The long corridor of the historic Mohammedan Sporting Club tells its own story. Aminul Haque once walked this very passage with gloves in hand, heading towards the pitch. In 2003, Bangladesh lifted the SAFF Championship under his watch. He remains one of the finest goalkeepers the country has produced and a former national captain.
Today, his identity stretches beyond the touchline. He serves as sports secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and president of BNP’s Dhaka North unit. With the upcoming election, he contests Dhaka-16, fighting on two fronts at once politics and sport.
Walking through that familiar corridor, Aminul Haque still carries the old competitive fire in his eyes. Curious onlookers gather. Phones rise for selfies. Amid the noise and movement, he sits down with Daily Times of Bangladesh. The conversation moves freely, touching on BNP’s sporting vision, the crisis of professionalism, and the controversy surrounding Mustafizur Rahman.
Recently, we have seen you bringing forward several young footballers and athletes from different sports. How long will this initiative continue, and what is the core plan behind it?
First of all, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party has a long-term plan for building the country, which includes family cards, farmer cards, education, health, employment, and the environment. Since I work with sports, I focus on this area.
Our primary goal is to establish sport as a profession. In Bangladesh, parents want their children to become doctors or engineers. Very few families genuinely want their children to become athletes. We ask a simple question: why can sport not stand alongside medicine or engineering as a respectable career?
Our acting chairman, Mr Tarique Rahman, believes that sport must stand as a profession alongside other forms of employment. If we come to power, we will make sport compulsory in the national curriculum from Year Four. There will be five events, including football and cricket.
This will create a healthier generation and help build a drug-free society. When children go to the field, their addiction to devices drops naturally. At the grassroots level, we will launch the ‘Notun Kuri Sports’ programme to identify talent from upazila to district, district to division, and finally to the national level. The state will take responsibility for both education and training. Through an annual sporting calendar, we want to bring qualitative change to the entire system.
You made an excellent point about sport becoming a profession. But as a former footballer, you know players like Cuba Mitchell and Tariq Kazi recently left after not receiving wages. How much damage does this lack of professionalism cause to the league?
Bangladesh still does not have real professionalism. This is not limited to football or cricket; it affects the entire sporting ecosystem. Footballers and cricketers may be slightly better off financially, but what about athletes from other federations?
When they perform on the field, they worry about what their families will eat the next day. You cannot expect top performance with that pressure. We want to build a professional structure with support from the government and corporate houses. Every player must have a guaranteed monthly salary or allowance.
We want a system where a player can say, ‘The country and the government stand beside me. I will focus only on playing for my nation.’
Broadcasting is a major factor in spreading sport, yet many league matches are not televised. Do you see this as a major obstacle?
This problem existed even when I played. Change cannot happen overnight. Our plan focuses on coordination from grassroots to elite level.
School football and inter-school tournaments have almost disappeared. We will revive them. Another crucial issue is life after retirement. Many athletes fall into depression once they stop playing. Some open small shops, some work in malls, some drive vehicles.
This is a tragic outcome for a national athlete. Our plan includes appointing sports teachers for every discipline in the national curriculum. If a retired athlete meets the age criteria for government service, they will be directly recruited. If not, they will be employed on a contractual basis. This guarantees employment and reassures families that choosing sport does not mean a dark future.
A recent issue has drawn attention. India has played matches here without problems, and women’s kabaddi and archery teams have visited Bangladesh. Yet Mustafizur Rahman was released from IPL duty in Kolkata citing security concerns. A big country like India are unable to provide safety, whereas Bangladesh handled it really well. How do you see this?
Looking at this purely as a security issue would be wrong. Bengalis are hospitable people. We honour our guests. I do not believe Mustafizur’s release was only about security.
It felt like a political decision by those who use religion as a tool. It may be part of a domestic and international conspiracy to disrupt or delay the upcoming election. These conspiracies have not stopped.
Let me be clear: Mustafizur is Bangladesh’s pride. If he misses the IPL, he may lose some money, but that does not matter. The entire country and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party stand firmly beside him.
Beyond football and cricket, Bangladesh performs well in other sports. Yet federations often say they are inactive due to lack of funds. What is your plan if you come to power?
Bangladesh has around 55 federations, and nearly half are inactive. We want to activate every sport through corporate sponsorship and government backing.
Our core objective is to earn the trust of athletes’ families. Our slogan is simple: ‘When sport becomes a profession, families gain confidence.’ Under the guidance of Mr Tarique Rahman, we have worked on this roadmap for a long time.
Inshallah, if we form the government after the next election, we will build a humane and peaceful Bangladesh through sport.
The crowd in the corridor thickens further. Aminul Haque takes his leave with a smile and blends back into a sea of party colleagues and ordinary supporters. His message rings clear. He does not fight only in politics. He wants to restore the old pride of the playing field, and he remains fully committed to that battle.
