Dhaka
Sports

Cricket and football are the two most popular sports in Dhaka and across the nation. Teams are fielded in intra-city and national competitions by many schools, colleges and private entities. The Dhaka Metropolis cricket team represents Dhaka City in the National Cricket League, the oldest domestic first-class cricket competition in Bangladesh. The Dhaka Premier League is the only domestic List A cricket tournament now in Bangladesh. It gained List A status in 2013–14 season. In domestic Twenty20 cricket, Dhaka has a Bangladesh Premier League franchise known as Minister Dhaka.

Dhaka has the distinction of having hosted the first official Test cricket match of the Pakistan cricket team in 1954 against India. The Bangabandhu National Stadium was formerly the main venue for domestic and international cricket matches, but now exclusively hosts football matches. It hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, while the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, exclusively used for cricket, hosted 6 matches of the tournament including two quarter-final matches. Dhaka has also hosted the South Asian Games three times, in 1985, 1993 and 2010. Dhaka is the first city to host the games three times. The Bangabandhu National Stadium was the main venue for all three editions. Dhaka also hosted the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, along with Chittagong and Sylhet, in 2014.

In football, the Dhaka Derby between Mohammedan SC and Abahani Limited Dhaka is the biggest sports rivalry in the country. The two clubs have maintained their fierce rivalry over the years in the Bangladesh Football Premier League and previously in the historic Dhaka League, which is the second oldest football league in South Asia, officially commencing in 1948. The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka has been the home venue for the national football team since 2005. It has hosted the SAFF Championship on three occasions, with the first being the 2003 edition, which Bangladesh went on to win. The 1978 AFC Youth Championship was the first major international tournament hosted by the stadium.

The National Sports Council, responsible for promoting sports activities across the nation, is based in Dhaka. Dhaka also has stadiums largely used for domestic events such as the Bangladesh Army Stadium, the Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium, the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium, the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium and the Outer Stadium Ground. The city's colleges and universities are active in intercollegiate athletics.

There are two golf courses in Dhaka, Army Golf Club and Kurmitola Golf Club.
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