Brazilian football legend and former World Cup-winning captain Cafu is all set to arrive in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the morning of December 11, 2025. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in football history, Cafu led Brazil to their last World Cup victory in 2002 in Japan, where he became the last Brazilian to lift the prestigious trophy.
Cafu to Attend AFB Latin-Bangla Super Cup
The AFB Latin-Bangla Super Cup Football Tournament is scheduled to take place at the Bangabandhu National Stadium from December 5 to 11. The event will feature two international teams — Atletico Charlon from Argentina and Sao Bernardo Club from Brazil. Alongside them, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) will form an age-based local team to compete in the tournament.
On the final day of the event, organizers will present the Cafu Award to honor outstanding performers.
During a press conference, AFB Managing Director M.D. Asaduzzaman confirmed Cafu’s arrival, stating:
“𝑪𝒂𝒇𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒂, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑫𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 11. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎.”
He added that they are also in talks to bring other Argentine legends such as Ariel Ortega, Claudio Caniggia, and Juan Sebastián Verón to Dhaka.
Ensuring Proper Management After Past Controversies
In recent years, Bangladesh has seen visits from football icons like Emiliano Martínez and Ronaldinho, though both events were marred by mismanagement and a lack of coordination with local football bodies. Asaduzzaman assured that this time things would be different:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒇𝒖.”
However, the press conference itself raised a few doubts. Scheduled for 3 PM, it began an hour late, and despite claims, there were no representatives from the Brazilian or Argentine embassies present.
Concerns Over Team Quality and Past Experiences
The late 1990s saw a Brazilian side visit Dhaka, though the team was mostly amateur players, some of whom reportedly bought boots and jerseys from Bangabazar Market. When asked whether this would happen again, Asaduzzaman clarified:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓-20 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅-𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔.”
BFF Joins Hands with AFB for the Event
Unlike previous high-profile visits that were handled privately, this event has official involvement from the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).
BFF Executive Member Kamrul Hasan Hilton explained:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.”
Organizer’s Vision Behind the Initiative
Asaduzzaman, who has previously organized professional boxing events in Dhaka, said the initiative comes from his desire to give sports fans something memorable:
“𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰’𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆, 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒍’𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 — 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒇𝒖 — 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑫𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒂.”
While the arrival of such high-profile teams and a football icon is expected to be expensive, AFB has not yet finalized sponsorships or ticket pricing. Asaduzzaman mentioned that sponsor negotiations are ongoing, and ticket details will be announced soon.
A Football Celebration Awaits Dhaka
Despite a few uncertainties, Cafu’s expected arrival has already generated massive excitement among Bangladeshi football fans. His visit — along with the presence of youth teams from Brazil and Argentina — promises to turn December in Dhaka into a festival of global football passion.
Also Read: France Reveal Shock Inclusion Amid Growing Injury Crisis