Nazmul Hasan, the newly appointed minister of youth and sports, has vowed to increase the number of sports grounds and facilities in a bid to attract more people toward sports.
Following his swearing-in as minister Thursday, Papon, also president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, spent his first working day at the ministry Sunday.
Later, he went to the National Sports Council, which oversees the country's sports federations.
While the NSC is busy building stadiums across the country, Papon made it clear that he is not in favor of making stadiums and said he instead wants more open playgrounds, which could attract people to take sports seriously.
"I do not think we need stadiums everywhere," Papon told reporters at the NSC.
"What is more important is to have open playgrounds with facilities like dressing rooms so that people have access to enter the grounds and play there," he added.
The enthusiasm was palpable as Papon reached the NSC as the first full minister at the helm of the Ministry of Youth and Sports after 1990.
There was hardly any room left in the small conference room of the NSC.
The situation almost turned a little chaotic because of the large number of people trying to welcome the minister with bouqets.
Papon said he will try to bring discipline to the place, referring to the chaotic situation.
Almost all the BCB directors, who generally do not go to the NSC, were present at the time.
As minister of youth and sports, Papon is also chairman of the NSC.
Talking about the shortage of playgrounds in Dhaka, Papon said: "There are no such sports grounds in Dhaka except Mirpur Stadium. As a result, Mirpur is under a lot of pressure, and because of this the quality of the wicket is not satisfactory enough.”
Highlighting the issue of stadium construction, renovation and maintenance, he said: "We have many stadiums. Many stadiums are locked up and many stadiums are not open to all. So I feel an urge to review these issues. Firstly, we need to see how many stadiums are there and how many of them are active. Then I will take action accordingly."
Expressing his determination to promote all kinds of sports, the minister said: "We have the potential to do well in other sports besides football and cricket. But first we need to fix our priorities. The sports federations, which receive financial support from us, have to set specific targets. They should say where they want to go and what they want to achieve in the next three years. I will soon sit down with each federation separately. I will listen to their problems and possibilities."
"Many of our federations are doing well. Our football is moving forward. Women footballers in particular are doing well. Men's football has also improved. Shooting, archery and many others are improving," he added.
Papon vowed to give all kinds of cooperation to take other sports to international standards like cricket.
He concluded by saying the overall development of the country's youth will get top priority.