Country’s most prestigious football festival, the 10-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football, begins on Friday (November 29) with three matches billing for the opening day at three different venues in the capital and adjoining areas.

Last season's treble-winners, Bashundhara Kings, will play Chittagong Abahani Limited at 5:30 pm at their home venue of Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital on the opening day.

Federation and Challenge Cup runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan SC will face old horse Dhaka Wanderers Club at 2:30 pm at the Shaheed Barkat Stadium in Gazipur while Brothers Union Club will encounter Bangladesh Police FC at 2:30 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj in the other two opening day's fixtures.

Mohammedan SC recently informed the BFF that they are not interested in playing any matches at the Bashundhara Kings Arena due to security reasons.

Two matches will be held on the following day (Saturday).

Former champions Dhaka Abahani Limited will meet Youngmen’s Club Fakirerpool at 2:30 pm at the Shaheed Barkat Stadium in Gazipur, while old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS will face Fortis FC Ltd. at 2:30 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj.

The nine-round league, to be played in every Friday and Saturday of the week, is scheduled to be completed on June 25 next year.

Earlier, this year's football season began on last Friday (Nov 22) with the newly introduced one-match Bangladesh 2.0 Challenge Cup Football Tournament' 2024-25, where Bashundhara Kings clinched the title, beating Dhaka Mohammedan SC by 3-1 goals.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) introduced the Bangladesh 2.0 Challenge Cup as the season's curtain-raiser football meet that was dedicated to the July-August student's uprising in place of the previous Independence Cup and Federation Cup Football.

Meanwhile, the 10-team traditional Federation Cup Football Tournament 2024-25, to be held every Tuesday of the week, will begin on December 3 in the new format.

Two archrivals, Dhaka Mohammedan SC and Dhaka Abahani Ltd, alongside Chittagong Abahani Ltd, were put in Group B, while defending champions Bashundhara Kings were placed in a comparatively easier group with Police FC and Brothers Union.

Groupings 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, Chattogram Abahani Ltd, Rahmatganj MFS, and Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club.

Holder Basundhara Kings will play Brothers Union Club and Bangladesh Police taking on Fortis FC in two opening day matches.

Ten premier division league clubs, split into two groups, will initially participate in the first phase of the Federation Cup Football on a single league basis in three venues in Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Cumilla.

Later, the top two teams from each of the groups will play in the meet's next round (qualification and elimination) like the franchisee cricket league.