Bashundhara Kings joined top-level football in 2018. That same year, they played their first Federation Cup final against the famous Dhaka Abahani. It was a tough match and is still remembered for the intense battle between the two teams. Now, six years later, Abahani and the Kings are meeting again in the Federation Cup final.
The final will be played today at the Rafiq Uddin Ahmed Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh – which is the hometown of Abahani’s coach, Maruf. He has won all the local football trophies as a coach. He’s hopeful about winning today’s final at home. “Defender Bablu can’t play because of a card issue,” said Maruf. “But I still strongly believe we can become champions.”
Abahani has already beaten Bashundhara Kings twice this season. Even so, Maruf respects his opponents. “Bashundhara is a strong team and hard to beat,” he said. “But we are stronger now with two new foreign players. We beat them in our last two games, and the commitment from my players makes me confident.”
Bashundhara Kings have had a tough season and are now 10 points behind Mohammedan, who are top of the Premier League. With just seven matches left, catching up is impossible, so they’ve been eliminated from the title race. Now, their only focus is winning the Federation Cup, which they also won last season. Senior player Tapu said, “We reached the final after two challenging matches. We’ll give our best in the final and aim to win the championship trophy for Barman’s team.”
Bashundhara Kings started the current season on a high note. In European football, the new season kicks off with a match between the previous season’s league and tournament champions. This tradition is now also followed in Bangladesh with the Challenge Cup. Bashundhara Kings won the Challenge Cup by beating Mohammedan.
