The first-ever Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Academy Championship' 2023-24 under the talent development scheme of the World football body FIFA will begin simultaneously at 24 zonal venues across the country on December 19 A total of 170 BFF registered Academy teams from all over the country will  compete in Crore Taka's Under -15 football meet with the full financial support of FIFA. Independence Cup: Bashundhara Kings, Dhaka Mohammedan reach semifinals BFF vice president cum chairman of the development committee Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan (Manik) disclosed it at a press conference and tournament's draw ceremony at the BFF office in Motijheel on Thursday. BFF member M Eliyas Hossian, BFF general Secretary Imran Hossain Tushar, among others, were also present on the occasion. Copa América semifinals in New Jersey and Charlotte, among 14 U.S. cities hosting next summer Initially, 170 Academy teams, split in 24 zones, will compete in the first phase from December 19 and later  24 zonal champions teams will play again in the zonal finals at 12 venues. The BFF will involve 24 coaches in 24 zonal venues to hunt talented footballers for the BFF Elite Academy. FIFA Women's Int'l: Bangladesh win two-match series crushing Singapore 8-0 Later, 12 zonal champions teams will play in the final round of the meet will be held in Dhaka in February- March next year. The players, who was born between Jan 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010, are eligible to compete in the meet, to be organized in a slogan of "Give Every Talent A Chance".

Holders Bashundhara Kings and Dhaka Mohammedan SC reached the semifinal of the season's curtain raiser soccer meet, the Independence Cup Football 2023 eliminating their rivals at different venues in the capital and adjoining areas on Tuesday. In the day's fourth and last quarterfinal, Bashundhara Kings advanced to the last four stage eliminating Bangladesh Army by 2-1 goals in a keenly contested match at their home venue --Bashundhara Kings Arena --Tuesday evening. Star studded Bashundhara Kings will play the 2nd semifinal on December 15 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena against former championsDhaka Abahani Limited, which made a semifinal berth eliminating Sheikh Jamal DC by 3-2 goals in tie breaker at the same venue last Sunday. The Kings dominated the first half by a solitary goal. Uzbek defender Boburbek put the Kings ahead in the 39th minute by a header, off a Miguel corner (1-0), while local forward Shahriar Emon levelled the margin for the Army team in the 61st minute, utilizing a lapse of Kings goalie Srabon (1-1). Brazilian forward Dorielton Gomes scored the match winning goal for the Kings in the 76th minute by a placing shot, capitalizing on a,Saad Uddin pass (2-1). Earlier in the day' third quarterfinal, Dhaka Mohammedan SC booked a seat for the semifinal, eliminating Chittagong Abahani Limited by 1-0 goals in the extra time at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj Tuesday afternoon. They will play the first semifinal, also on December 15 at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj against the Rahmatganj MFS, which qualified for the semis, eliminating Bangladesh Police FC by 2-1 goals in the first quarterfinal last Sunday. After a goalless position in the stipulated 90-minute, Uzbek midfielder Muzaffarov scored the match winning goal for the traditional black and whites Mohammedans by a brilliant free kick from about 30 yards that kissed net over opponent custodian in the 7th minute of extra time (97th minute) . Islam Sakib of Chittagong Abahani got matching order in the 115th minute, after receiving the 2nd yellow card. The title deciding final match will commence on December 18 at 1:45 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

Fourteen U.S. cities will play host to Copa América next summer, with the semifinals at East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina, ahead of the July 14 championship in Miami Gardens, Florida. The host Americans will be in Group C and open at Arlington, Texas, on June 23, then play Atlanta four days later and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on July 1. The governing bodies of South America and of North and Central America and the Caribbean made the announcement Monday, filling in the cities that will be part of the 16-team tournament. The quarterfinals will be held July 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston; July 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and July 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The semifinals will be in New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on July 9 and Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium the next day. The third-place game will be in Charlotte on July 13, the eve of the final. The draw is set for Thursday in Miami. This will be only the second time Copa América has been held outside of South America since the inaugural tournament in 1916. "These venues are world-class and have passionate fans who are renowned for getting behind major events,” CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said in a statement. Read: Carlo Ancelotti will coach Brazil at Copa America next year says confederation chairman CONMEBOL and CONCACAF announced last month that the June 20 opening game will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while South Florida's Hard Rock Stadium landed the final. Reigning Copa América and World Cup champion Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, has been placed in Group A and will play in the Atlanta opener, as well as East Rutherford five days later and Miami Gardens on June 29. The other sites revealed Monday: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California; Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas; and a smaller facility in the Kansas City metro area: Children's Mercy Park on the Kansas side of the border. Mexico opens in Houston on June 22, plays four days later at Inglewood and closes the first round on June 30 at Glendale. Brazil heads group D and has games in Inglewood on June 24, Las Vegas four days later and Santa Clara on July 2. Eleven of the venues are best-known as NFL stadiums, ranging in size from 63,400-seat State Farm Stadium to 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium. The other three — 25,500-seat Exploria Stadium, 20,700-seat Q2 Stadium and 18,500-seat Children's Mercy Park — are Major League Soccer facilities. Copa América is expanding in 2024, with six teams from North America joining the usual 10 nations from South America that compete for the continental championship. The format mirrors the Copa América Centenario in 2016, the only previous time the tournament was staged outside of South America. Read: 2024 Copa América in US to start on June 20 “We will experience an unforgettable Copa América, enjoying the best football in the world in 14 magnificent stadiums,” said Alejandro Dominguez, the president of CONMEBOL. For the 2024 edition, the CONMEBOL regulars will be joined by six CONCACAF qualifiers. The host United States, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama earned their spots by winning in the Nations League quarterfinals, while March 23 playoff games matching Costa Rica vs. Honduras and Canada vs. Trinidad and Tobago will determine the final two entrants. Two group-round games will be played at every site except for Charlotte — which has the pair of knockout matches — and the two Kansas City stadiums, which have one group game each. MetLife Stadium, NRG Stadium, Levi’s Stadium and State Farm Stadium are the only returning stadiums from the 10 venues that were used for Copa América Centenario, though games also were held in Orlando (Camping World Stadium) and the Los Angeles area (Pasadena's Rose Bowl). The final won by Chile over Argentina on penalty kicks -- Messi memorably left the field in tears after putting his attempt over the crossbar -- was played at MetLife Stadium outside of New York City. Except for the Centenario tournament, Copa América hosting duties usually have rotated among the 10 COMNEBOL nations in South America. The arrangement called for Ecuador to host in 2024, but that country backed out because of security issues. The U.S. stepped in to fill the void under a new partnership between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. Eight of the 14 stadiums for Copa América have already been picked as venues for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Read: Real Madrid win Spanish Supercopa with victory over Athletic Bilbao in the final They are: MetLife Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Levi's Stadium, SoFi Stadium, AT&T Stadium, NRG Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium. Some of those venues could also be in the running for another major tournament that will be staged in the U.S. in 2025 — the expanded Club World Cup featuring 32 teams. Montagliani said holding two major competitions ahead of the World Cup will “cement our region as a global hub for football."

Hosts Bangladesh Women's Team smartly clinched two-match FIFA Tier-1 Women's International Friendly Football Series 2-0 crushing touring Singapore Women's Team by 8-0 goals in the last match at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Stadium in Kamalapur in Dhaka on Monday afternoon. Bangladesh, which needed just a draw in the day's match to win the two-match-series, outplaying Singapore 3-0 in the first match last Friday, today (Monday) comfortably dominated the first half by 3-0 goals, featuring three goals in span of eight minutes. This was the second biggest victory for Bangladesh Women's Football Team in the month of country's victory after their ever-biggest 9-0 goals win over Bhutan at home in December 2010, that also in the month of victory.

Dhaka Abahani Ltd  reached the semifinal of the season's curtain raiser soccer meet, the Independence Cup Football ' 2023 as the 2nd team eliminating Sheikh Jamal DC by 3-2 goals in tie breaker at the floodlight Bashundhara Kings Arena here Sunday evening. The nail-bitting 2nd  quarterfinal match between Dhaka Abahani and Sheikh Jamal DC ended in a goalless position in the stipulated 90- minute and the match was again locked 1-1 goals  in the extra session of 30 minutes. Independence Cup: Rahmatganj MFS advance to semis eliminating Police FC In the extra session,  Brazilian medio Jonathan Fenandes  put Abahani ahead in the 94th minute while another Brazilian midfielder Higor restored the parity for Sheikh Jamal in the 107th minute to force the match toward tie breaker. Abahanis substitute custodian Shamim emerged as the match hero foiling two Sheikh Jamal attempts, out of five, in the tie breaker.  Iranian defender Milad Sheikhi scored the match winning goal for Abahani  after Fahim of Sheikh Jamal sent the previous spot Khan kick outside. Team Manager of Dhaka Abahani got marching after receiving a direct red card. FIFA Women's Football: Bangladesh aiming to wrap up friendly series against Singapore on Monday Dhaka Abahani will now play the 2nd semifinal on December 15 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena here against the winners of Bashundhara Kings and Bangladesh Army, who will meet each other in the 4th quarterfinal on Tuesday (Dec 5) at the same venue Rahmatganj MFS will play the first semifinal, also on December 15 at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj against the winners of  Dhaka Mohammedan and Chittagong Abahani, who will meet each in the 3rd quarterfinal on Tuesday (Dec 5) at  Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj After a recess on Monday, Dhaka Mohammedan SC, the champions of Group C, will encounter Group D runners-up Chittagong Abahani Limited in the 3rd quarterfinal on Tuesday (December 5) at 1:45 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. Star-studded Bashundhara Kings, the champions of Group D will play Group C runners- up Bangladesh Army Football team in the 4th and last quarterfinal, also on Tuesday at 4 pm at their home ground -- Bashundhara Kings Arena--in the capital. Independence Cup Football: Quarterfinals begin Sunday The two semifinals will be held ten days later after the Bashundhara Kings vital AFC Cup Football match against Indian giant Odisha FC, billed for December 11 at Kalindi Stadum in Bhubaneswar. The first semifinal will be held on December 15 at  1:45 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj while the 2nd semifinal will also be held on the same day (Dec 15) at 4 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the city. The title deciding final match will commence on December 18 at 1:45 pm  at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

Two quick goals by Ghana striker Samuel helped Rahmatganj MFS to reach the semifinal of the season's curtain raiser soccer meet, the Independence Cup Football ' 2023 as the first team eliminating Bangladesh Police FC  by 2-1:goals in the first quarterfinal at the Bashundhara Kings Arena here on Sunday. They will play the first semifinal on December 15 at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj  against the winners of Dhaka Mohammedan and Chittagaong Abahani, who will meet each other in the 3rd quarterfinal on Tuesday (Dec 5) at  Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. FIFA Women's Football: Bangladesh aiming to wrap up friendly series against Singapore on Monday In the day's first quarterfinal, Colombian forward Edis Horacio put the Police FC ahead in the 24th minute from a penalty (1-0). But, Ghana forward Samuel assured the old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj's victory, scoring two quick goals in a span of only two minutes (29th and 31st minute). Samuel levelled the margin in the 29th minute by a nice volley from the danger zone (1-1) while he scored the match- winner just two minutes later by a push from close,  off a Susanta Tripura's free kick (2-1). Independence Cup Football: Quarterfinals begin Sunday Meanwhile, Group B champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd played against Group A runners-up Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the 2nd quarterfinal also at the Bashundhara Kings Arena  Sunday evening. After a recess on Monday, Dhaka Mohammedan SC, the champions of Group C, will encounter Group D runners-up Chittagong Abahani Limited in the 3rd quarterfinal on Tuesday (December 5) at 1:45 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. Star-studded Bashundhara Kings, the champions of Group D will play Group C runners- up Bangladesh Army Football team in the 4th and last quarterfinal, also on Tuesday at 4 pm at their home ground -- Bashundhara Kings Arena--in the capital. The two semifinals will be held ten days later after the Bashundhara Kings vital AFC Cup Football match against Indian giant Odisha FC, billed for December 11 at Kalindi Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Women's Football: Bangladesh too hot to handle for Singapore The first semifinal will be held on December 15 at  1:45 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj while the 2nd semifinal will also be held on the same day (Dec 15) at 4 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the city. The title deciding final match will commence on December 18 at 1:45 pm  at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

Hosts Bangladesh Women's team needed just a draw against touring Singapore women's team to win the two-match FIFA Tier-1 Women's International Friendly Football Series here on Monday ( Dec 4). The 2nd and last match of the series between 130th ranked Singapore and 142nd ranked Bangladesh will kick- off at 3:pm on Monday at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Shipahi  Mohammad Mostafa Stadium in Kamalapur in the capital. Independence Cup Football: Quarterfinals begin Sunday Bangladesh women's team comfortably dominated the two-match series 1-0  outplaying Singapore women's team by 3-0 goals in the first match at the same venue last  Friday ( Dec 1), featuring two goals by occasional  striker by Tohura Khatun and rest one by defender Afeida Khandakar With this well-merited victory, Bangladesh women's football team not only dominated the series but also took sweet revenge of their 0-3 goals defeat against hosts Singapore  in a Development Tournament there six year ago. Women's Football: Bangladesh too hot to handle for Singapore This was the first victory for Bangladesh national women's team in international football within  about 14 months after winning the historic title of  the SAFF Championship held in Kathmandu in September' 2022. Ahead of Monday's match, both the Bangladesh and Singapore teams made their final practices at the match venue Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Head of the Mission of Singapore Embassy in Dhaka accorded a reception in honour of the touring  Singapore women's football team at a local hotel Saturday night. Women's Int'l Football: Bangladesh to play Singapore on Friday Members of the Bangladesh women's football team and the Bangladesh Football Federation  (BFF) officials also attended  the function.

The knock-out stage quarterfinals of the season's ccurtain-raiser soccer meet, The Independence Cup Football 2023, begins on Sunday at two different venues across the country. Women's Football: Bangladesh too hot to handle for Singapore Group A champions Bangladesh Police will meet Group B runners-up Rahmatganj MFS in the first quarterfinal on Sunday at 4:00 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital. Group B champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd will face Group A runners-up Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the seconf quarterfinal also on Sunday at 1:45 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. After a recess on Monday, Dhaka Mohammedan SC, the champions of Group C, will encounter Group D runners-up Chattogram Abahani Limited in the third quarterfinal on Tuesday at 1:45 pm at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj. Star-studded Bashundhara Kings, the champions of Group D, will play Group C runners-up Bangladesh Army Football team in the fourth and last quarterfinal, also on Tuesday at 4:00 pm at their home ground -- Bashundhara Kings Arena. The two semifinals will be held ten days later, after the Bashundhara Kings vital AFC Cup Football match against Indian giant Odisha FC, billed for December 11 at Kalindi Stadum in Bhubaneswar. AFC Cup: Bashundhara Kings need just a draw against Odisha FC to qualify for zonal semis The first semifinal will be held on December 15 at  1:45 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj, while the second semifinal will also be held on the same day at 4:00 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the city. The title-deciding final match will commence on December 18 at 1:45 pm at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

Bangladesh Women's team took 1-0 lead in the two-match FIFA Tier-1 Women's International Friendly Football Series outplaying Singapore by 3-0 goals in the first match at the Kamalapur Stadium here on Friday ( Dec 1). Bangladesh team dominated the first half by 2-0 goals. With the day's well-merited victory, Bangladeshi women's not only dominated the series but also took a sweet revenge of their 0-3 goals defeat in a Development Tournament in Singapore six year ago. This was the first victory for Bangladesh national women's team in the international football within about 14 months after winning their historic title in the SAFF Championship held in Kathmandu in September 2022. The 2nd and last match between 130th ranked Singapore and 142nd ranked Bangladesh will be held at the same venue on Monday (December 4) In the day's match match, occasional striker Tohura Khatun struck twice for Bangladesh in the 16th and 60th minutes after defender Afeida Khandakar put the home team ahead in the very 3rd minute of the match. Defender Afeida Khandakar put Bangladesh ahead in the 3rd minute by a header kissed that entered the opponent net touching the cross bar (1-0). Tohura Khatun doubled the margin in the 16th minute, capitalizing on a ready made pass of Maria Manda after beating two opponent defenders (2-0) Tohura scored her 2nd and 3rd goal for Bangladesh in the 60th minute by a brilliant placing shot over opposition goalie after receiving a long pass from Masura Parvin (3-0). Bangladesh earned the deserving victory beating their superior opponent in most of the period.  

The Bangladesh Women's Team will play the touring Singapore team in the first match of the two-match FIFA Tier-1 Women's International Friendly Football Match 2023 at the Kamalapur Stadium in Dhaka on Friday. The second and last match between 130th-ranked Singapore and 142nd-ranked Bangladesh will be held at the same venue on Monday (December 4). Asian Women's Football: Bangladesh finish last in Group D after 1-1 draw with Nepal In the lone previous meeting, Singapore beat Bangladesh women by 3-0 in a development tournament in Singapore six years ago. In a pre-match press conference at BFF House on Wednesday, Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu said, "It will be a good opportunity for us to play Singapore after the cancellation of a two-match series against Lebanon last October. The present Singapore team is comparatively unknown to us; we now focus on our first on Friday." 4 women, nat’l women's football team receive Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib Padak-2023 Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun said, "We lost against Singapore six years ago; now our team is more balanced than the previous squad with some improvements. I think our fans will enjoy two challenging matches, and our target is to prove our worth through recent improvements." Women's Football: Jamalpur beat Farashganj 2-0