External links
| National teams |
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| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Defunct competitions |
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| Rivalries | |||||||||||
| Country | Bangladesh |
|---|---|
| Sport | Association football |
| Promotion and relegation | Yes (Men) No (Women) |
| National system | |
| Federation | Bangladesh Football Federation |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Top division | Premier League (Men) Women's Football League (Women) |
| Second division | Championship League |
| Cup competition | |
| Association football in Bangladesh | |
The Bangladeshi football league system contains two wide open national professional leagues, three Dhaka based semi-professional leagues and one age-level amateur league. [1]
The semi-professional Dhaka Football League, consisting of a First Division, Second Division and Third Division, was established in 1915 and officially recognized after the Partition of India in 1948. The amateur, age-based Bangladesh Pioneer League was introduced in 1981 as the fourth-tier, expanding the league system. In 1993, the Dhaka Premier Division League became the new top-tier, while the First Division (1993–2006) served as the second-tier, further expanding the system to five-tiers.
In 2007, the B.League was introduced as Bangladesh’s first professional national league, later renamed the Bangladesh League in 2009 and rebranded as the Bangladesh Premier League in 2012. [2] The Premier Division and First Division merged to form the new second-tier, the Dhaka Senior Division League. The professional league allowed clubs outside Dhaka to participate and had no relegation until the 2009–10 season. Senior Division champions and runners-up earned promotion only if they met professional league licensing criteria. In 2009, the Bashundhara Club Cup Championship, a one-time tournament, saw its winners and runners-up qualify for the 2009–10 professional League. [3] The introduction of the Bangladesh Championship League in 2012 established a permanent promotion-relegation system, with relegated clubs from the 2010–11 season joining the second-tier professional national league. [4] [5]
| Professional leagues |
| Semi-professional leagues |
| Amateur leagues |
| Level | Division | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangladesh Premier League 10 clubs ↓ 2 relegation spot | Professional |
| 2 | Bangladesh Championship League 11 clubs ↑ 2 teams promoted ↓ 2 teams relegated | |
| 3 | Dhaka Senior Division League 18 clubs ↑ 4 teams promoted ↓ 2 teams relegated | Semi-professional |
| 4 | Dhaka Second Division League 15 clubs ↑ 2 teams promoted ↓ 2 teams relegated | |
| 5 | Dhaka Third Division League 15 clubs ↑ 2 teams promoted ↓ 2 teams relegated | |
| 6 | Bangladesh Pioneer League Unlimited number of clubs ↑ 4 teams promoted No relegation | Amateur |
The primary domestic cup competition in Bangladesh is the Federation Cup. The cup competition is currently only open to Bangladesh Premier League clubs and runs simultaneosuly with the league season. The winners of the tournament were previously given entry to the preliminary stages of the AFC Cup. The Independence Cup is mainly open to Premier League clubs, however, Services teams and Bangladesh Championship League clubs are also eligible to participate given they receive permission from the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
As of the 2024–25 season, the Bangladesh Premier League champions qualify for the 2025–26 AFC Challenge League preliminary stage. However, if the league champions are not able to attain AFC licensing, league runners-up or Federation Cup winners are elected to participate in AFC competitions.
| Level | Division | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangladesh Women's Football League 9 clubs No relegation | Semi-professional |
| National teams |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Defunct competitions |
| ||||||||||
| Rivalries | |||||||||||
