The government has stepped up nationwide promotional efforts for the “Prime Minister’s Gold Cup National Football Competition 2026.” To that end, seven types of directives have been issued to all schools, colleges and madrasahs, along with field-level education offices, covering the display of logos, mascots, drop-down gate banners and festoons. Teachers and students are also being asked to inform classrooms about the competition, and institutions have been instructed to promote it on their social media pages and websites.
According to a circular issued Tuesday, August 25, a recent meeting of the Secondary and Higher Education Division decided to intensify promotion of the competition. Following that decision, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education’s (DSHE) Physical Education wing issued a separate notice on August 24, and the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board issued its own notice on August 25, instructing institutions under their jurisdiction to take the necessary steps.
The directives call for all field-level education offices to arrange for the display of the competition’s logo, mascot, drop-down gate banners and festoons at important, visible locations in their areas. Every educational institution must mandatorily display a banner at its main gate, and hang a drop-down banner at a visible spot inside the premises. Notices about the “Prime Minister’s Gold Cup National Football Competition 2026” must also be read out in every classroom during class hours to inform teachers and students. Alongside posting related information on the institution’s main notice board, promotion must also be carried out on the institution’s official social media page or group, as well as on its official website.
Sample logos, mascots, banners and festoons have been made available for download via a designated Google Drive link included with the relevant notice, with instructions to use them for promotion and display at the field level.
The “Prime Minister’s Gold Cup National Football Competition 2026” is being organized with the goal of unearthing talented footballers from the grassroots level, supporting students’ physical and mental development, and generating fresh energy in the country’s sporting scene. Around 50,000 educational institutions are planned to be brought into the competition, with each institution asked to form a football team. According to the revised schedule, the competition will begin with an inaugural ceremony at Chattogram District Stadium on September 9. Secondary-level upazila or thana matches will be held September 9-21, district-level matches September 27 to October 6, education-zone-level matches October 22-25, and national-level matches October 27-30.
At the higher-secondary level, upazila matches will be held October 1-10, district matches October 13-20, and education-zone and national-level matches October 22-25 and October 27-30 respectively.
The competition will be held across four categories: secondary level (boys), secondary level (girls, optional), higher-secondary level (boys) and higher-secondary level (girls, optional). It will proceed through four stages — upazila or thana, district, education zone and national. To ease participation and travel for students in remote areas, upazila-level matches have been directed to be held at four to five venues. Winning teams at the upazila level advance to the district level, and district winners advance to the education-zone level. A total of eight regional teams will compete at the national level — winners from Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Barishal, Chattogram and Mymensingh, the seven education zones, plus one team from a joint qualifier between the Cumilla and Sylhet zones.
At the national level, a total of 32 teams — boys and girls combined across the secondary and higher-secondary tiers — will compete, comprising 16 secondary-level and 16 higher-secondary-level teams.
Under the policy, secondary-level players must be no older than 17, and higher-secondary-level players no older than 19, with age determined as of September 9, 2026. Participating players must be regular students of their own institution. Students currently sitting for SSC or HSC exams may also play for their own institution. Each team will have 16 players and two officials — a teacher-manager and a coach. For girls’ teams, at least one female teacher must be included. Matches will be played on a knockout basis, with each match lasting 90 minutes. If a match is tied at the end of regulation time, the winner will be determined directly by tiebreaker. Up to five substitutions are allowed per match.
Strict punitive action will be taken against any student, physical education teacher or head of institution found fielding an ineligible, fraudulent or non-amateur player. Any team found involved in match-fixing, or that deliberately abandons a match and leaves the field, will face action based on the recommendation of the disciplinary sub-committee, with the team potentially banned for up to two years. There is also a provision for expelling a team and player for assaulting a referee, opposing player or any related individual. Educational institutions, players, teachers and officials have been asked to strictly follow the policy to ensure a fair competition environment.
The national-level champion and runner-up teams will receive trophies, medals and cash prizes. Winning teams at various levels, as well as the best player, best goalkeeper and top scorer, will also be rewarded.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report