Gopalganj Sporting Club

Gopalganj SC
গোপালগঞ্জ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব
Full nameGopalganj Sporting Club
Short nameGSC
Founded2021 (2021)
GroundSheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium
Capacity5,000
PresidentGazi Hafizur Rahman Liku
Head CoachVacant
LeagueBangladesh Premier League
2022–23Championship League, 3rd of 11 (Promoted)
Websitegsclubbd.com

Gopalganj Sporting Club (Bengali: গোপালগঞ্জ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব) is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Gopalganj. The club was set to compete in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top tier of Bangladeshi football league system, after being promoted from the Bangladesh Championship League in the 2022–23 season. However, on 18 October 2023, the club announced its withdrawal from the league due to financial shortages.[1]

History

Gopalganj Sporting Club was established in 2021, and the club's first president, Gazi Hafizur Rahman Liku is also the assistant private secretary of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and both of their families reside from Gopalganj District. Former Bangladesh national team captain Elias Hossain, who is the first and only international player originating from the district, also played an integral part in the club's formation.[2]

In 2021, the Bangladesh Football Federation gave the club permission to play in the professional second-tier league, the Bangladesh Championship League from the 2021–22 season,[3] without having to play in the semi-professional lower divisions, despite reports of the club not having the proper accommodation required to play in country's the professional league.[4] On 20 February 2022, the club played its first league game, which ended in a goalless draw with Fortis FC.[5] On 11 March 2022, Mohammed Nahian scored the clubs first goal, coming in a 1–1 draw with Wari Club.[6] On 18 March 2022, the club registered its first victory by defeating Farashganj SC, 2–1.[7] Eventually, their first domestic league season ended with a 5th-place finish.

The club began the 2022–23 season with three straight victories. On 11 April 2023, the club guaranteed a minimum 3rd-place finish in the league table and due to second place BFF Elite Academy being non eligible for either promotion or relegation, Gopalganj were promoted to the Bangladesh Premier League for the first time in history from 2023 to 2024 season.[2][8]

Home venue

While playing in the Bangladesh Championship League from 2022 till 2023 they used the 25,000 capacity BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur, Dhaka, which was the central venue used by all second-tier clubs. Following, promotion to Bangladesh Premier League, the team manager, SM Mamunur Rashid, confirmed that they would be using the 5,000 capacity Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium in Gopalganj as their home venue.[2]

Players

Gopalganj Sporting Club squad for 2022–23 season.

As of 16 January 2023

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 Mohammed Salim
2 DF  BAN Mohammed Muntasir Rahman
3 DF  BAN Mohammed Shaharul Islam
4 DF  BAN Manik Molla
5 DF  BAN Mohammed Golam Rabbani
6 DF  BAN Mohammed Zahid Hossen
7 MF  BAN Mohammed Faizullah
8 MF  BAN Farhad Mia
9 FW  BAN Md Noor Alam Siddik
10 MF  BAN Safin Ahmed
11 MF  BAN Md Shakil Ali
12 DF  BAN Md Hasibul Hasan Shanto
13 DF  BAN Apurbo Mali
14 DF  BAN Mohammed Rasel Munshi
15 DF  BAN Mohammed Saimon
16 MF  BAN Mohammed Tanin Sarker
17 FW  BAN Fahim Uddin
18 FW  BAN Iftsham Rahman Zidan
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF  BAN Mohammed Mahmudul Hasan
20 MF  BAN Mohsin Ahmed
21 MF  BAN Mohammed Shawon
22 DF  BAN Mohammed Riaz
23 DF  BAN Md Rakibul Islam
24 DF  BAN Gausul Akbar Sabin
25 DF  BAN Md Yusuf Ali
26 MF  BAN Md Emon Islam Babu
27 MF  BAN Shaporan Pranto
28 FW  BAN Mohammed Abdul Halim
29 MF  BAN Md Salman Khan
30 MF  BAN Raju Ahmed Zisan
31 MF  BAN Md Siful Islam
32 FW  BAN Aswad Bin Walid Khan
33 GK  BAN Md Sabbir Gazi
34 GK  BAN Md Anik Ahmed
35 GK  BAN Md Shohug Hossain

Coaching staff

Coaches

  • Abdur Razzaque (January 2022 – June 2022)
  • Saifur Rahman Moni (December 2022 – October 2023)

Managerial statistics

As of 19 April 2023
Head Coach From To P W D L GF GA %W
Abdur Razzaque 20 January 2022 13 June 2022 22 8 7 7 20 20 036.36
Saifur Rahman Moni 21 December 2022 18 October 2023 20 11 1 8 33 27 055.00

Personnel

Current technical staff

As of 8 February 2024
Position Name
Head coach Vacant
Team leader Md Mashinur Rahman Khan
Team manager SM Mamun Or Rashid
Assistant manager Abul Hossain Pappu
Assistant coach A.B.M. Meheid Habib
Goalkeeping coach Shamsuzzaman Yusuf
Fitness trainer Jewel Mahmud
Masseur Sohel
Sumon

Club officials

As of 6 June 2023
Position Name
President Gazi Hafizur Rahman Liku
General Secretary Mohammed Hira

Competitive record

Record as Professional Football League member
Season Division League Federation Cup Independence Cup Top league scorer(s)
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Player Goals
2021–22 BCL 22 8 7 7 20 20 31 5th
2022–23 BCL 20 11 1 8 33 27 34 3rd Safin Ahmed
Iftsham Rahman Zidan
8
2023–24 BPL
Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated

References

  1. ^ "Promoted Gopalganj SC withdraw from BPL". The Daily Star. 20 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c নিজ ভেনুতেই খেলবে গোপালগঞ্জ স্পোর্টিং. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali).
  3. ^ "BCL football begins today". Daily Sun. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ Islam, Rashedul (6 April 2022). কেউ রেল লাইনের ধারে, কেউ অন্যের ঘরে. Prothom Alo (in Bengali).
  5. ^ "Result of today's match of Bangladesh Championship League 2021-22: Fortis Football Club Ltd. and Gopalganj Sporting Club". BFF. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Result of today's match of 'Bashundhara Group Bangladesh Championship League 2021-22': Gopalgonj Sporting Club vs Wari Clu". BFF.
  7. ^ "Match Report of Gopalganj SC vs Farashganj SC - 2022-03-18 - Bashundhara Group Bangladesh Championship League - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  8. ^ "Brothers return to BPL after two seasons". The Daily Star. 12 April 2023.