Gopalganj Sporting Club, a newly promoted team, has decided not to participate in the upcoming season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) so that they may focus on improving their facilities.
Gopalganj SC advanced to the premier division after finishing as the runner-up in the Bangladesh Championship League (BCL).
The team, however, formally told the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Wednesday, the final day of the transfer window, that they would not be participating in the top-tier competition.
I decided to leave BPL for two main reasons. The club’s manager, SM Mamunur Rashid, explained the situation to The Daily Star yesterday, saying, “The first reason was the financial problem, and the second reason was the club’s decision to play in the second-tier BCL and use the funds that would be required if we played in the BPL to develop the club’s infrastructure in Dhaka.”
“We needed at least Tk 8 crore to form the BPL squad but now we have to spend just Tk one crore to form a BCL squad,” according to him.
With Gopalganj SC no longer participating, the 15th BPL season will feature only 10 clubs.
As with Cox City SC in 2012, Youngmen’s Fakirerpool team in 2017, and Arambagh KS in 2019, this is not the first time a promoted team has withdrawn from the top league.
Meanwhile, the Bashundhara Kings are defending champions and have assembled another all-star team for the 2023-24 season.
Eleven members of the 23-man Bangladesh squad that recently defeated the Maldives 3-2 on aggregate in the first round of World Cup Qualifiers have been recruited by the four-time winners.
The Kings will be fielding a team that includes Tapu Barman, Anisur Rahman Zico, and Sheikh Morsalin, despite their recent disciplinary actions.
The Kings will compete for a record-tying fifth straight BPL championship.