PM to grace Primary School Gold Cup Football final on 20 June

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to attend the final match of the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament 2026 on 20 June, where he will also distribute prizes among the winning teams and outstanding participants.

The finals of both the boys’ and girls’ categories will be held at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka, Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon announced at a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj and Prime Minister’s Education Adviser Dr Mahdi Amin were also present at the event.

Providing details of the tournament, Directorate of Primary Education Director General (DG) Shahina Ferdousi said the competition was organised nationwide through five stages and witnessed the participation of more than 99 lakh students from 65,569 government primary schools.

According to field-level data, a total of 22,14,105 student footballers took part in this year’s competition, including 11,10,814 boys and 11,03,291 girls, reflecting nearly equal participation from both groups.

The DG said an unprecedented 1,23,974 matches were played across the country in the two categories, making it one of the largest school-level sporting events ever organised in Bangladesh. Boys and girls were provided equal opportunities and facilities throughout the tournament.

The competition began at the grassroots level on 6 April and concluded its divisional rounds on 23 May. Following those stages, champion teams from the country’s eight divisions qualified for the national phase, resulting in a total of 16 teams - eight boys’ teams and eight girls’ teams - advancing to the final stage.

The national-level competition started on 4 June, and the first-round, semifinal and third-place playoff matches have already been completed.

Shahina Ferdousi also noted that a policy and implementation plan have been approved to make sports compulsory from Grade Four in primary schools, following the Prime Minister’s directive.

Speaking at the event, Education Minister Milon said Bangladesh’s recent success in women’s football has its roots in grassroots competitions like the Primary School Gold Cup. He described the tournament as an important platform for nurturing future athletes while helping students develop discipline, confidence and leadership skills.