The pitch was set and players were present, yet an exhibition women’s football match in Dirai, Sunamganj, was postponed on Monday afternoon following “indecent environment” concerns from local residents.
The match at Dirai Upazila Stadium between Swapnachura Sporting Club and Sylhet’s Jara Sporting Club was halted before kick-off due to objections from a group of locals and administrative intervention, a decision confirmed by Dirai Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sanjib Sarkar.
The organisers had notified the upazila administration several days prior to hosting the event.
In the lead-up to the game, public announcements were made using loudspeakers across Dirai municipal town and surrounding areas to promote the fixture, after which local opposition began to surface.
On Saturday night, a group of residents, including Maulana Sharif Uddin from Chandipur area, met the UNO to demand that the match be stopped.
They met the UNO again on Monday morning, prompting authorities to suspend the match in consideration of the local situation.
Swapnachura Sporting Club, founded in 2019, has been training teenage girls in football in Dirai for years, regularly hosting matches against teams from various districts and sending players to regional and national competitions, according to club President and Coach Rakib Ahmed Bhuiyan.
Bhuiyan said although players from Sylhet’s Jara Sporting Club arrived in Dirai to play, they were unable to take to the field and had to cancel the match once notified of the suspension by police and administration officials.
Addressing the opposition, those who objected said they are not against sports in general, but do not support events centred on women’s football that they believe could foster an indecent environment.
Meanwhile, Badruzzaman Badrul, general secretary of the newly formed Dirai Press Club, claimed that his organisation was involved as a sponsor and alleged that the match was called off due to a dispute with a faction of the press club.
However, administrative authorities did not confirm any such basis for the cancellation.
UNO Sanjib Sarkar said no press club or journalist group had contacted him regarding the match, clarifying instead that a group of Islamic scholars had demanded that the event not be held.
He explained that the fixture was temporarily postponed due to local disagreement between two sides and said efforts would be made to resolve the issue through discussions with both parties.
Dirai Police Station confirmed that security preparations were in place for the organisers, though the match could not proceed under the circumstances, while local authorities reported that the overall situation in the area remains normal.
