Nation’s sports come to a halt as Khaleda Zia passes away

Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away on Tuesday morning. Her demise has cast a deep shadow of mourning across the country, including the national sports arena.

Almost all sports federations, including the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), have expressed profound condolences over her passing. As a mark of respect, all scheduled matches for the day have been suspended.

Two matches of the Federation Cup were scheduled to be played on Tuesday. In light of the former Prime Minister’s death, BFF has postponed both fixtures. In addition, three matches of the Women’s Football League, which began on Monday, have also been suspended.

Meanwhile, the final of the National Under-15 Championship, which was scheduled to be held in Noakhali, has been postponed as well. BFF will announce revised schedules for these matches at a later date.

The ongoing National Kabaddi Championship 2025 (Men’s and Women’s) has also been affected. According to the original schedule, the semifinal matches were supposed to be held on Tuesday, but they have been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. The federation has confirmed that new dates and times for the postponed matches will be announced soon.

Begum Khaleda Zia was widely known as a passionate supporter of sports. Former athletes, sports organizers and various sports bodies have expressed deep sorrow and paid tribute to her legacy following her demise.