The government will construct Sports Villages in all 64 districts to develop the country’s sports sector, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Thursday while unveiling the proposed national budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year in Parliament.
He said sports allowances have already been provided to 300 athletes to help establish sports as a profession. He added that the government has taken an initiative to build Sports Villages in all 64 districts, with preliminary designs already prepared for 10 districts.
The finance minister said the government is also taking planned and effective measures to help Bangladesh achieve recognition in several sporting disciplines by 2030.
He added that initiatives have been taken to strengthen “sports diplomacy” to enhance international cooperation.
He said regular sports competitions and tournaments will be organised at different levels so that every student gets the opportunity to take part in at least one sport.
Amir Khosru said the sports sector will be developed not only as entertainment but also as a full economic sector. He said sports, events, media, merchandise, tourism and services will together create income, employment and investment opportunities.
In line with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s declaration, he said the “Notun Kuri Sports” programme has already been launched to provide scholarships to talented sports students aged between 12 and 14 years.
The programme covers eight disciplines: football, cricket, kabaddi, athletics, badminton, chess, swimming and martial arts.
He said a total of 168,622 young athletes from across the country have registered under the programme, including 121,492 boys and 47,130 girls.
To support the initiative, he proposed an allocation of Tk200 crore in the FY2026–27 budget.
