The first ten months of the year have already passed, and November promises to be a particularly busy month for Bangladesh’s sports scene. Multiple federations will host important international events both at home and abroad.
Football:
The Bangladesh men’s football team will play two matches in November. On November 13, they will face Nepal in a friendly match at the National Stadium, followed by a home match against India in the Asian Cup qualifiers on November 18 at the same venue. The match against India will be their last before 2025.
Six days after the football matches, the Bangladesh women’s football team, Rituparna’s squad, will compete in a triangular series. Teams from Azerbaijan and Malaysia will participate, with the series kicking off on November 26 with the Bangladesh-Malaysia match. Each team will play two matches against the others.
Alongside the senior teams, junior teams will also be active. Golam Rabbani Choton’s trainees will leave for China in mid-November to play in the AFC U-17 Men’s Tournament qualifiers.
Domestic leagues and the Federation Cup will also continue. After the November 18 match against India, the Premier League will resume. Due to national team commitments in the October and November windows, the domestic league had two long breaks. There are no national team matches in March, so the league and Federation Cup will run concurrently starting November.
Asian Archery Championship:
Dhaka will host the biggest archery event in Asia, with 29 countries participating. The quarter-finals will be held at the National Stadium from November 8–12, while the semi-finals and finals will take place at the Army Stadium on November 13–14.
Hockey:
Pakistan did not participate in the Asia Cup held in India. The Asia Cup champion qualifies directly for the World Cup, while teams finishing second to fifth compete in the World Cup qualifiers. Due to Pakistan’s absence, the Asian Hockey Federation arranged a playoff between Pakistan and the sixth-placed team. In November, Pakistan will visit Dhaka for a three-match playoff at Maulana Bhasani Stadium on November 13, 14, and 16. Two days later, Bangladesh’s U-21 team will travel to India for the U-21 Hockey World Cup, marking Bangladesh’s first participation in a hockey World Cup.
Women’s Kabaddi World Cup:
Bangladesh will host the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup from November 15–25 at the Mirpur Shahid Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium, with 14 countries participating.
Cricket:
Ireland will visit Bangladesh for a series of two Tests and three T20 matches. The Test matches will be held in Chattogram from November 11–15 and in Dhaka from November 19–23. The T20 matches will take place on November 27 and 29, with the final match on December 2.
Tennis and Others:
The Davis Cup will begin in Bahrain on November 17. The Bangladesh Tennis Federation will send its players on November 13.
From November 7–21, the Islamic Solidarity Games will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bangladesh will participate in judo, swimming, table tennis, weightlifting, karate, taekwondo, wushu, athletics, fencing, and wrestling. Shooting and archery are not included this time, so medal prospects are limited.
Chess and Grandmaster Tournament:
The Chess World Cup began in India at the start of November. Bangladesh’s two international masters, Fahad Rahman and Monon Reza Neer, are participating. From November 14, an invitational Grandmaster tournament will take place, where the two international masters, along with FIDE Master Tahsin Tajwar Zia, will compete with local and international Grandmasters. They have opportunities to achieve GM norms and improve their ratings.
AFC Visit and BOA Election:
Off the field, November is also busy with administrative events. Sheikh Salman, President of the Asian Football Confederation, will visit Bangladesh from November 23–26. The President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation will also attend.
Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) elections are scheduled for November 30, postponed by a day from the originally planned November 29. Officials from all national federations will be occupied with these elections.
