The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is all set to launch the U-17 National Championship on December 22 across eight venues, involving all 64 districts. The tournament comes while the UCB U-15 National Championship is yet to conclude, with its final round scheduled in Noakhali later this month.
The U-17 event will be held under the Youth Festival, a project of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Jhenaidah will host the opening matches, while other venues include Rajbari, Rangpur, Pirojpur, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sylhet, and either Feni or Chattogram. The final venue is yet to be confirmed.
The 64 districts are divided into eight zones, each split into two groups. Teams will play round-robin league matches, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the zonal semifinals and finals. The eight zonal champions will then meet in the final stage of the championship.
The details were revealed at a logo unveiling and grouping ceremony on Sunday. Only players who are not yet registered in the FIFA Connect system will be eligible to participate in the two-month-long tournament.
"Under the Youth Festival project, with support from the ministry and the NSC, we have already completed the U-14 Women's National Championship and the U-15 National Championship. The U-17 event is a continuation, aiming to spread football at grassroots level in all districts," said Sayeed Hasan Kanon, chairman of the tournament and BFF executive committee member.
He added, "If we continue these championships for the next four years, we will have a strong pipeline for talented players to progress to the mainstream."
NSC executive director Kazi Nazrul Islam stressed the importance of introducing football to very young children. "If we want to play in the AFC Asian Cup in the future, we must start with children aged five or six," he said.
BFF vice-president Sabbir Ahmed Aref and executive committee members Shakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan Shahin and Manjurul Islam were also present at the ceremony.