A day with the champs at their village homes
What do I love the most? Travel, playing cricket, maybe watching a Netflix series on a rainy afternoon. But there is one thing that transcends all of these. That is the joy of watching your country win. Bangladesh is a tiny country with very limited sporting success. But recently we got one of our rare sporting successes which came from the unlikeliest source, football. Football is the most popular sport in Bangladesh in my opinion. The craze we display for foreign countries and teams cannot be matched by what we show for Bangladesh in cricket. However Bangladesh football isn’t so lucky. We were once quite a force to contend with in Asian, mainly South Asian football, being ranked ahead of some of today’s top ranked nations. But the days where we used to give teams like Iran a run for their money have long passed, before I was even born. For as long as I can remember we have ranked below 140.
However, it was the Bangladesh team that won the recently concluded SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship. Yep, no joke. We actually defeated teams like India (and quite convincingly so), to win the South Asian Crown Title. Ready for one more twist? It wasn’t the men’s team either, but the women’s team. Can you imagine the support the women get in this country to play football? If you can’t, let’s just say it's not a lot. Bangladesh football only comes up to the spotlight when we do well, like the time we scored 6 goals against Malaysia. But there are very few regular followers for both the men’s and women’s team. It is simply due to our lack of success, although I believe football holds the most potential. But this success has brought to spotlight not only football in general but also the lives of the footballers.
People were keen to know how these relatively unknown players clinched the championship of South Asian football. I was among them. I knew more than I needed to about Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Lionel Messi, being an ardent cricket and Messi fan. But I knew nothing about Mariya Manda or Sanjida Akter, the players who brought us such important sporting silverware. But how was I going to speak to them? I live in Uttara while they lived mostly so far away in the village in Kalsindur. But then came the opportunity.
Kishor Alo (KIA), decided they were going to celebrate their birthday with the footballers in their home town of Kalsindur, Mymensingh. Kishor Alo is basically a magazine for adolescents and young adults. Now I’ve written for Kishor Alo before so I knew a few of the KIA team members. Luckily I was offered to tag along with the team which also included Anisul Haq, one of Bangladesh’s most famous writers and someone I was quite close with. I had a biology quiz the day after the trip but was I going to say no?
The journey started early morning at around 5:30 am on 1 October. It was going to be a long one but it was an opportunity for me to meet some of these players face to face, a chance I wouldn’t get so easily. We stopped at Mymensingh for breakfast and continued on towards Sanjida Akter’s house. When we arrived we were greeted by a smiling Sanjida and her parents. They were delighted to see the KIA team and of course Anisul Haque.
After we picked her up in the car, we continued towards Mariya Manda’s house. It was a difficult journey as we had to cross a river to get there, only putting into perspective how difficult it was for Mariya herself. But when Mariya arrived, she met us with an expected smiling face giving no indications whatsoever of her being exhausted.
Mariya’s house was full of humble family members who, just like her, were smiling and welcoming. I was simply blown away by the modesty and humility of the players and their families. The moment that stood out was when Mariya herself served us water and refreshments. There was a lot to learn from that gesture.
We then went back to the other side of the river, our next destination being the school. Unfortunately our car got stuck in some sand, so Mariya, Sanjida and Marina Yasmin (Anisul Haque’s wife) and I got an auto rickshaw and went towards the school as the rest followed. At the school we met the rest of the Kalsindur footballers, including national team players such as Marzia, Tohura, Shamsu Nahar Jr, Sheuli Azim, etc. They all greeted us warmly. Kishor Alo brought a huge cake that all the school students present and the national team players cut to celebrate the Kishor Alo birthday as well as for Kishor Alo and Prothom Alo to congratulate the players for their victory.
By that time I was extremely hungry and exhausted due to the heat and so were the others. So we all went to get lunch. During lunch I got the chance to ask Sanjida some questions including were she studies. After lunch it was time for Prothom Alo to conduct some interviews of the players, followed by some gifts from Kishor Alo. After that we bid goodbye to all the footballers as we dropped Sanjida off to her house and continued our way towards Dhaka. By the end of the trip, everyone would expect I’d be tired, reaching home at close to 1 am. But I wasn’t. Okay, maybe a bit but I had a lot of energy. I wanted to tell my family how humble Mariya Manda and the other footballers were, I wanted to tell them how our car got stuck and about how much fun we had. But of course I had to sleep because I had the quiz the next day!
This experience was very refreshing because it just gives a new perspective on life. While I already knew most of the footballers would be humble, to see and experience it in person is a different feeling. They achieved a big milestone for their country but I was pleased to see that they had the dedication, passion and hunger to do better. This gave me the confidence that this was not the end. It made me believe there’s more to come.
Also I believe football, both the men’s and women’s game, should get more mainstream coverage in Bangladesh, because if there’s one thing I learned from my trip, that is these players can do it. There may not be success overnight but good things take time. If they are given the support that they deserve, more feathers will be added to the cap of Bangladesh's sports and our country with continue to surge ahead.
* Srijon Shaikat is a student of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)