Bangladesh Police Football Club (also known as Bangladesh Police Athletic Club) is an association football team based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[1] The club was founded by Bangladesh Police and formerly East Pakistan Police. The services team had previously played in the First Division Football League in 1998 – then the second tier of football. In recent times, Police FC became champions of the Second Division Football League in 2014[2] and were directly promoted to the Bangladesh Championship League in 2015.[3] The club gained promotion to Bangladesh Premier League for the first time in the club's history by becoming champions of the 2018-19 Bangladesh Championship League.
During the East Pakistani period, Police Athletic Club initially entered the Dhaka First Division Football League, in 1952. The club was operated by the East Pakistan Police (now Bangladesh Police). The club comprised 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 Cup 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 Cup final, where they lost to Azad Sporting Club by a toss after the teams could not be separated, even after extra time.[5]
Police AC, along with Fire Service SC, were two services clubs actively participating in the First Division throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Post the Independence of Bangladesh, Police found themselves among the fifteen clubs that recommenced participation when the league resumed in 1972. Nevertheless, due to the league remaining unfinished, the club concluded their inaugural season in the newly independent country by securing 12th position in 1973. The following decade saw the Policemen consistently battle against relegation before finally admitting defeat in 1982, which marked the end of the club's 30 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 in the second division during the 1994–95 season meant that the club would now participate in the First Division, which began serving as a second-tier below the Premier Division. The club spent two years in the First Division before facing relegation once again in 1998.[6]
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 in the league 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 Premier 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 his second hat-trick of the season during the match and finished as the league's top scorer with 18 goals.[15][16]
Police began its 2019–20 season with the 2019 Federation Cup, where they crashed out after being defeated 3–0 by Bashundhara Kings in the semi-finals.[17] Thus, the Federation Cup campaign of Police FC ended.[18] 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.[19] On 16 February 2020, Police began their 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League campaign with a 0–2 defeat to Abahani Limited Dhaka.[20] 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 Premier League, defeating Uttar Baridhara 2–1.[21] The club's goals came from Sidney Rivera and Antonio Laskov. Nevertheless, their first season in the Premier League only lasted for five matches, as domestic football was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.
Before the 2020–21 Bangladesh Premier League began, Police replaced their first ever foreign head coach Nicolas Vitorović with Sri Lankan coach Pakir Ali.[22] Police finished 8th in their first full season in the Premier 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.[23] Police began its 2022–23 season with the 2022 Independence Cup and finished fourth place after suffering a 4–1 defeat in the third place match against Abahani Limited Dhaka. The club finished the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League in third place, their highest ever in the top-flight.[24][25] Police were also the only club to defeat eventual champions Bashundhara Kings during the league season.[26][27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
P – Total of played matchesW – Won matchesD – Drawn matchesL – Lost matchesGS – Goal scoredGA – Goals against
%W – Percentage of matches won
P – Total of played matchesW – Won matchesD – Drawn matchesL – Lost matchesGF – Goals for the team GA – Goals against
Pts- Points
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.[37]
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.[38]
As for Constable Shamim, he was handed a lifetime stadium ban across the country as part of the disciplinary actions.[39]
Asia
Nabi Chowdhury (1959–68)[40] Zahirul Haque (1959)[41] Kabir Ahmed (1959)[42].svg/1280px-Flag_of_Afghanistan_(2013%E2%80%932021).svg.png){kind=small}
Amredin Sharifi (2021–22)
Mustafa Yusupov (2023–24)
Javokhir Sokhibov (2024)[43]