Despite boasting one of the most popular leagues – the Dhaka Football League - in Bengal, it took Bangladesh decades to shift its popularity from the regional league to the national league as the B-League was only formed nine years ago in 2007.
It was not only the first ever professional football league in Bangladesh, but in South Asia as well as India also followed its neighbours eight months later by introducing the I-League. Before that, India's National Football Championship was largely semi-professional and mostly overshadowed by the Dhaka League.
Before the B-League was founded, the Dhaka League was the top-tier football competition of the country. And during the first couple of decades in the Dhaka League, Mohammedan and Wanderers ruled the roost.
Wanderers were then run by a man hailing from the Nawab family named Abdul Gaffar, who was the club's president. During his presidency, the club won seven titles. However, their domination soon came to an end following the liberation war with the introduction of Abahani.
Although the two most well-known clubs at that time were Abahani and Mohammedan, it was surprisingly BJMC who clinched the maiden Dhaka League title in 1973. The Dhaka League changed its title to Dhaka Premier Division League in 1993 but continued to be popularly known by its former name.
From 1979 to 1996, all the titles were shared by Mohammedan and Abahani before Muktijoddha brought an end to the domination by clinching their first ever title in the 1997-98 season.
Several years later, on March 2, 2007, the much-awaited, first ever professional football league got underway with the opening match between Abahani and Muktijoddha at Bangabandhu National Stadium. In total, 11 clubs participated, including eight from the capital and three from Chittagong and Khulna. Before the kick-off, players, coaches, organisers and referees from the 1960s-90s joined a parade to mark the grand opening ceremony.
The tournament opener, although a stalemate, was enjoyed by fully-packed galleries and saw two red cards within just four minutes into the game. Referee Tayeb Hassan showed straight red cards to midfielders Abul Hossain (Abahani) and Arman Aziz (Muktijoddha).
Throughout the season, eternal archrivals Abahani and Mohammedan fought closely for the title but the Sky Blues eventually emerged as the champions with a game in hand. That season, journalists voted to choose the best player of the season and 52 of them selected Abahani striker Jahid Hasan Ameli with Mohammedan winger Zahid Hossain coming second.
Starting this season, the professional league entered a new era as most of the matches will be played outside the capital for the first time in history. Bangladesh Football Federation's senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy has been the chairman of the professional league committee since 2008 and having witnessed the rise and fall of the B-League, he informed that the game is in much better shape now than it was at that time.
“The situation of the country's football was very poor at that time. The players were protesting, arranging rallies and strikes to regularise football. We made sure that the domestic league would take place every year and now, in 2016, a new era has begun. The league is spreading across the country and for the first time ever, 75 percent matches will be held outside Dhaka. It will bring more professionalism,” said Salam Murshedy.