United News of Bangladesh

The Ireland national women’s cricket team arrived in Dhaka on Friday morning to play a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series against the hosts. Nigar Sultana will lead the Bangladesh team in this series, while Gaby Lewis will lead the tourists. The ODI series kicks off on Wednesday, November 27, followed by the second and third ODIs on Saturday and Monday, December 2, respectively. The T20I series begins on Thursday, December 5, with the second and third T20Is scheduled for Saturday, December 7, and Monday, December 9. Before this series, Bangladesh faced Ireland in six ODIs and won three of those. Two matches ended without a result, and Bangladesh lost one. Bangladesh ODI squad: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Fargana Hoque, Sharmin Akhter, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Sultana Khatun, Taj Nehar, Sanjida Akther Ireland ODI squad: Gaby Lewis (c), Ava Canning, Christina Coulter Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Laura Delany, Sarah Forbes, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Aimee Maguire, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, and Alice Tector.

Rangpur Division captain Akbar Ali has been handed a two-match suspension for displaying on-field misconduct during the National Cricket League. The incident also resulted in a 95% fine on his match fee, confirmed match referee Akhtar Ahmed following Rangpur’s game against Barishal in Rajshahi. Rangpur, currently second in the league standings with two wins and two draws in five matches, was aiming to challenge table-toppers Sylhet for the title. During the third day of the match at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium, Akbar engaged in a prolonged argument with the umpire over a fielding decision and faced allegations of excessive appealing, leading to a 25% fine on his match fee and a demerit point. The situation escalated on the fourth day when a caught-behind appeal was denied. Akbar, visibly frustrated, once again confronted the umpire aggressively. During the lunch break, he kicked a chair in anger, breaking it in the dressing room. For this second incident, which breached Level-2 of the code of conduct, Akbar was fined 75% of his match fee, received four demerit points, and was banned for one match. Combined with his earlier demerit, he accumulated five points in total, triggering an automatic two-match suspension as per league regulations.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 14-member final squad of Bangladesh Under-19 team on Thursday (November 21) to participate in the 11th version of the U-19 Asia Cup Cricket beginning on November 29 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Defending champions Bangladesh U-19 Cricket team, led by Azizul Hakim Tamim, will leave Dhaka for the Emirates on Sunday (Nov 24). Bangladesh clinched the only U-19 Asia Cup crown beating UAE by a huge 195 runs in the final last year. Eight Asian teams--five full-member countries –India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan-- alongside three qualified teams—Nepal, Japan and UAE –split into two groups, will compete in the first phase. Bangladesh, which was placed in four-team Group B with Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, will play Afghanistan in one of the two opening day’s match on November 29 at Dubai International Stadium. Bangladesh will play Nepal on December 1 and Sri Lanka on December 3 in the remaining group matches. Ahead of the main draw, Bangladesh team will play a warm-match against India on November 26 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh U-19 team: Azizul Hakim Tamim (captain), Jawad Arbar (vice-captain), Rifat Beg, Samiun Bashir Ratul, Devashis Sarkar, Rizan Hossain, Al Fahad, Iqbal Hasan Emon, Rafiuzzaman Rafi, Farid Hasan Foysal, Maruf Mrida, Shihab James, Ashrafuzzaman and Saad Islam Razi. Stand by: Kalam Siddiqui Alin Shahrial Azmir, Yesir Arafat, and Sanjit Majumber.

New York City FC’s $780 million, 25,000-seat venue that it intends to open next to the Mets’ Citi Field in 2027 will be named Etihad Park under a 20-year agreement announced Thursday with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. The Major League Soccer team’s controlling owner is City Football Group, the parent company of England’s Manchester City. The Premier League team’s venue was renamed Etihad Stadium in July 2011. NYCFC president Brad Sims said revenue from the deal will go to the MLS team and not the parent company or English club, which is under investigation by the Premier League for alleged violations of financial fair play rules. Etihad has been NYC's shirt sponsor since 2014 and Manchester City's since 2009-10, a season after the Abu Dhabi United Group took control. “It’s a 100% New York City FC deal,” Sims said. “Etihad Airways has been essentially our premiere, our principal and founding partner since Day 1 at the club here. ... We wanted to ideally stay with someone who is a current partner of New York City FC and or someone in the City Football Group family but Etihad was easily kind of the No. 1 focus that we've had all along." Etihad also has collaborated with NYCFC on community initiatives. “They’ve been interested for quite some time about this stadium in New York and really buying into, I think, the path of travel of the sport in this country, in the New York market specifically,” Sims said. “For them the New York market, the New York City market is a very strategic commercial market.” Since taking the field in 2015, NYCFC has played home games primarily at Yankee Stadium, home of the Major League Baseball team that is a minority investor in NYCFC. But because of schedule conflicts, NYC has played some home matches at Citi Field, the home of the rival New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey, and Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Saturday's Eastern Conference semifinal against the rival New York Red Bulls will be at Citi Field because Notre Dame is playing Army in a college football game at Yankee Stadium. NYCFC announced the site in 2022. The New York City Council approved the soccer stadium in April as part of a Willets Point redevelopment that includes 2,500 housing units, a new public school, hotel and retail stores. Bulldozers and cranes are involved in pre-construction, lease negotiations with New York City are progressing and a groundbreaking is likely before the end of the year, according to Sims. Mets owner Steve Cohen is among the bidders for a license to build a casino in an area adjacent to Citi Field. “The more activity that can happen in development in Willets Point and make it a live-work-and-play neighborhood the better,” Sims said. Sims said when NYCFC is home first in a day, there has to be a six-hour buffer before a Mets game can start. When the Mets are home first, there has to be a seven-hour buffer before soccer can kick off. Similar parameters exist with the U.S. Tennis Association for the U.S. Open. Sims said the new stadium will benefit NYCFC if MLS switches to an August-to-May schedule, aligning with most European soccer leagues, from its current February-to-December calendar. “There’s a lot of pros to doing that. The cons mostly reside in cold-weather cities that have outdoor stadiums,” Sims said. “I think for us with the new stadium we would likely be relatively insulated, at least in the early — at least in the first five-, 10-plus years just with kind of excitement around the stadium.” 2026 World Cup MLS season ticket holders will have priority access to hospitality tickets for the 2026 World Cup. “All MLS season members, season ticket holders, corporate partners and such will have will have a kind of presale access, these opportunities ahead of the marketplace to purchase suites, club seats, hospitality-type products at all games in all markets throughout the 2026 World Cup,” Sims said. “That’s something that I think is a great benefit to our season ticket members and to our sponsors and corporate partners. ... We're in the marketplace actively marketing 2025 City memberships and that's going to be another benefit of that.”

This  year's football season gets underway Friday (Nov 22) with a novel play off for the 'Bangladesh 2.0 Challenge Cup' 2024-25. The BPL and Federation Cup champions Bashundhara Kings will battle the Federation Cup runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan SC on Friday at  the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital.  The lone-match 90-minute Challenge Cup Football  will kick-off at 5 pm. If the fate of the match is not decided in the scheduled time, then it proceeds to 30- minute extra session and later in the tie breaker. The entire amount raised in ticket sales will be given to the July-August martyrs foundation. Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) introduced the Bangladesh 2.0 Challenge Cup as the season's curtain raiser football meet that dedicated to the July-August student's uprising in place of previous Independence Cup and Federation Cup Football. Addressing the press conference at the Kings Arena ahead of the Thursday's  match,  the Kings Coach Valeriu Tita and Mohammedan's  Coach Alfaz Ahmed expressed their optimism to win the one-match tournament. The country's most prestigious 10-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football will kick-off on November 29 and the 10-team Federation Cup Football will begin on December 3 in a new format. Meanwhile, the ceremonial draw of the upcoming Federation Cup Football Tournament 2024-25  was held  at the BFF office on Wednesday putting Dhaka Mohammedan SC and Dhaka Abahani Ltd in the same group. BPL and Federation Cup champions Bashundhara Kings put in Group A while Federation Cup runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan,  Dhaka Abahani Ltd and Chattogram Abahani Ltd in Group B.  Grouping of Federation Cup Football are:  Group A -Bashundhara Kings, Bangladesh Police FC, Fortis FC, Brothers Union Club and Dhaka Wanderers Club  Group B - Mohammedan SC Ltd, Dhaka Abahani Ltd, Chattagram Abahani Ltd, Rahmatganj MFS and Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club. Ten premier division league clubs, split into two groups, will initially participate in the first phase of the Federation Cup Football on single league basis in three venues in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Cumilla. Later, top two teams from each of the groups will play in the meet's next round (qualification and elimination) like the franchisee cricket league.

Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season because of an ACL injury, manager Steve Cooper said on Thursday. The 20-year-old Fatawu was injured while playing for Ghana in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola on Friday. Germany looks ahead to 2026 World Cup with optimism following a much-improved year He recently broke into the team at Leicester, which was promoted back to the English Premier League this season and is among the favorites for relegation. “To happen at a young age is, first and foremost, a blow for him and for us as well,” Cooper said. "We now have to support him in every way in making his rehab and return as smooth and productive as possible, with the hope — although it's a long-term injury — that he comes back a stronger and better player and person. Harry Kane sparks England rout against Ireland and Nations League promotion "Difficult news, really."  

After a disappointing clean sweep at home against South Africa in their last Test series, Bangladesh are gearing up to take on the West Indies in a two-match Test series, with the first match starting Friday in Antigua. Ahead of the series, Bangladesh played a two-day practice match against a West Indies Board XI, which ended in a draw. The highlight of the match was left-arm spinner Hasan Murad, who claimed a hat-trick, boosting his confidence ahead of the main series. Bangladesh will be without key players Shakib Al Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Mushfiqur Rahim for this series. Bangladesh finish preparation in West Indies as Hasan Murad registers hat-trick Shakib is unavailable due to personal reasons and public backlash over his political affiliations with the former ruling Awami League, which was ousted in a recent popular uprising. Najmul and Mushfiqur, meanwhile, are sidelined with injuries. In Shakib's absence, Hasan Murad is expected to play a pivotal role as the team’s lead left-arm spinner. His hat-trick in the practice match has raised hopes of a standout performance in the upcoming games. Hasan Murad played 31 First-class matches and bagged 139 wickets with 12 five-fors. Bangladesh enter the series with a mixed Test record. After suffering a clean sweep against India and South Africa in their last two Test series, they previously registered a historic win against Pakistan in Pakistan. BCB announces Bangladesh U-17 Cricket team's schedule for Sri Lanka tour Before this series, Tigers have played 20 Tests against the West Indies, winning four. However, this time the team will rely heavily on its younger players due to the absence of key senior members. To compensate for Najmul’s absence, the selectors have called up Shahadat Hossain Dipu, who played 33 First-class matches and scored 1752 runs with three centuries. The team will lean on allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who will also captain the side in this series. With a relatively inexperienced squad, Bangladesh face a tough challenge but hopes to capitalize on the promise of its young players and the leadership of Mehdiy who has the experience of leading Bangladesh in the U-19 level.    

The ceremonial draw of the upcoming 10-team Federation Cup Football Tournament 2024-25 was held at a function at the BFF office in Motijheel on Wednesday putting Mohammedan and Dhaka Abahani in the same group. Grouping of the upcoming Federation Cup Football, scheduled to begin on December 3 in new format, was finalized during the day's ceremonial draw. BPL and Federation Cup champions Bashundhara Kings are in Group A while Federation Cup runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan and Dhaka Abahani Ltd in Group B. Trophies and prizes of last year's leagues and tournaments were also distributed at the day's function. BFF Sr Vice-President and Chairman of the Professional League Committee Imrul Hasan was the chief guest at the day's ceremonial draw and prize distribution ceremony. Grouping are: Group A: Bashundhara Kings, Bangladesh Police FC, Fortis FC, Brothers Union Club and Dhaka Wanderers Club Group B: Mohammedan SC Ltd, Dhaka Abahani Ltd, Chattogram Abahani Ltd, Rahmatganj MFS and Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club. Ten premier division league clubs, split into two groups, will initially participate in the first phase of the Federation Cup Football on single league basis in three venues in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Cumilla. Later, top two teams from each of the groups will play in the meet's next round (qualification and elimination) like the BPL Cricket format. Meanwhile, this year's football season 2024-25 begins here on Friday (Nov 22) with newly introduced Bangladesh 2.0 Challenge Cup Football. The BPL and Federation Cup champions Bashundhara Kings will battle with Federation Cup runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan SC on Friday at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital. However, Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football will kick-off on November 29 before the Federation Cup Football.

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Germany was on a run of awful results and seemed on course to struggle when it hosted Euro 2024. Now it's back among the top teams in Europe, with an eye on the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Germany will end 2024 with 10 victories from its 15 games. In 2023, it won just three and lost six. The only loss this year was in the most important game, though, against eventual Euro 2024 champion Spain in extra time in the quarterfinals on home soil. It still rankles. Argentina beats Peru to close in on World Cup spot from South American qualifying Coach Julian Nagelsmann's instant reaction to a handball penalty that allowed Hungary to draw Tuesday's last Nations League group game 1-1 was to ask the referee if he'd seen Germany's loss to Spain, when a handball call wasn't given against Spain's Marc Cucurella, riling German players and fans. It’s been a big year for younger players like Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, the “Wusiala” combo expected to shine at the 2026 World Cup. Wirtz scored six goals for Germany this year to be joint-top scorer with Arsenal's Kai Havertz and Musiala scored five. “At their young age, they're both world-class already,” Joachim Löw, who coached Germany’s World Cup-winning team in 2014, said Sunday on local broadcaster SWR. In 2021, Löw was the first coach to call up Musiala and Wirtz, then 18 and 17 years old respectively, to the national team, and he's impressed with how they've been crucial to Nagelsmann's project. Harry Kane sparks England rout against Ireland and Nations League promotion “They're obviously both incredibly creative, strong in one-on-ones, they're both goalscoring threats, and they've both made unbelievable progress in our national team over the last one or two years,” Löw said. “You really can't imagine the national team without them any more because they shape the game.” Several star names — Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan, Thomas Müller — retired from international duty following Euro 2024. It doesn’t seem to have put a dent in Germany’s form. Still, some open questions remain about just how big — or sustainable — Germany's improvement is. A Nations League group of the Netherlands, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina saw Germany rack up some big wins, even a 7-0 victory against Bosnia last week, but it wasn’t the hardest schedule the competition could have served up. Marc-André ter Stegen is Germany’s top goalkeeper after Neuer left, but is a long way from returning from the serious knee injury he sustained in September. Nagelsmann’s first-choice striker Niclas Füllkrug of West Ham hasn’t played since September with an Achilles tendon injury and will be 33 by the time the World Cup comes around. Gyokeres leads Sweden to Nations League win and the Dutch reach the knockout rounds Ahead of World Cup qualifying, Germany will have a tougher test in the Nations League playoffs in March, and will find out its quarterfinal opponent in the draw at UEFA headquarters on Friday. A yellow card Tuesday means Bayer Leverkusen's Wirtz will be suspended for the first leg of the quarterfinals.

Ahead of the Test series Bangladesh have completed their preparation well in West Indies.  Bangladesh’s bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Hasan Murad, delivered a good performance in a two-day warm-up match against the West Indies Select XI in Antigua. Murad, who has played two T20Is for the national team, grabbed the spotlight with a stunning hat-trick to draw the game. Bangladesh declared their innings at 253 for 7 after winning the toss. Several batters, including Mominul Haque, Litton Das, Zakir Ali Anik, and Mahidul Islam Ankon, spent valuable time in the middle. England wins T20 series 3-1 after final match against West Indies is abandoned after only 5 overs Mominul scored 31 off 58 balls, while Litton made 31 off 53 balls before retiring to allow others to bat. Zakir contributed 48 from 110 balls, and Ankon chipped in with 41 off 87 balls. Rain and Bangladesh’s sharp bowling limited the West Indies Select XI’s opportunities with the bat. The hosts could manage only 87 runs in 27.4 overs, losing nine wickets in the process.  Hasan Murad was the best bowler for Bangladesh, completing his hat-trick in the 28th over by dismissing Daniel Beckford, Navian Bidaisee, and Chaim Holder in consecutive deliveries. Murad finished with figures of 1.4 overs, 1 run, and 3 wickets. The pacers also contributed well. Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud each picked up two wickets, with Taskin conceding 21 runs in 5 overs and Hasan Mahmud giving away just 15 runs in his 6 overs. BCB announces Bangladesh U-17 Cricket team's schedule for Sri Lanka tour The first Test of the two-match series will begin on November 22 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua, while the second Test will be played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, from November 30. After the Test series, both the teams will lock horns in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series.