Bangladesh national football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan on Monday expressed his gratitude to State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque for introducing the government’s sports card initiative.
The government recently launched the sports allowance and sports card programme to provide monthly financial stipends and honorary cards to national athletes.
The programme was inaugurated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on March 30, 2026. In the first phase, 129 athletes from 20 disciplines received a one-time payment of Tk 1 lakh each, with monthly allowances to follow.
The government aims to bring a total of 500 athletes under the salary structure. Shortly after the initial launch, 171 more athletes—including 18 male and 18 female national footballers—were added to the list.
The sports minister distributed cards to athletes included in the second phase at the National Sports Council auditorium in Paltan on Sunday.
Jamal was unable to collect his card on the scheduled day. On Monday, he visited the residence of State Minister Aminul Haque in Mirpur to receive it.
He described the initiative as “praiseworthy” and said, “This sports card will bring a positive change in our sports arena. I would say this is the Aminul Card.”
Jamal also posted a photograph with the sports minister on his social media accounts, writing: “Thank you, Honorable Prime Minister and Sports Minister Aminul bhai, for introducing the sports card for the players.”
Other prominent footballers included in the sports card list are Mitul Marma, Topu Barman, Md Ridoy, Sheikh Morsalin, Rakib Hossain, Sohel Rana and Saad Uddin. The women’s contingent features Rupna Chakma, Afeida Khandakar, Sheuli Azim, Tohura Khatun, Monika Chakma, Maria Manda, Rituparna Chakma and Shamsunnahar Sr.
Athletes from bodybuilding, cycling, weightlifting, gymnastics, hockey, chess, archery, swimming, judo, wushu, kickboxing, tennis, handball, volleyball, shooting, table tennis and triathlon have also been brought under the scheme.
