Zakaria Pintu, the first-ever captain of the Bangladesh national football team, passed away on November 18 last year. Yet, on the first anniversary of his death, neither Mohammedan Sporting Club, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), nor the Sonali Otit Club — the association of former footballers — made any official effort to remember him. Interestingly, it was Canadian-born Samit Som, a newcomer to the Bangladesh team, who honored Pintu by dedicating the win against India to him.
Pintu’s Legacy Overlooked on His First Death Anniversary
The Bangladesh–India Asia Cup match fell on November 18 this year, giving football stakeholders a possible excuse for their silence. But the same cannot be said for the fifth death anniversary of another icon, Badal Roy, on November 22. While the BFF paid tribute to Badal last year on social media, no such gesture was made this time.
“𝑩𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎,” 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚.
Badal Roy, a beloved figure in Bangladeshi sports, served the national team and was deeply involved with both Mohammedan and the BFF after retirement. Despite helping revive Mohammedan during difficult times, even his own club failed to honor him this year.
No Tribute from Clubs or Former Players’ Association
It has now been five years since Badal’s passing, and although time has moved on, the football community’s lack of remembrance is disheartening. During Pintu’s funeral last year, both Mohammedan and the BFF publicly promised to preserve his legacy. Yet, a year later, no initiatives have been taken. Pintu’s bond with Mohammedan spanned over six decades, and he served the Federation in various capacities over many years — but even that legacy faded without tribute.
The Sonali Otit Club, which represents former footballers, also failed to officially commemorate Pintu and Badal this year. Regarding the matter, General Secretary Iqbal Ghaffar explained,
“𝒀𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒂, 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒖 𝑩𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔.”
Former national captain Syed Hasan Kanan, currently Mohammedan’s coach and a BFF member, expressed disappointment that neither the club nor the Federation paid tribute. He added that honoring such figures is essential and long overdue.
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