Pekua produces another champ

The Pekua upazila of Cox's Bazar has continued its dominance in boys' football as the upazila produced the third successive winners of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup Primary School football tournament yesterday.

East Ujantia Govt. Primary School of Pekua lifted the trophy with a 2-1 win over Bhulbaria Govt. Primary School of Sathia, Pabna in the final of the eighth edition at Bangabadhu National Stadium yesterday, following on the successes of the Toitong Govt. Primary School and Rajakhali Govt. Primary School respectively from the same upazila.

Meheriapara Registered Non-government Primary School of Moheshkhali upazila, another school from the same region, had become runners-up in the third edition in 2012.

Meanwhile, there was a new champion in the Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School as Doharo Govt. Primary School of Shailakupa upazila. Jhenaidah beat Pachrukhi Govt. Primary School of Nandail upazila, Mymensingh 5-4 in tiebreakers after regulation and extra-time had ended in a 1-1 draw.

The champions of the most recent edition of the boys' event remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, scoring a total of 50 goals and conceding just one before getting the better of their final opponents in extra-time after regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw.

While there is no footballer from Pekua playing at the top level, it is surprising that budding footballers from this region are dominating boys' football year after year.

“There is a heritage of football in Pekua upazila which comprises of seven unions,” East Ujantia Govt. Primary School's headmaster Mahbubul Alam explained after the match.

“Football is played everywhere in the upazila with active support from the parents. Besides, football tournaments are held among the seven unions regularly. As I am on the verge of ending my teaching career, I had a dream of earning some respect and I gave all-out effort and spent money from my pocket to make the team champions,” he added.

Pekua upazila's success is part of the bigger picture of a football revolution that has swept across the country at the primary school level since the introduction of these two tournaments in 2010 and 2011. Arguably the largest football competition in the world in terms of teams and participating players, these two tournaments have given kids the basic platform and tools to get attracted to the game and grow with it.

School authorities take the competition seriously and train the youngsters for the annual competitions. Sirajul Karim, the coach of East Ujantia Govt. Primary School, conducted training round the year. Also a referee, Karim had orchestrated the previous two triumphs of the upazila schools also.

Captain and coach of Doharo Govt. Primary School of Shailakupa upazila, Jhenaidah receive trophy and awards from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after winning the title of the Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School yesterday. PHOTO: PMO

“The land of Pekua is a fortress of football because every boy plays football here,” Karim said. “The parents are inspiring their sons to play football and the boys in Pekua are even hired by different upazilas of Cox's Bazar to play in tournaments.”

Karim believes his boys have the ability to play in different age-groups of the national team, and if given proper training under national coaches, they can improve further.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina witnessed the girls' final and distributed prizes among the teams.