Bangladesh Championship League
Bangladesh Championship League (abbr. BCL; Bengali: বাংলাদেশ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ লিগ) is the second-tier professional football league of Bangladesh run by the Bangladesh Football Federation. It was founded in 2012. The league is also known as TVS Championship League for sponsorship agreements from 2018–19.[1]
| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2012 |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 12/14 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Bangladesh Premier League |
| Relegation to | Senior Division Football League |
| Current champions | Brothers Union (2022–23) |
| Website | bff.com.bd |
| Current: 2022–23 Bangladesh Championship League | |
History
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) introduced the country's first professional football league in 2007. The 2nd tier professional league began with the 2012 season of Premier League. BFF introduced the second-tier league in 2012 as season 5 of Premier League was commencing.[2]
List of winners
Champions so far are:[2][3][4][5]
| Season | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Cox City Sporting Club | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 20 |
| 2013 | Chittagong Abahani | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 30 |
| 2014 | Rahmatganj MFS | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 8 | 28 | 44 |
| 2014–15 | Uttar Baridhara SC | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| 2016 | Fakirerpool Young Men's Club | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 27 |
| 2017 | Bashundhara Kings | 17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 35 |
| 2018-19 | Bangladesh Police FC | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 31 | 13 | 18 | 39 |
| 2019-20 | Competition cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh[6] | ||||||||
| 2021 | Swadhinata KS | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 45 |
| 2021–22 | Fortis FC | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 29 | 9 | 20 | 47 |
| 2022–23 | Brothers Union | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 6 | 24 | 51 |
Performances by club
Performance in the Bangladesh Championship League by clubs
As of the end of 2021-22 season.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years Won | Years Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cox City Sporting Club | 1 | 2012 | ||
| Chittagong Abahani | 1 | 2013 | ||
| Uttar Baridhara SC | 1 | 3 | 2014-15 | 2012, 2013, 2018-19 |
| Rahmatganj MFS | 1 | 2014 | ||
| Farashganj SC | 1 | 2014 | ||
| Fakirerpool Young Men's Club | 1 | 2016 | ||
| Saif Sporting Club | 1 | 2016 | ||
| Bashundhara Kings | 1 | 2017 | ||
| NoFeL Sporting Club | 1 | 2017 | ||
| Bangladesh Police FC | 1 | 2018-19 | ||
| Arambagh KS | 1 | 2014-15 | ||
| Swadhinata KS | 1 | 2020-21 | ||
| Fortis FC | 1 | 2021-22 | ||
| AFC Uttara | 1 | 2021-22 | ||
| Brothers Union | 1 | 2022-23 | ||
| BFF Elite Football Academy | 1 | 2022-23 |
Stats and players
Top Goalscorer
| Year | Player | Club | Goals | |
| 2013 | Nabib Newaj Jibon | Uttar Baridhara SC | 12 | |
| 2016 | Arifur Rahman | Victoria SC | 6 | |
| 2017 | Ariful Islam | NoFeL SC | 12 | |
| Rokonuzzaman Kanchan | Bashundhara Kings | |||
| 2018–19 | Amirul Islam | Bangladesh Police FC | 18 | |
| 2019–20 | League cancelled | |||
| 2020–21 | Ali Akbar Kanon | Wari Club | 13 | |
| 2021–22 | Moinul Islam Moin | Uttara FC | 18 | |
| 2022–23 | Mirajul Islam | BFF Elite Football Academy | 19 | |
Clubs and locations
The following 11 clubs have competed in the Bangladesh Championship League during the 2022–23 season.
- Brothers Union
- BFF Elite Football Academy
- Fortis FC Academy
- Gopalganj Sporting Club
- Dhaka Wanderers Club
- Fakirerpool Young Men's Club
- Little Friends Club
- NoFeL Sporting Club
- Swadhinata KS
- Uttara FC
- Wari Club
The venues for the current season are:-
Sponsorship
Here is the list of sponsors of BCL since its inception:
| Period | Sponsors | Type of Institute | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2014 | Premier Bank Limited | Bank | At first season, Premier Bank Limited sponsored the title, Destiny Group was the co-sponsor of first season. | [7][8] |
| 2014-2015 | Minister Freeze | Electronics | Premier Bank was named as a presenting sponsor while Pragati Insurance, Eastern Bank, Novo Air and Treasure Securities named as co-sponsors of the league. | [9] |
| 2015-2017 | RB-Marcel Group | Electronics | They sponsored seasons: 2015/16 and 2017. | [10][11] |
| 2018-2019 | International Sports Partner | Distributor | TVS brand is the 'title sponsor' as well as of BPL. | [12] |
See also
References
- ^ "BFF inks deal with ISP". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ a b . BFF. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ . BFF. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ . BFF. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ^ . BFF. Archived from the original on 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "BFF cancels football season". The Daily Star. 17 May 2020.
- ^ "Premier Bank remain with BCL". Dhaka Tribune. 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ সোমবার থেকে বাংলাদেশ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ লিগ. bangla.bdnews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ . UNB. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ . BFF. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ বাংলাদেশ চ্যাম্পিয়নস লিগের লোগো উন্মোচন. The Daily Ittefaq. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ . BFF. Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-05-30.