K-Sports, a renowned sports marketing company, has been given the rights for the much-awaited Bangabandhu Gold Cup for the second consecutive time, penning the official deal with the Bangladesh Football Federation at the BFF House on Sunday.
K-Sports will bear all expenditure, including the costs of accommodation, transport, prizes and participant money, of the six-nation tournament, which is scheduled to kick off on January 15.
This time, all the matches of the mega event will be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium, unlike the previous two editions in 2016 and 2018. The logo unveiling and draw ceremony is scheduled to take place on January 4.
The sixth edition of Bangabandhu Gold Cup will be the first of many international sports tournaments to mark the official celebration of Mujib Barsho, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“The Bangabandhu Gold Cup will be the first international tournament after the official inauguration of Mujib Year. It is a big thing. I am grateful to the BFF for giving us the opportunity,” said K-Sports CEO Fahad Karim, adding that they will try to improve the quality of TV production and marketing. None of the parties disclosed financial details of the agreement.
The organizers are also planning to bring a world football star such as Ronaldinho, Paolo Maldini, Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, or Didier Drogba to add more glamour to the event. However, BFF General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said that the chance one of them coming is still 50-50.
“Fifa showed interest after we talked about the matter. Hopefully, we will get a positive signal after Fifa opens on January 4 or 5. They will decide which star footballer may come, but nothing is finalized yet,” Shoahg said in response to a query.
Laos, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka and Mongolia are most likely to join Bangladesh in the 11-day event.
Bangladesh reached the semifinals of the last edition, played at three separate venues, and lost to eventual champions Palestine. The hosts have made it to the final only once in 2016, but lost to Malaysia.