Govt to take over Abahani field

The government is set to take control of the Dhanmondi club ground, popularly known as Abahani ground, on Thursday after cancelling 99-year lease of the property.

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Ministry of Youth and Sports will sign a memorandum of understanding for the preservation, maintenance and proper management of the ground.

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Abahani have been using the Dhanmondi ground for their training and official activities since the club’s establishment in 1972.

The government is also set to take control of the Dhanmondi ground on Road 8, which was previously used by the now-defunct Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club for football and cricket activities.

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Abahani look to turn the page

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works leased 9.76 acres of the 10.96-acre Dhanmondi ground to Abahani for 99 years in 1998, two years after the club applied for the lease. The ministry later leased another 0.89 acres to the club in 2010, subject to certain conditions.

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The exact date on which the ministry cancelled the lease of the Dhanmondi cricket ground could not be confirmed. However, on August 3, 2026, the ministry rejected an appeal from Abahani’s then football manager Satyajit Das Rupu to reinstate the lease, citing outstanding fees and breaches of the agreement.

Abahani began construction of the Sheikh Kamal Sports Complex on the northern side of the ground in 2022, following the laying of its foundation in 2011. The complex remains unfinished, while an academy building was constructed on the eastern side of the ground in 2013.

The club, founded by Sheikh Kamal, eldest son of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was looted following the mass uprising in 2024. Miscreants took away the club’s silverware on August 5, 2024, and a new management has been running Abahani for the past two seasons.