Bangladesh wants its kids moving again. The Bangladesh Athletics Federation has rolled out Athletics Compass, a nationwide push to drag school sport back into daily life and get children running, jumping and throwing with purpose. Athletics Federation announced this at a press conference on Sunday. It’s a bold plan, and it lands at a moment when the country desperately needs a cultural reset around youth fitness.
The scale tells its own story. Around 25,000 schoolchildren aged four to fourteen will take part across six districts, from Jashore to Sylhet and Dhaka to Rangamati. They will work through the basics of athletics while coaches focus on health, confidence and simple joy, the bits children rarely get in a crowded school day.
The programme doesn’t stop at the kids. The federation will train 96 physical education teachers who can guide the next wave long after the project ends. Bangladesh hasn’t always given its PE teachers the tools they need, and this scheme tries to correct that.
BAF General Secretary Shah Alam cut straight to the point. “This programme is not just about creating elite athletes,” he said. “We want students and their families to embrace sports, stay healthy, and contribute to social well-being.” He’s right to stress it. Most children barely get an hour of physical activity a day, and screen time wins the battle far too easily.
Project Manager Kitab Ali kept the message grounded. “Even if a handful of students from 25,000 eventually take up competitive athletics, we will consider the programme a success,” he said. It’s a refreshingly honest take, because the real victory sits elsewhere healthier bodies, sharper minds and kids who learn discipline without fear.
The rollout begins in Jashore on 10 December before it sweeps through Sunamganj, Jamalganj, Rangamati, Jhenaighati and Dhaka over the next seven weeks. It’s a long route, but it mirrors the programme’s ambition: spark something small in one district and let it grow across the map.
