Bangladesh with Brazil and Argentina, or about the love for football in a country that did not qualify for the 2026 World Cup

 When Shahidul Partha was growing up in the Bangladeshi village of Kulkandi in the early 2000s, many people in the area watched World Cup matches on his family's television set. More than 80 people gathered in his yard to watch the competition on a 14-inch black-and-white, battery-powered television — one of the few televisions in the area. To calm down, they drank tea with milk and ate cookies. The crowd cheered whenever the Brazilians or Argentines scored. “It was a great moment and it felt like they were playing with these players,” says Partha, 35, who now lives in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, and works as a software engineer. "When the goal was scored, everyone was screaming loudly. Everyone was excited, people thought they could direct the players, they were shouting: 'Go, go, do it.' Sometimes they said, 'Go this way, go that way.'” Even though Partha now lives thousands of miles away from Bangladesh, he still supports Brazil because, paradoxically, it reminds him of his homeland. The Bangladesh national team has never qualified for the World Cup, but that hasn't stopped the people of the country from passionately supporting football. The country of over 170 million people and its diasporas have long supported Argentina and Brazil. This fandom is reflected in statistics - almost 20% of traffic to The Guardian's live blog covering Argentina's match against Algeria on June 16 came from Bangladesh. In Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh, a Brazilian superfan recently painted his house green and yellow to commemorate the national colors, decorating the facade with murals of football players. Bangladeshi Americans say supporting South American teams helps them connect with their culture and heritage and reminds them of their homeland's independence. After Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, the newly established country's transmission infrastructure slowly improved. Support for Brazil in Bangladesh began in the 1970s, when Pelé was at the height of his international fame. The citizens of the newly created country identified with the Brazilians who had once been a colony, as well as with Pelé himself, who had risen from poverty to greatness. Mehedi Farhana remembers that her history textbook from the 1980s detailed how Pelé struggled in his youth and then rose to success. “We were a third-world country back then, trading with minimal resources, but we wanted to prove to the world that we could do it,” says Farhana, 48, who is a Bangladeshi-born pharmacist who now lives in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Her family has always supported Brazil. Farhana remembers waking up in the middle of the night to watch Brazil play in the World Cup when she was growing up in Bangladesh. “We and our elders who grew up in Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1980s identified very much with Brazilians as people who were in a similar situation,” Farhana adds. “They were poor, they didn't have a lot of resources, but they still proved they could do it.” In the 1980s, Bangladesh saw an increase in the number of families owning color televisions. Most Bangladeshis first watched the World Cup in 1986, when the national television, Bangladesh Television (BTV),broadcast the tournament live. The people of Bangladesh were enthralled by both Argentina and Brazil during this tournament, and the experience cemented a long-lasting cultural obsession that continues to this day. In the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, Argentina defeated England, who had colonized the area now known as Bangladesh for almost 200 years. In this match, Argentine star Diego Maradona scored a goal that went down in history as the "hand of God", and Bangladeshis are still delighted with it to this day. “These big stars were coming and beating these countries that had previously colonized us,” says Onyx Chowdhury, a 40-year-old Bangladeshi American who lives on Long Island, New York. “In sports competition, it definitely resonated with people.” Chowdhury sees a generational divide among people of Bangladeshi origin who support Argentina and Brazil. His entire immediate family supports Argentina, while his mother's family, who is older, supports Brazil. "The older generation will recall Pelé because his era in Brazil was the 1970s, and Maradona's was the 1980s. And of course my generation is the era of Lionel Messi, so it just moves on from generation to generation." The 1986 World Cup was also held during a time of political tension in Bangladesh. There was a military regime in the country at that time. Ibrahim Chowdhury, a journalist and writer who had been active professionally for 40 years, was an activist who had recently graduated from college in Bangladesh and was hiding from the police. He found some respite from oppression in football. "We were fighting an authoritarian military government. At that time, it was the only form of entertainment we had. We would gather and the police would look for us, and we would watch football matches," says Ibrahim Chowdhury. “One of my friends was standing outside watching the cops while we watched the game.” "All political activity at that time kind of came to a standstill for the World Cup... those were very memorable moments." Now 65-year-old Ibrahim, who lives in North Brunswick, New Jersey, is fulfilling his dream of attending and participating in the World Championships. He managed to get a volunteer position where he will greet fans and show them directions to matches during this year's tournament. “I had a fascination to cover it as a journalist... but I didn't make it.” “Therefore, when the opportunity arose in the United States, Canada or Mexico to take part in the World Championships, I applied for both journalistic and volunteer accreditation, and I received volunteer accreditation.” In Paterson, New Jersey, which has one of the largest Bangladeshi populations in the United States outside of New York, there is a local soccer team made up of Bangladeshis that overwhelmingly support Argentina. Hundreds of men aged 14 to 35 participate in the Bangladeshi American Sports League, which was founded in 2018. “It's such an emotion for the people of Bangladesh,” says her secretary, Monsur Latif. "They don't see South American teams as something different. If you talk to them, it's more like it's 'our' team. Even if none of us... have ever been to these countries, the emotions are always there." Latif, who is 34 and an engineer, identifies as a die-hard Argentina fan. He loves their blue and white onesjerseys and cherishes the memories of watching this team play with his brothers in his youth. “The style of play of this team suits me,” says Latif. “This is perfect.” During the month, members of the Bangladeshi community in America organized gatherings in their homes to watch Brazil and Argentina matches together. Even though Latif is an Argentina fan, he also supported Brazil in the June 19 match in which Brazil defeated Haiti. However, Latif and Onyx Chowdhury are unaware that they grew up hearing stories about Maradona as if they were family legends passed down from generation to generation. Onyx Chowdhury now instills this passion in his young daughter. “My daughter is forced to be a fan too,” says Onyx. “I dress her in Argentina shirts when I take photos of her to capture the image of a future fan.” “Through fandom,” Onyx adds, “there's a kind of connection to where you come from.” --- ## Related Articles 1. [World Cup 2026](https://azkalsgoal.com/fil/news/anthony-elanga-nagpakitang-gilas-sa-world-cup-2026-kamangha-manghang-gol-nagpantay-sa-laban-ng-sweden-at-japan) 2. [World Cup 2026](https://onzeactu.com/fr/news/a-seattle-la-premiere-world-cup-pride-match-confrontee-a-la-controverse-politique-entre-liran-et-legypte)