No demolition as Abahani field facilities set for upgrade ‘in national interest, for general public’

The government is not considering demolishing the existing facilities at Dhanmondi Cricket Ground, popularly known as Abahani field, and is instead considering completing the unfinished Abahani Sports Complex under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque said.

Aminul made the remarks at a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the Housing and Public Works Ministry and the Youth and Sports Ministry at the Secretariat on Thursday.

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“Today’s MoU paves the way for a public-private partnership (PPP) model to upgrade and optimise the existing structures at Dhanmondi Ground,” Aminul said, adding that the government also plans to add facilities there, including archery, shooting and a five-a-side hockey turf.

“As for the Abahani field, the site currently possesses a football ground, a club tent, a cricket pitch, a basketball court and a gymnasium. We do not intend to demolish these facilities; instead, we will renovate and modernise them in the national interest and for the benefit of the local community. The current committee of Abahani will operate the facilities.

“Our goal is to develop sports facilities and ensure all necessary athletic infrastructure is available for the general public and future generations.

“I think the current environment at Dhanmondi Cricket Ground is not conducive to producing players, so we want to create an environment from which athletes can emerge at the national level,” Aminul said, requesting that the focus remain on how the clubs would be operated in future rather than on the cancellation of the leases.

“I would request you not to focus on the cancellation of Abahani’s lease because I have already directed the concerned authority to operate the club by involving everyone.

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“We want to hand over the remaining work on club management, and there is no debate about it. We want to finalise the work plan in consultation with the club officials.”

The Housing and Public Works Ministry cancelled Abahani Limited’s 99-year lease of 10.96 acres of land at Dhanmondi Cricket Ground on May 11, 2026, and refused to reinstate the contract on August 3, citing outstanding fees and breaches of the lease conditions. The ministry also cancelled the lease of the ground held by the now-defunct Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club.

“With the recommendation of a seven-member committee, we cancelled Abahani’s lease because they could not fulfil the conditions. They could not deposit the annual fees in the past and built structures without our knowledge,” Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher said, adding that the Youth and Sports Ministry could sign a new deal with Abahani.

An Abahani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, however, claimed that the club had obtained the necessary approvals from the Housing and Public Works Ministry and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) before starting construction and had cleared its fees up to 2025.

Asked why the Housing and Public Works Ministry had not intervened in Abahani’s construction work in 2022, the ministry’s secretary, Md Obaidur Rahman, said, “We were not in office at that time. Now we can look into whether those construction works had political influence or not.”

“You saw the anger of the youth generation towards these two clubs [Abahani and Sheikh Jamal DC] after July [2024],” the State Minister for Youth and Sports said. “But beyond politics, it is our responsibility to support these two traditional outfits. From perspective of responsibility, I visited both clubs and talked to the club officials and we hope no clubs is politicised in future.”