United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh National Women's Football team smartly played to a goalless draw with their 39th ranked higher Indonesian Women's team in the first match of the three-nation International friendly Tournament at the King Abdullah Stadium in the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday evening. Touring Bangladesh team displayed their best performance in the FIFA International Friendly match against giants and rivals Indonesia, partially dominating the game. BSJA Media Cup Football: Semis and final on Sunday The touring Bangladesh Women's team will play their last remaining match in the three-nation tournament against another higher-ranked and host nation, Jordan, on June 3 at 10 pm Bangladesh time at the same venue during the FIFA international window. Bangladesh is participating in international friendly matches against two tough Asian opponents as part of their preparation for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, which begin in Myanmar on June 29. AFC U-23 Asian Cup: Bangladesh put in Group C with Vietnam, Yemen, Singapore   Bangladesh has been placed in Group C of the Asian tournament along with hosts Myanmar, Bahrain, and Turkmenistan. In Group C matches, Bangladesh will face Bahrain on June 29, Myanmar on July 2, and Turkmenistan on July 5, all at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon.  

The semifinals and final of the Kool-BSJA Media Cup Football Tournament, organised by the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA), will be held on Sunday (June 1) at the Paltan Maidan. Adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, is expected to attend the final as the chief guest. In semifinals, ATN Bangla will face Desh TV at 9am, while Dainik Jugantor will encounter Dhaka Tribune at the same time. The final is scheduled to kick off at 11am. BPL Football : Dhaka Abahani Ltd finish runners- up outplaying Brothers Union Club by 3-0 goal Earlier on Saturday’s quarterfinal matches, Dainik Jugantor edged past Prothom Alo 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a goalless draw in regulation time. ATN Bangla also advanced via a tiebreaker, defeating Ekhon TV 3-2 after a goalless draw. Desh TV booked their place in the semis by defeating last time’s finalist The Business Standard 1-0, while Dhaka Tribune overcame Channel i with an identical scoreline.

Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday. European club soccer's biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years. Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020. After spending billions of dollars and signing some of the sport's greatest players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG is still waiting to win its first Champions League title. Those superstars have now departed, but coach Luis Enrique has assembled one of the most exciting squads in Europe, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia filling the void left by that trio. Enrique is aiming to win the competition for the second time as a coach, having lifted it with Barcelona in 2015, and would become the seventh coach to win the trophy with different teams. “The motivation for me is to win the Champions League title for the first time for PSG,” he said. “That is the gift I want to give the people, the club, the city.” Inter was looking for a treble just over a month ago, but is now left with the Champions League as its only possible trophy. It lost the Italian title by a point and was knocked out of the Italian Cup in the semifinals. “These players in these four years did a lot — won a lot and lost sometimes. It happens. But we all gave our all, everyone. We are proud to be Inter," coach Simone Inzaghi said. “I dreamed of playing the Champions League final. I didn’t do it as a player, but thanks to this group of players I’ve been in two finals as a head coach.” Inter has won the Champions League or European Cup on three occasions, most recently in 2010. When does the Champions League final begin? The match at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).

An Argentine court on Thursday declared a mistrial in the case of seven health professionals accused of negligence in the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona, the latest soap-operatic turn in the trial that has tranfixed the soccer world. The judges ruled there would be a new trial, without specifying when. The pivot comes after one of the three judges overseeing the trial stepped down over criticism surrounding her participation in a forthcoming documentary series about the case, "Divine Justice," which spanned from the aftermath of Maradona’s death, as scandals and suspicions of foul play began to emerge, to the start of the trial. In calling for the judge, Julieta Makintach, to be recused, the prosecutor on Tuesday presented the trailer for her documentary — a one-and-a-half-minute teaser that intercuts archival footage of Maradona scoring iconic goals with shots of Makintach strutting through the corridors of the Buenos Aires courthouse in high heels and a short skirt as a string soundtrack heightens suspense. The prosecutor asked judges to investigate allegations that Makintach had violated judicial ethics in allowing a camera crew inside the courthouse to film her overseeing closed-door hearings for the reality TV-style series. As the claims snowballed into a national scandal, Makintach on Tuesday said that she had “no choice” but to resign from the case. The judges decided on Thursday to retry the entire case, effectively turning the clock back on all proceedings since March 11, when the trial began amid intense media scrutiny and called dozens of distraught witnesses to testify over 21 hearings. "Judge Makintach did not act impartially. Her conduct caused harm to both the plaintiffs and the defense," Judge Maximiliano Savarino said in declaring the mistrial. “The only person responsible is the recused judge.” He added: “This is an unpleasant decision.” At the courthouse, two of the soccer star's daughters, Gianinna and Dalma Maradona, began to weep. The decision threw into doubt the timeline of the trial, which was initially expected to last until July. Thursday's ruling said that a higher court would select the three new judges by lottery “within a reasonable period of time.” The case accuses Maradona’s medical team of failing to provide adequate care for the soccer star in weeks leading up to his sudden death on November 25, 2020. Maradona died at age 60 from cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery for a blood clot on the brain at a rented home outside Buenos Aires. Although the case largely hinges on medical technicalities, the biweekly testimonies have also become tabloid fodder — like much in Maradona's life, which included long spates of drug and alcohol abuse. Experts have taken the stand to allege that Maradona agonized for 12 hours before his death while his sisters and daughters have tearfully accused his medics of leaving him alone in squalor when he should have been hospitalized. The defendants, who deny all accusations, were charged with culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter in that it implies the accused were aware of the risk caused by their reckless conduct and ignored it. They include Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s primary physician at the time of his death, as well as his psychologist, psychiatrist, medical coordinator and nurses. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The defendants say Maradona was a difficult patient who did not allow himself to be treated. Maradona, who famously led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, is regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time. His rags-to-riches story resonated with his fellow Argentines and he is widely revered as a national hero.

AC Milan fired Sergio Conceicao as expected on Thursday following a disappointing season that saw the Rossoneri fail to qualify for Europe. The seven-time European champion has reportedly reached an agreement with Massimiliano Allegri to return as coach. Milan finished eighth in Serie A, 19 points behind Italian champion Napoli. “The club would like to thank Sergio and his staff for their commitment, professionalism and dedication shown during their time leading the first team over the past few months,” Milan said in a statement. Conceicao replaced the fired Paulo Fonseca in December with an 18-month contract and promptly guided Milan to the Italian Super Cup title in Saudi Arabia during his first matches in charge. Messi scores twice, assists in Miami's 4-2 win over Montreal But Milan was eliminated by Feyenoord in the Champions League playoffs in February then got beat by Bologna in the Italian Cup final this month. Meanwhile, city rival Inter Milan will play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final Saturday. Allegri coached Milan to the Serie A title in 2011.

Bangladesh has been placed in four-team Group C of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia’ 2026 Qualifiers with former runners-up Vietnam, Yemen and Singapore. The grouping and fixture of the qualifying round of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup was held at the AFC House in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. All the group matches will be held during September 1 to 9 with Group C matches in Vietnam. In Group C matches, Bangladesh will play hosts Vietnam on September 1, will face Yemen on Sept 6 and Singapore on Sept 9. Forty four Asian teams, split into eleven groups, will compete in the meet. Later, eleven group champion teams, four best group runners-up and hosts Saudi Arabia will play in the 16-team final round to be held in Saudi Arabia January next year. Bangladesh was eliminated from the first round of the last meet losing all the three matches. Bangladesh suffered 0-2 goals defeat against Malaysia, conceded 0-3 goals defeat against Thailand and handed 0-1 defeat against the Philippines in the last meet..      

Lionel Messi scored twice and had an assist, and Inter Miami broke out of its slump with a 4-2 victory over Montreal on Wednesday night. Messi scored in the 27th and 87th minutes and set up Luis Suárez's goal with some nice dribbling in the 68th. Suárez added another in the 71st. The win gave Messi's Inter Miami team just its second victory in its past eight matches. Miami last won on May 3, going 0-2-2 since then and dropping to sixth in the Eastern Conference. It has been a surprising plunge for a team that went 22-4-8 during the regular season in 2024 to set MLS records for points (74) and winning percentage (.765) and captured the Supporters Shield — so puzzling that Messi spoke recently of the group's need to stick together despite the difficulties.  Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi team up to launch a soccer club in Uruguay His pep talk seemed to work. In its last match, Miami rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie Philadelphia, which leads MLS with 10 wins this season. And that momentum carried over against Montreal, which is last in the Eastern Conference with only one win. “We know in what situation we are (in),” said Miami coach Javier Mascherano. “Sometimes you have to analyze not just the result, you have to analyze the game, how we play. I think in some games we didn’t get the result that we wanted. We deserved it a little bit more, but in (soccer), you don’t deserve, you have to do.” Messi's first goal on Wednesday was set up by Sergio Busquets, who delivered a pass to his former Barcelona teammate and set the screen that freed up Messi for his seventh goal of the MLS season. Messi then linked up with Suárez to give Miami a two-goal cushion midway through the second half, and iced the win on a pass from Suárez just before the end of regulation. It was a much-needed goal for Suárez, who finished last season tied for the second-most goals in MLS with 20, but had just two entering Wednesday's match. It was also the offensive performance Miami needed before it begins Club World Cup play. The Herons have another MLS match at home on Saturday against Columbus before their first contest of the tournament against Al Ahly of Egypt on June 14. Miami could be without three defenders on Saturday, including veteran left back Jordi Alba, who went down with a lower-body injury in the first half. Mascherano said the team would need to gather more information to find out the extent of the injury. Gonzalo Luján and Toto Aviles also left with lower-body injuries. Lionel Messi speaks after latest Inter Miami loss, says reeling team must stick together Miami allowed two late Montreal goals by Dante Sealy and Victor Loturi, both lapses that Mascherano was not happy about. “That is something that is unacceptable,” he said, “that we have to improve.”    

Bangladesh National Women's football team, now in Jordan to play two International friendlies against Indonesia and hosts Jordan, made their 2nd training session Wednesday morning at the Jawa ground in the capital Amman. A 23-member Bangladesh Women’s team, which safely reached Amman, will play higher ranked Indonesia on May 31 and hosts Jordan on June 3 in a three-nation tournament in Jordan during the FIFA International window. Both the matches will be played at the King Abdullah Stadium in Amman—the first match will kicks off at 5 pm local time and 8: pm Bangladesh time while the 2nd match scheduled for 7 pm local time and 10 pm Bangladesh time.    In the day’s training session, Bangladesh team focused on their first match against completely unknown Indonesia and preparing themselves with determination to make good results. Football: Hamza, Shamit and Fahamedul feature in preliminary Bangladesh squad for two int'l matches Bangladesh's experienced campaigner Tohura Khatun expressed her total satisfaction over the day’s team preparation in a suitable weather and a good local facilities. She said all of the Bangladesh players are now in good mood and the team have no injury problems.   Members of Bangladesh Women's Football team are: Rupna Chakma, Sheuly Azim, Shamsunnahar Sr, Shamsinnahar Jr, Monika Chakma, Ritu Porna Chakma,  Maria Manda, Tohura Khatun, Afeida Khandakar, (Captain) Sagorika, Shaheda Akhter Ripa, Munki Akter, Swapna Rani, Khohati Kishku, Sourovi Akhand Preeti, Sultana, Megla Rani Roy, Joynob Bibi Rita, Halima Akhter, Nabiran Khatun, Ferdoushi Akter Sonali, Umhela Marma and Shanti Mardi.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has announced a 26-member preliminary squad of Bangladesh for two International matches against Bhutan and Singapore in Dhaka including three Bangladesh-origin foreign booters--- Hamza Chowdhury, Shamit Shome and Fahamedul  Islam. The Spanish Head Coach of Bangladesh National Football team Havier Cabrera announced the 26-member squad on Wednesday. Bangladesh will play a FIFA Tier-1 International Friendly match against Bhutan on June 4 at 7 pm and will face Singapore in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers on June 10 at 7 pm, both at the renovated National Stadium in Dhaka. All the tickets of the June 10 match against Singapore are already sold out.  Bangladesh origin English Premier League playing Hamza, who already made his debut for Bangladesh playing the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against hosts India, is now awaiting to play for his first match on home soil against Singapore on June 10.  He is expected to arrive here on June 2 or 3. Canadian national and premier league playing Shamit Shome is also set to make his debut for Bangladesh in the ensuing AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Singapore and he is expected to arrive here on June 4. BPL Football : Dhaka Abahani Ltd finish runners- up outplaying Brothers Union Club by 3-0 goal Italian league playing forward Fahamedul Islam arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday morning to join the national camp. Three more players –Jamal Bhuyan (Denmark), Tariq Raihan Kazi (Finland) and Syed Shah Quazem Kirmanee (Canada) – have long been playing for Bangladesh. Local forward Sumon Reza was also included in national squad again in place of Chandan Roy. The preliminary national training camp begins here on Friday.  Bangladesh squad: Goalkeeper: Mitul Marman, Sujon Hossain and Mehedi Hasan Srabon Defender: Shakil Ahad Topu, Jahid Hasan Shanto, Rahmat Mia, Isa Faysal, Taj Uddin, Tariq Raihan Kazi, Topu Barman and Saad Uddin. Midfielder : Mohammad Ridoy, Syed Shah Quazem Kirmanee, Sohel Rana. Mojibor Rahman Jony, Shekh Morsalim, Jamal Bhuyan, Hamza Chowdhury and Shamit Shome. Forwards : Fahamedul Islam,  Foysal Ahmed Fahim, Rakib Hossain, Emon Shahrior,  Mohammad Ibrahim, Al Amin and Sumon Reza.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi have been partners on the pitch for several years. Now they're teaming up off it as businessmen. Suarez announced on Tuesday he has founded a professional soccer team in his native Uruguay, and he is bringing his Inter Miami teammate along on the project. Suarez, the all-time scoring leader of Uruguay’s national team, explained in a video posted on his social media accounts that the team formerly known as Deportivo LS will now be called LSM and will start playing professional soccer in the Uruguay’s fourth division. “Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members,” Suarez said. "I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow.” The 38-year-old Suarez retired from international soccer last September, played with Messi at Barcelona for six seasons, and they've been teammates the past two years with Inter Miami. Ronaldo hints at exit, says his 'Chapter Is Over' with Al-Nassr “I’m proud and happy that you chose me, so I hope to contribute everything I can to continue growing and, above all, to be by your side in this,” said Messi, who was sitting alongside Suarez in the video. It's still unclear what Messi’s role will be in the project, although local media reported that he will be a partner. It was also reported that Álvaro Recoba, a former player for the Uruguay national team and Inter Milan, will be the team’s coach. The announcement also launched the club’s Instagram account, which had over 40,000 followers two hours after its creation. Suárez and his family opened an 20-acre sports complex in 2018 in Ciudad de la Costa on the outskirts of Montevideo. It has numerous activities for more than 3,000 members. The club has a synthetic turf stadium with a capacity for 1,400 spectators, among other fields.