Bangladesh Police FC

Bangladesh Police
Full nameBangladesh Police Football Club
NicknameThe Policemen
Short nameBPFC
GroundShaheed Barkat Stadium
Capacity5,000
PresidentSheikh Md. Sajjad Ali
Head coachS. M. Asifuzzaman
LeagueBangladesh Football League
2024–25Bangladesh Football League, 7th of 10

Bangladesh Police Football Club (also known as Bangladesh Police Athletic Club) is a professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[1] The club was founded by Bangladesh Police and formerly East Pakistan Police. They previously played in the First Division Football League in 1998 – then the second tier league. Police FC became champions of the Second Division in 2013–14.[2][3] The club gained promotion to the Bangladesh Football League for the first time by becoming champions of the 2018-19 Bangladesh Championship League.

History

Early years

During the East Pakistani period, Police Athletic Club entered the Dhaka First Division Football League in 1950. The club was operated by the East Pakistan Police (now Bangladesh Police). The club was composed of players who were employed as constables in the police force. Although it is not certain when the club was established, it is assumed that it entered the Second Division following the partition of India.

In 1957, Police were crowned joint champion of the Independence Day Football Tournament alongside Dhaka Wanderers Club, following a 1–1 draw. The match was observed by the Chief Minister of East Pakistan Ataur Rahman Khan. After the draw, the Police team won a toss to keep the trophy for the first six months.[4] In 1959, the club once again reached the Independence Day Tournament final, and this time shared the trophy with Azad Sporting Club after the teams could not be separated. Their opponents won the honor of keeping the title for the first six months through a toss.[5]

Eventual relegation

Post the Independence of Bangladesh, Police found themselves among the fifteen clubs that recommenced league participation in 1972. Nevertheless, the club concluded their inaugural season in the newly independent country by securing 12th position in 1973. They were the runners-up in the 1975 Independence Cup, losing 0–1 to BIDC in the final. The following decade saw the Policemen consistently battle against relegation, before finally admitting defeat in 1982, which marked the end of the club's 32 years in the top-flight.

The club made a comeback to the First Division after securing the runners-up position in the Second Division during the 1989–90 season. However, their stay in the top-flight was curtailed after experiencing another relegation in the 1992 season. In 1993, following the inception of the Premier Division, Police's triumph during the 1994 season held in 1995, meant that the club would participate in the 1995 First Division, which began serving as a second-tier. The club spent two years in the First Division before facing relegation once again in 1998.[6]

Return to the top-flight

Since 1999, Police spent 15 years in the Dhaka Second Division Football League before a new generation, inspired by Amirul Islam, was crowned league champions in the 2013–14 season.[7][8] The club was directly promoted to the Bangladesh Championship League after meeting the criteria required to enter the professional football league, and the club officially registered to participate on 14 October 2015.[9] During this time, Police also participated in the 2011–12 and 2013 editions of the Federation Cup, without finding much success. The club started going by Bangladesh Police AC, following their promotion to the professional league.[10]

The club entered the Championship League from the 2014–15 season and concluded their inaugural season in the second-tier professional league in 4th place. Police finished mid-table in the subsequent two seasons and barely contended for promotion. On May 12, 2019, following a 1–0 victory over Wari Club, Police secured promotion to the Bangladesh Football League with three games still remaining in the 2018–19 Bangladesh Championship League.[11][12] On May 26, 2019, Police were officially announced as champions after defeating Feni Soccer Club 5–1 in the season finale.[13][14] The club's lethal striker, Amirul Islam, scored four goals including his second hat-trick of the season during the match and finished as the league's top scorer with 17 goals.[15][16][17]

Bangladesh Football League era

Police began the 2019–20 season with the 2019 Federation Cup, where they crashed out after being defeated 3–0 by Bashundhara Kings in the semi-finals.[18] Thus, the Federation Cup campaign of Police FC ended.[19] The club, which throughout its history has mainly consisted of employed police constables, signed four foreign players, including Puerto Rico national team striker Sidney Rivera.[20] On 16 February 2020, Police began their 2019–20 League campaign with a 0–2 defeat to Dhaka Abahani.[21] In its following games four days later, Police salvaged a point with a 1–1 draw with Bashundhara Kings, thanks to an own goal from Kings defender Nurul Naium Faisal. On 24 February 2020, Police secured their first ever victory in the professional league, defeating Uttar Baridhara 2–1.[22] The club's goals came from Sidney Rivera and Antonio Laskov. Nevertheless, their first season in the professional league only lasted for five matches, as domestic football was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

Before the 2020–21 League began, Police replaced their first foreign coach Nicolas Vitorović with Sri Lankan Pakir Ali.[23] Police finished 8th in their first full season in the professional league. In October 2021, Police appointed Romanian coach Aristică Cioabă as their third foreign head coach. In their first season under Cioabă, Police finished 8th in the league. After the season, the club's legendary striker Amirul Islam retired.[24] Police began its 2022–23 season with the 2022 Independence Cup and finished fourth after suffering a 4–1 defeat against Dhaka Abahani. The club finished the 2022–23 League in third place, their highest ever in the top-flight.[25][26] Police were also the only club to defeat eventual champions Bashundhara Kings during the league season.[27][28]

Current squad

As of 14 August 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BAN Rakibul Hasan Tushar
2 DF  BAN Ismail Hossen
3 DF  BAN Md Sagor Mia
4 DF  BAN Md Rabiul Islam
5 DF  BAN Riyadul Hasan Rafi
6 MF  GAM Foday Darboe
7 FW  BAN M. S. Bablu
8 MF  UGA Shafiq Kagimu
9 FW  BRA Paulo Henrique
10 MF  BHU Orgyen Tshering
11 FW  BAN Rabby Hossen Rahul
12 FW  BAN Sarower Zaman Nipu
14 MF  BAN Manik Hossain Molla (captain)
15 MF  BAN Shamim Ahmed
16 GK  NEP Kiran Chemjong
17 DF  BAN Isa Faysal
18 MF  BAN Moinul Islam Moin
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW  NEP Ayush Ghalan
22 GK  BAN Dinaj Hosan Jubed
24 FW  BAN Dipok Roy
25 FW  BAN Md Yamin Rana
27 MF  BAN Md Omar Faruk
28 FW  BAN Amirul Islam
32 DF  BAN Rakib Hossen
33 DF  BAN Akibur Rahman
34 DF  BAN Sharif Uddin Nirob
66 GK  BAN Md Asif
71 DF  BRA Danilo Quipapá (vice-captain)
77 DF  BAN Joyonto Kumar Roy
88 MF  BAN Anik Hossain
95 FW  BAN Sree Sumon Soren
96 MF  BAN Suaibur Rahman Mijan
97 FW  BAN Sanowar Hossain
99 FW  BAN Morshedul Islam

Current technical staff

Coaching staff

As of August 2025
Role Name
Head coach S. M. Asifuzzaman
Fitness coach Pouria Jarrahi
Goalkeeping coach Nizam Mozumdar
Team manager Mollik Ahsan Uddin Sami

Board of directors

As of August 2025
Role Name
President Sheikh Md. Sajjad Ali
Vice-president Faruk Ahmed
General secretary Ahmad Muyeed

Head coach's record

As of 20 December 2025
Head Coach Nat. From To P W D L GS GA %W
S. M. Asifuzzaman February 2019 May 2019 20 11 6 3 31 13 055.00
Nicolas Vitorović 4 August 2019[29] 31 August 2020 9 3 2 4 10 16 033.33
Pakir Ali October 2020 August 2021 26 6 8 12 28 42 023.08
Aristică Cioabă October 2021[30] 31 May 2024 79 32 22 25 120 102 040.51
Mahabubul Haque Jowel August 2024 30 June 2025 22 9 5 8 28 29 040.91
S. M. Asifuzzaman[31] 20 July 2025 Present 9 3 4 2 8 8 033.33

P – Total of played matches W – Won matches D – Drawn matches L – Lost matches GS – Goal scored GA – Goals against
%W – Percentage of matches won

Season by season record

Record as Professional Football League member
Season Division League Federation Cup Independence Cup Asian club competition Top league scorer(s)
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Player Goals
2015/16 BCL 14 3 8 3 13 11 17 4th — — — Amirul Islam 4
2016 BCL 14 4 6 4 11 9 18 4th — — Amirul Islam
Komol Barua 		4
2017 BCL 18 5 7 6 12 12 22 7th — —
2018/19 BCL 20 11 6 3 31 13 39 Champions — — Amirul Islam 17
2019/20 BFL Abandoned Semi-finals — 3 players 1
2020/21 BFL 24 6 7 11 26 39 25 9th Group-stage — Christian Kouakou 7
2021/22 BFL 22 8 6 8 28 32 30 8th Group-stage Semi-finals Amredin Sharifi 9
2022/23 BFL 20 10 5 5 39 21 35 3rd Group-stage Third-place Edward Morillo 9

P – Total of played matches W – Won matches D – Drawn matches L – Lost matches GF – Goals for the team GA – Goals against
Pts- Points

Honours

Shirt sponsors

Period Shirt sponsor
2015–16 Popular Life Insurance Limited[34][35][36]
2017–18 Runner Group[37]
2018–19 Nirman
2019–present Nasir Group

Controversy

On May 24, 2019, Police constable Mohammad Shamim assaulted BFF's competition manager Zaber Bin Ansari after being denied entry into the ground during a match against Feni Soccer Club. The Police, having already secured the 2018–19 Bangladesh Championship League title before the game, would eventually be presented with the trophy after the match's conclusion.[38]

Subsequently, four more players—Amirul Islam, Tarek Aziz, Azmi Omar, and Sarwar Hossain—joined Shamim in the assault right after the completion of the prize-giving ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. In response to their involvement, all four police players were fined Tk 1 lakh each. Amirul and Aziz received two-match suspensions, while Omar and Sarwar were handed nine-match bans each. The team's physiotherapist, Santanu Mallik, also received a nine-match ban and a Tk 2 lakh fine.[39] As for Shamim, he was handed a lifetime stadium ban across the country as part of the disciplinary actions.[40]

Notable players

  • The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for Bangladesh Police FC.

Africa

Asia

North America

References

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  2. ^ প্রথম বিভাগে উত্তীর্ণ হলো পুলিশ অ্যাথলেটিক্স. Risingbd.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Police take Championship League crown". The Daily Star. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) – Thursday 15 August 1957". Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) – Sunday 16 August 1959". Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh Second Level 1997/98". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023.
  7. ^ প্রিমিয়ারের স্বপ্নপূরণ পুলিশ ফুটবল ক্লাবের (in Bengali). 12 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023.
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  11. ^ "Police FC promoted to BPL". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
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