The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has implemented new regulations for continental club competitions this year. These consist of the AFC Champions League Elite, Champions League Two, and the Challenge Cup, with lower-ranked teams competing in the latter. Bashundhara Kings, the reigning champions of the Bangladeshi professional league, will participate in the Challenge Cup.
While Bashundhara Kings are a strong team domestically, Bangladesh's overall club ranking suffers due to weaknesses in other league participants. The lack of licensing compliance and other shortcomings create a significant gap compared to other Asian nations. This has a negative impact on Bangladeshi football at the international level.
Bashundhara Kings' president, Imrul Hasan, expressed concerns about the growing one-sidedness of the domestic league due to the vast disparity between teams. He acknowledged that this year offered a slight improvement compared to previous seasons. However, the current state of affairs presents a significant challenge for Bangladeshi football in Asia. The AFC has also launched a Women's Champions League, but no Bangladeshi club, besides Bashundhara Kings, currently meets the participation criteria. Ironically, some of the country's greatest footballing successes have come from the women's national team. Imrul Hasan believes that the women's team's achievements arguably surpass those of the men's team. However, these successes have primarily come at youth level. Unless both clubs and the national federation address this imbalance, Bangladesh risks falling further behind in Asian football.
