The referee blows the whistle at the end of the match at the Kamalapur Stadium. Dhaka Wanderers 0, Buffe Elite Academy 0. Today (Wednesday) without losing by 3 goals, Wanderers would have reached the premiership as runners-up. But in this draw, the runners-up Wanderers have qualified to play in the Premier next season with 24 points in 14 matches in Bangladesh Championship Football. The champions and runners-up of the Premier League’s second tier get this opportunity.
At one time, Dhaka Wanderers was at the top of success and popularity in Dhaka football. The team has the achievement of becoming hat-trick champions in the Dhaka League in fifty decades in the Dhaka League which started from 1948. The dominance of the Wanderers has been declining since independence. In 1995, they were relegated from the premiership and entered the next phase. It premiered again after eight years. Although could not remain in the premier for more than 3 years.
The professional league started in 2007. One of the country’s most traditional teams has never played in a professional league. Wanderers promoted to Bangladesh Championship League from Senior Division. After four seasons at this level, today finished runners-up in the Championship League for the first time in a professional league and the top level of football in a century and a half.
This time the coach of Dhaka Wanderers was Abu Yusuf, one of the country’s star footballers and coaches. Yusuf, who made Abahani Mohammedan the Premier League champion in the 90s, is quite happy today even as the runner-up, ‘Bangabandhu is involved in this club. So its emotions are different. It’s a different feeling to take a club back to the top.’
A casino storm has swept over the Wanderers Club, where Bangabandhu’s memory is enmeshed. After that incident in 2019, the gates of the club were closed for four years. At that time all the trophies and documents of the club were stolen. The closed clubs were reactivated at the end of 2023 under the leadership of former footballer Abdul Ghaffar. Today’s runners-up trophy is now the club’s new treasure.
Many teams have not played in the past despite getting a chance to play in the Premier League from the Championship League. Dhaka Wanderers General Secretary Kamal Hossain spoke strongly about playing at the top level, ‘After many days we are back at the top level, we will definitely play. Playing in the premiership has a lot of financial costs. Our president Lyton Bhai (volunteer league leader and businessman) and we will fulfill it together.’
Team management was very difficult after the casino scandal. Gagan, the chairman of the club’s football committee, said, ‘There has been a terrible crisis after the casino. We run the club with our own money. There will be an opportunity to get sponsors now by getting to the football premier.’ Dhaka Wanderers also participate in football, cricket and hockey as well as kabaddi and rugby.
AZ/AHS
