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Future shines bright

Football

Aarony Zade
On Tuesday Bangabandhu National Stadium was abuzz with the future of Bangladesh's football. Fifth grader Imran Hossain adores Lionel Messi. He did not have the chance to meet Messi on his rare trip to Bangladesh. But Imran got to play on the same ground as his hero. And he led his team, Charbaria Govt. Primary School, to glory in the final of the 2nd Bangabandhu Gold Cup.
The girls of Moghachari Govt. Primary School of hilly Rangamati district however have their own home-grown idols to take inspiration from and lift the inaugural Bangamata Gold Cup that preceded the boys' final at the same venue where everything turned into more than a mere battle. It echoed the struggle, determination and ecstasy of boys and girls of almost 120,000 primary schools from every corner of the country.
The victorious girls' Moghachari Primary School has a special bond with this beautiful game. National team players Mainu Pru, Suinu Ching, Nubai Ching, Mainu Marma and women's league player Mashi Pru all came from Suihla Mong's coaching academy in Kaukhali. Mong's undoubted dedication towards football paid off yesterday as Rangamati outplayed Rangpur with an intelligent display of tactics. Speaking about his effort, he mentioned how he mortgaged his wife's jewellery to fund his academy. Nodi Chakma, one of the girls from Mong's academy, scored the second goal in their 2-0 victory from a sudden counterattack.
Mong's pupils, who had to endure a lot of hurdles with transport and accommodation and funding, hardly understand what the success would bring to them. They were just happy that they could at last play in their 'dream venue'. With most of their parents being hardworking farmers who can ill afford any financial assistance during their long travels, Mong said that his students had to spend the night crammed in one of the players' distant relative's house for their matches in Choddogram.
Runners-up Paalichora Govt. Primary School from Rangpur have been devoted to football ever since the tournament started in June and fancied a great chance of winning, but with 3 shots bounced off post and one goal gone offside, their luck ran out. Their coach, Mohammad Asaduzzaman Sarkar said “The missed chances really shook our confidence and moreover, the Rangamati girls are physically stronger than us due to geographical environment. We stood a great chance but we are happy to have come all this way”.
Asked about whether the girls faced any restrictions from the community, headmistress Begum Munni Raihana said, “The parents were reluctant at first because they didn't want their daughters to get injured. But after becoming union champions and seeing the media coverage, they were inspired to let the girls march on." Their support was so immense that all the parents made the long trip to the capital just to see them play.
Charbaria Govt. Primary School of Barisal scraped to their 3-2 victory over Rangamati Govt. Primary School from Dinajpur this year after coming third in last year's Gold Cup. The team from Dinajpur faced pre-match bullying which had an impact in the first half as they looked
shaken. But player-of-the-tournament, Anton Tudu, fired two in the back of the net but it failed to win them the cup. The victorious Charbaria had an army of parents and teachers to celebrate their glory. But teachers moaned about how they almost pulled out of the tournament in the last minute. One of them said of their school's success, “Last year it was such a hassle coming all the way with so many youngsters that we considered not participating this year. This was written in fate. We wouldn't have come this far and won if it wasn't for the push we got from our community.”