We congratulate Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club for reaching the 118th Indian Football Association shield final in Kolkata.
Fans may still be commiserating after seeing their team lose a tense penalty shoot-out, but they can take encouragement from their club providing the tournament’s two leading scorers.
The annual IFA shield carries much prestige, and is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world.
Sport’s greatest quality has always been its ability to appeal across borders of all types. This has long been evident in the global appeal of the English Premier League and La Liga, but the rapid growth of cricket’s IPL adds new weight to the picture.
The time is ripe to encourage more team based cross-border competitions. Team sports are already increasingly globalised both in the makeup of their players and their fan base, so it makes sense to capitalise further on their international appeal.
While FIFA has reservations about cross-border leagues, there is no reason why football authorities should not encourage more international competitions in South Asia. Bangladesh and Bengal are historical bastions of football in the sub-continent and fans would welcome moves that bring more spectators and money into the sport.
In the case of cricket, IPL was created from the start to appeal internationally so is readymade for a Bangladesh based franchise. Such a move could help the IPL grow in the direction it has set itself and would undoubtedly be popular with Bangladeshi cricket fans and advertisers.
So long as ability and competition are rewarded fairly, there should be no limit to imaginatively developing sport across borders.
