President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Friday said that the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament has emerged as an important platform for nurturing children’s football talent.
“This tournament is making an effective contribution to producing quality footballers at the grassroots level,” he said in a message issued on the occasion of the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament (Boys and Girls) 2026, scheduled to begin tomorrow.
The President said that the proper physical, mental and moral development of children is one of the key prerequisites for building an advanced, healthy and humane society.
Considering the importance of sports, he said, “the government has been implementing various initiatives to develop sports as a profession and a full-fledged economic sector.”
Mohammed Shahabuddin said, “a plan has been adopted to make sports a compulsory subject from Class IV under the national curriculum.”
He also mentioned "initiatives taken under the ‘Notun Kuri Sports’ programme, alongside scholarships for talented athletes and the establishment of sports villages in every district across the country.”
The President added that although football is one of the country’s most popular sports, there is no alternative to regular practice from the primary level to improve its standard and produce skilled players.
Expressing hope, he further added, “the tournament, involving 65,569 government primary schools nationwide, would play an important role in enhancing children’s physical and mental abilities as well as nurturing new football talent.”
Mohammed Shahabuddin wished grand success for the tournament and extended greetings to all participating students, teachers, guardians, coaches, organisers and others concerned.
He also expressed optimism that the young footballers would further enhance Bangladesh’s prestige on the global stage.
