Dhaka, May 21 (UNB)- It is well-known that away from the field of politics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s great love in the field of sport was football. Which is why the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) believes it must play a prominent role in the celebrations centring the Father of the Nation’s centennial, set for next year.

BFF would like to leave its mark on the celebrations through multiple events, taking place throughout the year, including a series of international friendlies involving European teams.

BFF General Secretary Md Abu Nayeem Shohag said that they have proposed their plans of arranging international friendly matches during the last meeting of the 27-member sports sub-committee within the National Implementation Committee for Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Birth Centenary, held at the seminar room of the International Mother Language Institute on Monday.

“We are planning to arrange SAFF Championship, SAFF Under-15 Championship, Bangabandhu Gold Cup, and international football friendly matches between two European nations, say between Portugal, Germany, Italy or European clubs,” Shohag said.

Bangladesh Volleyball Federation (BVF) is also planning to arrange a 10-nation international volleyball tournament and national volleyball championship.

BVF General Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Miku said, “We are planning to arrange a 10-nation international volleyball tournament named after Bangabandhu and national volleyball championship for celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu.”

The sports sub-committee members prepared and proposed a budget of Tk 300 crore to the main committee headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

A committee officer, Deb Prasad Pal, said, “The members of the Sports Sub-Committee proposed their budget Tk 300 crore for the events of the 100th birth anniversary celebration of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”

State Minister for Youth and Sports and the Convener of Sports Sub-Committee Md Zahid Ahsan Russel, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Dr Mohammad Zafar Uddin, Bangladesh Olympic Association Secretary General Syed Shahed Reza, Bangladesh Football Federation General Secretary Md Abu Nayeem Shohag, Bangladesh Hokey Federation General Secretary AKM Mominul Haque Sayed, Bangladesh Volleyball Federation General Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Miku and others were present in the meeting.

Earlier, Bangladesh government announced 2020 the ‘Mujib Year’ and formed two committee on February 14-- a 102-member national committee, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and a 61-member implementation committee, with National Professor Mohammad Rafiqul Islam as President -- for observing the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Since then, ten subcommittees have also been formed to cover various fields, including international sports, cultural programs, films and documentaries, seminars, workshops, international works, media and promotion, and publication and literature. 

Miami, May 21 (AP/UNB) — American defender John Brooks will miss the CONCACAF Gold Cup because of a knee ligament injury, joining DeAndre Yedlin on the sidelines.

Brooks, a central defender, did not play in Wolfsburg's last two games of the Bundesliga season. Yedlin, a right back, had left groin surgery last week.

CONCACAF announced preliminary 40-man rosters Monday. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter must select 23 players by early June.

The Americans open training camp next week in Annapolis, Maryland, but some Gold Cup players will not report until the following week.

Among the omissions on the preliminary roster are goalkeeper Bill Hamid, and forwards Bobby Wood and Andrew Wooten.

Winger Tyler Boyd is on the preliminary roster after FIFA approved his switch from New Zealand to the U.S. Others on the 40-man list include 20-year Fulham defender Marlon Fossey, 22-year Celtic defender Andrew Gutman who is on loan to Charlotte, Derby midfielder Duane Holmes and Duisburg forward Joe Gyau.

The U.S. has exhibitions against Jamaica on June 5 at Washington and Venezuela on June 9 at Cincinnati.

The Americans open their Gold Cup title defense against Guyana on June 18 at St. Paul, Minnesota. It will be their first competitive match in 20 months since an October 2017 loss at Trinidad and Tobago caused them to miss the 2018 World Cup. They play Trinidad on June 22 at Cleveland and complete group play against Panama on June 26 at Kansas City, Kansas.

The Gold Cup is the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The preliminary roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Atlanta), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge, Belgium), Sean Johnson (New York City), Tyler Miller (Los Angeles), Zach Steffen (Columbus).

Defenders: Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig, Germany), Reggie Cannon (Dallas), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham), Marlon Fossey (Fulham, England), Greg Garza (Cincinnati), Omar Gonzalez (Atlas, Mexico), Andrew Gutman (Charlotte), Nick Lima (San Jose), Aaron Long (New York), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal), Matt Miazga (Chelsea, England), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Antonee Robinson (Wigan, England), Miles Robinson (Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles).

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Toronto), Duane Holmes (Derby, England), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Weston McKennie (Schalke, Germany), Djordje Mihailovic, Chicago), Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, England), Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Wil Trapp (Columbus).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto), Jonathan Amon (Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Paul Arriola (D.C.), Corey Baird (Salt Lake), Tyler Boyd (Ankaragucu, Turkey), Joe Gyau (Duisburg, Germany), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado), Jordan Morris (Seattle), Christian Ramirez (Los Angeles), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen, Germany), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus).

Rome, May 21 (AP/UNB) — Bologna secured Serie A football for another season after drawing at Lazio 3-3 in a thriller on Monday.

Bologna moved four points clear of the relegation zone with one match remaining.

Lazio was still celebrating winning the Italian Cup midweek and Joaquin Correa fired the capital side in front in the 13th minute.

However, two goals in the space of a minute from Andrea Poli and Mattia Destro saw Bologna take the lead early in the second half.

Bastos curled in a stunning effort to level for Lazio in the 59th but Riccardo Orsolini restored Bologna's lead shortly after.

Substitute Sergej Milinkovic-Savic secured a draw for Lazio with a sensational free kick 10 minutes from time.

Dhaka, May 20 (UNB) – A golf tournament titled “5 Clubs Golf Tournament-2019’ was held in Islamabad recently to promote friendship and generate bondage amongst the diplomats.

The defence wing at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad arranged the daylong tournament at Margalla Golf Club.

A total of 48 golfers, including eight female ones, participated in the tournament, said the High Commission on Monday.

It was well-appreciated by all concerned and really provided a wonderful exposure of Bangladesh High Commission in sending the message of friendship across the diplomatic community, it said. 

Prizes were distributed among the winners by chief guest Ambassador of Turkmenistan and Dean of Diplomatic Corps Atadjan Movlamov. 

Defence Advisor of Bangladesh High Commission Brigadier General Khondaker Shafiur Rahman received net runner-up prize. 

Speaking on the occasion, he said the defence wing of Bangladesh High Commission is looking forward to organising many more such events in the coming days.  

The tournament was sponsored jointly by the defence wings of Bangladesh High Commission and Nigerian High Commission.

Dhaka, May 20 (UNB) - Uber, the world’s largest personal mobility company, on Monday  announced a key partnership with the International Cricket Council as the official sponsor of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2019. 

The partnership will make Uber the first mobility and food delivery app to strike a sponsorship deal with the ICC for the Men’s Cricket World Cup, one of the most watched sporting events, which will be played in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14 with an estimated global viewing audience of 1.5 billion. 

Uber’s campaign ‘This World Cup, Every Fan Wins’ aims to create a culture of togetherness and puts cricket lovers at the heart of the celebration, which includes the World Cup’s first and very own anthem - Way-O, Way-O, Uber said in a media statement.

The anthem is sung by acclaimed artists across five participating countries and will give ardent fans a signature song to cheer on and celebrate the sport. Uber will fly down hundreds of driver and courier partners, as well as riders and eaters, to the Cricket World Cup and will also host a series of activities to foster a spirit of solidarity at the tournament.

Uber’s Chief International Business Officer Brooks Entwistle said they are excited to further their commitment to cricket as a global sport and bring their community of riders, eaters, drivers and delivery partners closer to each other and a game they love so much. 

"Cricket is passionately followed in eight participating countries, where Uber and Uber Eats are an integral part of people’s day-to-day life. We believe this partnership allows fans to pursue their passion while we take care of their commute and food requirements," he said.

He further added, “We are thrilled to launch the World Cup’s first-ever anthem, which puts fans at the heart of this celebration. We are very confident the anthem will resonate with hundreds of millions of cricket lovers across the world.”

Commenting on the partnership, Manu Sawhney, CEO of the International Cricket Council, said they are delighted to continue their partnership with Uber for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. 

"Their commitment to cricket was clear during last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup where the brand brought to life some of the wonderful stories behind the players with the #RoadSheMade campaign. Uber has some equally exciting plans for this summer’s event and shares our ambition to make this the greatest celebration of cricket ever.”

Shakib Al Hassan, brand ambassador and Bangladesh Cricket team all-rounder, said: "I share the excitement of tens of millions of passionate Bangladeshi cricket fans and want to assure them that this will be one of the most memorable Cricket World Cups ever."

"I commend Uber for its initiative to put cricket lovers at the centre of celebrations and am confident Way-O, Way-O will bring cricket fans closer together and deepen their love for the game," he said.

Last year, in line with the company’s initiative to empower girls and women around the world, Uber supported the first-ever standalone ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies. 

As part of this partnership, Uber rolled out the #JerseyKnowsNoGender campaign in collaboration with sports personalities from different fields to encourage women’s participation in sports and to also generate support for the T20 Championship.