The Bangladesh Football Federation has finally secured 15.2 acres of land in Rashidnagar, Ramu, for its long-delayed FIFA-funded Technical Center in Cox’s Bazar, ending years of failed land allocations and administrative delays.
The government handed over the land documents on Monday. BFF president Tabith Awal received them from Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner M A Mannan during an official ceremony at a city hotel.
The BFF now plans to fence and fill the land next month before appointing a consultant firm to design the centre.
FIFA Forward funding worth USD 3.6 million, approximately BDT 44 crore and 24 lakh, will support the project. Subject to FIFA’s final approval, the centre could include three football pitches, two four-storey dormitories, medical facilities, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and other amenities.
Tabith said the project would give Bangladesh football a permanent base for player development.
“Through the joint initiatives of the government and FIFA, we are going to build an international-standard technical centre in Cox’s Bazar. Apart from providing high-standard training for budding footballers, we will also establish an international-standard physiotherapy centre.”
He also linked the project with the government’s plans to develop sports tourism in Cox’s Bazar.
“We also want to implement the government’s sports tourism initiative in Cox’s Bazar by holding international tournaments here, and I think corporate houses can also use the technical centre to hold their football tournaments.”
Tabith added: “We are going to fence the arena and fill the land next month, and appoint a consultant firm to design the technical centre.”
The new allocation closes a difficult chapter for the federation. In June 2022, the Awami League government allocated 20 acres in Khuniapalong for a residential training academy under the FIFA Forward programme.
Environmental concerns over reserved forestland then forced the project into further delays. FIFA requested an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment after environmentalists warned about the impact on forests that support critically endangered Asian elephants and other wildlife.
The government cancelled that allocation in September 2024 and proposed 19.1 acres in Dholirchara mouza, also under Rashidnagar union, before eventually allocating the current 15.2-acre site.
The interim government then sought BDT 8 crore for the land. The BFF appealed for a free allocation and eventually secured the site after paying a token amount of one lakh and one taka.
