By Maksuda Lisa (Dhaka Bureau)
Football is more than just a 90-minute competitive sport on the pitch; it serves as a tool for life transformation, a key to social inclusion, and a medium for promoting peace. Driven by this vision, the second-year operations of the FIFA Foundation Community Programme 2025-26 officially launched in Dhaka.
The social progress initiative, titled ‘Playing for Peace: Empowering Dreams Through Soccer’, was formally inaugurated at the Gulshan Youth Club Football Turf in the capital.
Empowering Youth Through Sport
The FIFA Foundation’s global humanitarian and social initiative is currently active across 139 countries. In Bangladesh, the primary objective of this program is to ensure social inclusion for children and adolescents, foster their mental resilience and life skills, and nurture leadership qualities.
In this second year of implementation in Bangladesh, a total of 1,100 children and teenagers will receive year-round football training free of cost. Alongside pitch training, the program will conduct regular tournaments, life-skills education, and mentorship sessions focused on personal development.
A Collaborative Effort of National and Local Leadership
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Abdur Rahman Sunny, APS-2 and nominated representative of the Prime Minister for the Dhaka-17 constituency; Fahad Karim, Vice President of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF); Dr. Wahiduzzaman (Tamal), President of Gulshan Youth Club Limited; and Ahmed Imtiaz Jami, President of Ovizatrik Foundation, the local implementing partner.
Speaking at the event, the guests emphasized that football should not be confined merely to competition, but leveraged as a powerful social mechanism to build self-confidence, mutual respect, and discipline among young people.
‘Football possesses a universal language that breaks through racial, religious, and social barriers to unite people. The core mission of this initiative is to drive positive social change among children and adolescents.’
A Milestone for Ovizatrik Foundation
This international effort is being implemented locally by the Ovizatrik Foundation. Making history as the first social organization from Bangladesh, Ovizatrik Foundation has secured official partnership status with the FIFA Foundation Community Programme.
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) extended its congratulations to Ovizatrik Foundation for achieving this historic milestone. The federation expressed optimism that this program will continue to inspire the younger generation toward building a disciplined, inclusive, and secure future.
Maksuda Lisa: Staff Correspondent, Pressenza- Dhaka Bureau.