Bangladeshis live World Cup dreams
During the last two World Cups, Nargis Chowdhury was in two different countries. In 2010 she was in Malaysia, in 2014 she was in Nepal.
When Russia hosts the World Cup this year, she will also be out of the country. But this time, she will be visiting the host nation itself.
"In Malaysia and in Nepal I saw people go crazy during the World Cup. This time I am going to the host country and I believe it will be an experience of a lifetime. I would be meeting people from all corners of the world," said an excited Nargis, who teaches English literature at a private university.
She and her husband Zahid Sharif, who is a die-hard Argentina supporter, will be in Saint Petersburg to watch the match between the two-time world champions and Nigeria.
"Me and my husband decided to pursue World Cup match tickets this year. We have been planningfor the last two years. We tried hard and have been saving money. Hopefully we'll be in Russia soon if everything goes well," Nargis said.
And they are not a rarity. Scores of Bangladeshis are planning a Russia trip in June and July to watch the World Cup matches sitting in those magnificent stadiums.
The story of Musa Mohammad Abu and his friends is even more fascinating.
"We are 12 friends, all batch-mates from Comilla Cadet College. We have been planning for this since last July," said Musa, who works for a private firm.
Musa and his friends will be watching a number of matches, including mouthwatering ties like Argentina-Croatia and Brazil-Serbia.
Aftab Uz Zaman Khan and Tasnim Khan Naim, two Brazil fans, will be watching three matches -- Portugal-Iran in Saransk, Germany-Korea in Kazan and one Round of 16 game to be played in Samara.
"We are praying hard for Brazil to win the group. They will play the runners-up of Group F in that Round of 16 matches," said the former.
"We also had tickets to the Argentina-Nigeria game, but gave it away to two Argentina supporters," Aftab said.
Tanvir Rahman, a Bangladeshi doctor now working for the Oman government, will be flying to Russia as well.
"I have been there for my studies, but it will totally be a different experience this time. I will meet this childhood friend, who will be flying in from Bangladesh, in Moscow and then we two will go to Saint Petersburg to watch the Argentina-Nigeria game," said Tanvir.
Well, Bangladesh's football team may be languishing down the FIFA rankings, but who would deny that it has the craziest of the football fans?
If only the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) had played their role to take the country's football forward!