Why Bangladesh never reaches the World Cup

Every four years, the scene in Bangladesh changes in a strange way just before the start of the FIFA World Cup. From the capital Dhaka or the major cities to the marginalized of remote villages—residential buildings, road sites, shopping malls, educational institutions including major university campuses, social institutions, playgrounds, tourist spots and so on— the national flags of countries like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Portugal, England, Japan and others are covered. In some places, the entire buildings and even sometimes entire bridges are changed to the colors of the flags of their favorite teams. To an outside observer, the scene may seem confusing—this country itself is not playing in the World Cup. But why this madness?

No country in South Asia has yet qualified to play in the main round of the football World Cup. According to the FIFA rankings published in January 2026, Bangladesh is ranked 180th out of 211 countries—which is the country’s best position in almost a decade, yet it is still miles away from the world stage. Cricket is the main sport in the region, and Bangladesh’s position there is very strong. Yet, for a month every four years, the collective celebration surrounding the World Cup, where people change their daily routines and engage in mass celebrations, is unmatched— even in many participating countries, such intense frenzy is not seen.

From one generation to another

Where are the roots of this football passion? When asked by the younger generation of Bangladesh, most cannot give a clear answer as to why they support a particular foreign team—and this is natural, because this loyalty is passed down from generation to generation as a social practice. From an early age, children are taught by their family or surrounding environment which team to support and whom to be fond of. The role of the family ‍and surroundings are crucial in this socialization process.

Before independence, there was no mention of such a culture of supporting foreign teams in the newspapers of Bangladesh as like today. This trend has been deepening since independence in 1971. It also has a historical background. Football became popular in the Kolkata-centric society during the British colonial period, where local elites also participated in this game along with the colonial rulers. Gradually, the game spread to the fields of Bengal and Dhaka-centric club-based football began, which expanded further during the Pakistan period (1947-1971). The Bangladesh Football Federation was established soon after independence, in 1972.

In the post-independence period, the emergence of Pele and later Diego Maradona gave a new dimension to this culture of football madness. These Latin American stars came from the edge of globalization, called the Global South—and Bangladesh, seeing itself as part of that group, began to feel a kind of sympathy for them, as if these stars were representing Bangladesh. During the era of television broadcasting the games to the Bangladeshi audiences added a new connection with the celebration. Maradona’s famous goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, after the Falklands war in 1982, was also seen by many as a symbolic victory over the former colonial power—which resonated deeply with the region’s post-colonial psyche.

A hidden sector of the economy

This craze was not only a social phenomenon, but also gave birth to a huge informal economy. During the World Cup, football dominated sports coverage in the media, replacing cricket, advertising transactions increased several times, and countless content creators earned money from football-centric content on social media, where it is estimated that only the TV market for this season could reach around Tk 1,000 crore. The business of making flags also became a seasonal industry during this time. The most striking example of this is a recent incident—a 72-year-old man sold part of his land to erect a seven-and-a-half-kilometer-long German flag, which made headlines in the national press. In addition, the market for fake jerseys has also grown in size—the country’s small and large garment factories produce huge quantities of fake jerseys as substitutes for the original, generating significant turnover in the local economy. There are no official figures on the overall financial value of the total sector, but its scope visibly increases with each World Cup.

A festival that also takes lives and creates divorced

But there is also a dark side to this festival, which comes to the fore with every World Cup. In the rush to hoist the flag, countless people have died or been permanently disabled by coming into contact with electric wires and during celebrations. At least three people died in this way during the 2014 World Cup, according to international media outlet Time. In 2018, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted while hoisting the Brazilian flag. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, at least seven fans lost their lives in one month while hoisting the flag or falling from the roof. Even a young man named Deepta Chowdhury (23) from Netrokona lost his life after being electrocuted while recording a video of Argentina’s victory celebration in this year’s semi-final. According to journalistic estimates, 30 to 40 people have died in such accidents in Bangladesh over the past few World Cups, and even more have been permanently disabled. The most talked about incident was that of Abdul Matin, who had his hands and feet amputated after touching a 33,000-volt electric wire while putting up an Argentine flag in his shop before the 2014 World Cup. The incident was also discussed in the international media.

Not only accidents, but clashes between rival fans are now a familiar sight. The division between Argentine and Brazilian fans has sometimes taken a deadly turn—there have been murders in several districts at different times. The intensity of this violence is so great that, in the words of one analyst, the culture of mere banter or banter of the previous decade has now taken the form of a deep and sometimes deadly division. Sometimes it also became the reason for several Couple divorces, unfortunately.

The question that gets buried 

But amid all this grand celebration, one question remains almost unspoken: When Bangladesh is such a big spectator and celebrator of world football, why is the state of its own national football team so fragile, and why is there no real breakthrough? Why are the football enthusiastic players struggling for opportunities? The country’s football governing body has long been accused of nepotism and political appointments—where lawyers or politicians-close associates who have no connection to football have also been appointed to important positions simply on the strength of political identity. After the 2024 political change, the interim government took the initiative to reform the sports arena, because allegations of such factionalization and the appointment of incompetent people were widespread in various federations in the previous decade and a half. However, since the rules of FIFA and international sports organizations prohibit government intervention, the Bangladesh Football Federation remained outside these direct reforms, and questions still arise about the organization’s internal committees. This institutional nepotism is gradually eroding the political activism and accountability of domestic football.

The environment for the development of domestic football is almost absent in Bangladesh today. In the far corners of the country, in the villages, countless teenagers and young people dream of becoming footballers, but due to the lack of proper environment, opportunities and equality, those possibilities are being nipped in the bud. Despite being one of the most populous countries in the world, the country’s football governing bodies have failed to find talent from this huge population. Playing fields in urban areas are gradually shrinking, and the training environment and inspiration for children to grow are both inadequate. In 2018, Bangladesh witnessed its lowest position in history, 197, in the FIFA rankings. On the other hand, recently, by the end of 2025 there have also been incidents such as defeating South Asia’s strongest opponent, India after 22 years. Yet these isolated successes are the exception, not the rule, compared to the structural crisis.

One country, two destinies

This contrast is made even clearer by comparing it to cricket. While the Bangladesh Cricket Board has been able to transform cricket into a profitable, professional and popular sport through corporate sponsorship and structured investment, the Football Federation has not been able to follow the same path. Mismanagement and the lack of interest in the domestic league have kept football away from the interest of sponsors. The golden past, when the entire country used to tremble with excitement around the Abahani-Mohammedan championship, and the stadiums were filled with spectators, is now just a memory. Many of the current generation cannot even name the clubs or players of the domestic league, while detailed information about clubs in Europe or Latin America is at their fingertips. The role of the media is also not beyond question here—as much as the news of world football is given importance, the crisis of domestic football or the plight of young players is not as much covered in mainstream media. As a result, a kind of psychological distance has been created in the public mind—while the love for football remains unwavering, it is gradually moving beyond the country’s own football and towards the glitter of global football.

However, despite these limitations, there is a glimmer of hope in one place—in women’s football who are achieving consistent success in various international events, including the SAFF Championship. This indicates that Bangladeshi footballers are also capable of making the country shine in the international arena if they receive the right direction and investment. Where men’s football requires huge funding attention, infrastructural advancement, and long-term planning, the decisive failure of not following this same model of success becomes clear.

Standing between two realities

The social and economic excitement that is created in Bangladesh around the World Cup football is not just a temporary festival—it is an expression of the core love of football of this nation. If this passion and madness could have been used in a well-planned way at the state and institutional levels, it would not have been impossible to raise the national team from the bottom of the FIFA rankings and stand in a strong position. But until the country’s football governing bodies work professionally, free from political influence, the only destiny of Bangladeshi football fans will remain to stand under a foreign flag and indirectly celebrate once every four years. A change in this mentality and a radical structural reform are now the inevitable demands of the time if we are to truly revive our football. Fans must come to know that loving other nations will not ultimately benefit them until their own nation fights for them where the real achievement and enjoyment lie together and additionally these beloved football teams did not even play any friendly match with the Bangladesh national team to show respect for Bangladeshi people’s unconditional love. 

Author’s Information: The author is a student of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Dhaka, and currently working as an intern at the Applied Democracy Lab at the same university