitted that Cafu and Caniggia were not coming at all, blaming an abrupt “financial crisis.” The shock was immediate. Fans who had been promised a star-studded evening were left stunned, questioning why such massive claims were made without any guarantee.

The irony is that the so-called “Latin showdown” itself was far less glamorous than advertised. The 11 December match — hyped as an Argentina vs Brazil battle — was actually a meeting between U-20 club sides: Argentina’s Atlético Charlone U-20 and Brazil’s São Bernardo U-20. But organisers wrapped it in the colours of national rivalry, selling the event as if South America’s football giants were about to clash in Dhaka.

Still, the hype worked.

Online ticket sales opened, and though the first two matches saw only modest crowds, expectations were sky-high for the final game. Fans believed the stadium would fill up when Cafu and Caniggia appeared in the stands. Organisers added fuel by offering a 1,000 BDT ticket lottery where lucky spectators could meet the legends. A 50,000 BDT dinner with the duo was also announced for 12 December.

Then came the collapse.

After Tuesday’s Red Green Future Star vs Atlético Charlone match, AF Boxing Promotion International Ltd.’s Managing Director, MD Asaduzzaman, finally admitted the truth:

“We could not bring them due to financial constraints.”

With that one sentence, weeks of hype evaporated. The promise of legends, the online hype, the ticket drive — all reduced to disappointment.

After that began raising serious questions. If the finances were uncertain from the start, why market Cafu and Caniggia so aggressively? Why sell tickets on the back of a promise that was never secured? Why announce dinners, meet-and-greets, and elaborate plans without confirmation?

The backlash is sharper because this is not the first time these organisers have stumbled into such a fiasco. Last year, the same group loudly claimed that boxing legend Mike Tyson would visit Dhaka for a Victory Day boxing event. Tyson never arrived.

Now, barely a year later, the same script is repeating — big claims, heavy promotion, and a final-moment collapse.

What should have been a vibrant football celebration has turned into a lesson in overhype and broken trust. Dhaka was promised Cafu and Caniggia. What it got instead was a U-20 club match wrapped in a marketing illusion — and fans left wondering why they were made to believe in a dream that was never real.