Chittagong Abahani Limited (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম আবাহনী লিমিটেড), also spelled as Chattogram Abahani or Chittagong Abahoni,[1] is a sports club based in Chittagong, Bangladesh. A wing of Abahani Limited was established at Chittagong in 1980, known as Chittagong Abahani.[2] It is considered as one the most successful football clubs in the country. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top tier of Bangladeshi football.
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| Full name | Chittagong Abahani Limited | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Pirates (Bengali: ব্লু পাইরেটস) | ||
| Short name | CAL | ||
| Founded | 10 October 1980 | ||
| Ground | M. A. Aziz Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 36,000 | ||
| President | M. Abdul Latif | ||
| Head coach | Md. Tajuddin Taju | ||
| League | Bangladesh Premier League | ||
| 2023–24 | Premier League, 7th of 10 | ||
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| Departments of Chittagong Abahani | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Football (Men's) |
Football (Reserves & Youth) |
Cricket (Men's) |
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The team was relegated from Bangladesh Premier League in 2010–11 season. It again gained the promotion to Premier League by becoming champion of the 2013 Bangladesh Championship League.[3] The club host Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup, a bi-annual tournament in memory of their founder, Sheikh Kamal.[4] They won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2015.[5] The club won their first major domestic trophy in 2016 by winning the 2016 Independence Cup under the guidance of Slovak coach Jozef Pavlik.[6] Chittagong Abahani had a fierce rivalry with Chittagong Mohammedan earlier in Chittagong Premier League and later in Bangladesh Premier League.
History
1980–2000: Beginning
In late 1970s, Didarul Alam Chowdhury was inspired by the Dhaka-based club Abahani Limited Dhaka. He is a football organizer from Chittagong. Didarul wanted to establish a wing of Abahani in Chittagong for the betterment of Sports in Chittagong. He convened a meeting with other local organizers on 10 October 1980. With the meeting, Chittagong Abahani officially started its journey.
Iqbal Khan, popular footballer of Chittagong and father of Tamim Iqbal & Nafees Iqbal, played a vital role Chittagong Abahani's inception.[7] He also played for Chittagong Abahani. Chittagong Abahani won their first-ever Chittagong League title under his captaincy.[7]
2000–2014: Journey at top level
Chittagong Abahani qualified for the 2000-01 National Football League after being crowned the 1999 Chittagong League title. The team finished 3rd in the inaugural season under coach Abu Yusuf. In 2001-02 National Football League, Ctg Abahani finished in the Super Four once again. Chittagong Abahani also became runners-up twice in the Chittagong League during 2000s.
In 2007, Bangladesh Football Federation started B. League (now Bangladesh Premier League), country's first professional football league. Chittagong Abahani was one of the founding teams of the league. After struggling in the first three seasons, Ctg Abahani relegated to Bangladesh Championship League in 2010–11 season.
The port city outfit finished at the bottom in their first BCL season. However, there was no relegation system for second tier in that time which saved the team from demotion. The Blue Pirates made a strong comeback in next season becoming Champion of 2013-14 BCL & came back to top tier. Chittagong Abahani finished at 9th in 2014-15 BPL, their returning season to top tier.
2015–present: Beginning of the revolutionary era
In November 2014, Tarafder Ruhul Amin of Saif Powertec Limited became chairman of Chittagong Abahani Directorial Board.[8][9] Saif Powertec Limited becomes new sponsor of Chittagong Abahani.
In 2015, Chittagong Abahani organised inaugural edition of Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup at M. A. Aziz Stadium, Chittagong before the 2015-16 domestic season.[10] It was the first international club tournament at Chittagong since 1982. Chittagong Abahani won the tournament beating Kolkata giant East Bengal in final.[11] The huge attendance of the final broke all the recent records. The port city outfit gave their arrival message as a rising giant with this tournament.
In May 2016, Chittagong Abahani won 2016 Independence Cup under their first ever foreign coach Jozef Pavlik.[12] It was the first domestic major trophy of the club history. Chittagong Abahani finished at 2nd in 2016 BPL, their best result ever.[13] They signed Bangladesh national team Captain Mamunul Islam, Bhutan international Chencho Gyeltshen, former Haiti international Fabrice Noel & Leonel Saint Preux for this season.
Chittagong Abahani also become runners-up of 2017 Independence Cup, 2017 Federation Cup & finished 3rd in 2017-18 BPL.[14] However, the Blue Pirates performed down in 2018–19 season as they knocked out from both tournaments in quarterfinal & obtained 8th position in the league.
Maruful Haque era
Current squad
- As of 26 March 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Personnel
Current technical staff
As of 5 April 2024
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach |  Md. Tajuddin Taju |
| Assistant Coach | Arafat Ali Rony |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Md. Shahabuddin |
| Physiotherapist | Fuad Hasan Hawlader |
| Interpreter | Md. Poniruzzaman Ponir |
| Team Manager | Arman Aziz |
| Technical Director | Maruful Haque[15][16] |
Management
Board of directors
As of January 2023.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | M. Abdul Latif |
| Vice-president | Tarafder MD Ruhul Amin |
| General Secretary | Shamsul Haque Chowdhury |
| Director | Mahbubul Alam |
| Secretary (Football Committee) | Shakil Mahmud Chowdhury |
Team records
Head coach record
- As of 25 March 2024
| Manager | From | To | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win%[17] | Honours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asaduzzaman Jhontu |
(n/a) | 2015 | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | ||
| Shafiqul Islam Manik[18][19] |
10 August 2015 | 21 September 2016 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 80.00 | 1 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup (2015) | |
 Jozef Pavlík[20] |
30 March 2016 | 21 September 2016 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 50.00 | 1 Independence Cup (2016) | Won the first-ever domestic major trophy in the club's history[21] |
| Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu (interim)[22][23] |
21 September 2016 | 31 December 2016 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 8 | 73.33 | 1 runner-up Premier League (2016) | |
| Saiful Bari Titu[24] |
9 January 2017 | 4 January 2018 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 40 | 23 | 62.07 | 1 runner- up Federation Cup (2017) | |
| Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu |
4 January 2018 | 3 August 2019 | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 38 | 41 | 26.32 | 1 runner-up Independence Cup (2017) | Appointed as caretaker coach at first, then reached agreement to continue as head coach. |
| Maruful Haque[25] |
October 2019 | 28 August 2022 | 70 | 33 | 15 | 22 | 115 | 100 | 47.14 | 1 runner-up Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup (2019) | |
| Saiful Bari Titu[26][27] |
9 November 2022 | 12 February 2023 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Mahabubul Haque Juwel[28][29] |
12 February 2023 | 25 March 2024 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 43 | 25 | Appointed as caretaker coach at first, then reached agreement to continue as head coach.[30] | |
| Md. Tajuddin Taju |
25 March 2024 | Present |
Top scorers by season
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| Season | Player | Total Goals | BPL | Federation Cup | Independence Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Tawhidul Alam Sabuz |
10 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018–19 |  Momodou Bah |
11 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 2019-20 |  Nixon Guylherme |
5 | 4 | 1 | Not held |
| 2020-21 | Nixon Guylherme |
13 | 12 | 1 | Not held |
| 2021-22 |  Peter Ebimobowei |
22 | 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022–23 | Ojukwu David Ifegwu |
13 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
All-time top scorers
The table is a record of goals scored since 2017–18 season and accurate as of the end of the 2022–23 season. Goals scored in major competitions (Premier League, Federation Cup & Independence Cup) are counted in the list below.
| Ranking | Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Ebimobowei |
2021–22 | 22 |
| 2 | Nixon Guylherme |
2019–21 | 18 |
| 3 | Ojukwu David Ifegwu |
2022–23 | 13 |
| 4 | Matthew Chinedu |
2019–21 | 12 |
| 5 | Momodou Bah |
2018-19 | 11 |
| 6 | Tawhidul Alam Sabuj |
2017-18 | 10 |
| 7 | Rakib Hossain |
2019–21 | 9 |
| 8 |  Kpehi Didier Brossou |
2019–21 | 8 |
| 9 | Shakhawat Rony |
2017–18, 2019–22 | 7 |
| 10 | Nduka Alison |
2017-18 | 6 |
Source: Soccerway
All-time top scorers in Premier League
The table is a record of goals scored since 2017–18 season and accurate as of the end of the 2022–23 season.
| Ranking | Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Ebimobowei |
2022 | 20 |
| 2 | Nixon Guylherme |
2020–21 | 16 |
| 3 | Matthew Chinedu |
2020–21 | 11 |
| 4 | Ojukwu David Ifegwu |
2022–23 | 10 |
| 5 | Tawhidul Alam Sabuj |
2017-18 | 8 |
| 6 | Rakib Hossain |
2020–21 | 7 |
| Didier Brossou |
2020–21 | 7 | |
| 8 | Momodou Bah |
2018-19 | 6 |
| 9 | Shakhawat Rony |
2017–18, 2020–22 | 5 |
| Ekbal Hossain |
2022–23 | 5 | |
 Omid Popalzay |
2022 | 5 |
Source: Soccerway
Most appearances in Premier League
The table is a record of appearances made since 2017–18 season and accurate as of the end of the 2022–23 season.
| Ranking | Name | Years | App. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monir Alam |
2018-22 | 74 |
| 2 | Koushik Barua |
2017–22 | 68 |
| 3 | Monaem Khan Raju |
2018–21 | 45 |
| 4 | Mufta Lawal |
2017-19 | 39 |
| 5 |  Shukurali Pulatov |
2020, 2021, 2022–23 | 38 |
| 5 | Shakhawat Rony |
2017–18, 2020–22 | 34 |
| 6 | Shawkat Russel |
2020–22 | 33 |
| 7 | Matthew Chinedu |
2019-21 | 30 |
| 8 | Nixon Guylherme |
2019-21 | 29 |
| Mannaf Rabby |
2017-18, 2019–21 | 29 | |
| Arafat Hossen |
2020–23 | 29 |
Source: Soccerway
Recent seasons
| Season | League | Level | Position | Movements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | Chittagong
League |
Regional
Top Tier |
1st | qualified for |
| 2000–01 | NFL | 1st Tier | 3rd of 8 | |
| 2001–02 | NFL | 1st Tier | Super Four
(3rd of 48) |
|
| 2003–04 | Chittagong
League |
Regional
Top Tier |
2nd of 10 | |
| 2005–06 | Chittagong
League |
Regional
Top Tier |
2nd | |
| 2007–08 | BPL | 1st Tier | 10th of 11 | |
| 2008–09 | BPL | 1st Tier | 8th of 11 | |
| 2009–10 | BPL | 1st Tier | 11th of 13 | |
| 2010–11 | BPL | 1st Tier | 12th of 12 | Relegated |
| 2011–12 | BCL | 2nd Tier | 7th of 7 | |
| 2012–13 | BCL | 2nd Tier | 1st of 8 | Promoted |
| 2013–14 | BPL | 1st Tier | 8th of 10 | |
| 2014–15 | BPL | 1st Tier | 9th of 11 | |
| 2015–16 | BPL | 1st Tier | 2nd of 12 | |
| 2017–18 | BPL | 1st Tier | 3rd of 12 | |
| 2018–19 | BPL | 1st Tier | 8th of 13 | |
| 2019–20 | BPL | 1st Tier | 2nd of 13 (league abandoned) | |
| 2020–21 | BPL | 1st Tier | 5th of 13 | |
| 2021-22 | BPL | 1st Tier | 7th of 12 | |
| 2022–23 | BPL | 1st Tier | 8th of 11 |
Source: RSSF
Stadium
The M. A. Aziz Stadium is the primary home venue of Chittagong Abahani. However, the club also plays their home matches at Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium of Munshiganj. The club also used Bangabandhu National Stadium and Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium as home venues in some seasons.[31][32]
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2017 | N/A | Saif Powertec Limited |
| 2018–2019 | N/A | Saif Power Battery |
| 2019–2020 | Noor Enterprise | Saif Power Battery |
| 2020–2024 | Noor Enterprise | Ignite Battery |
| 2024–2025 | Designex | Not yet confirmed |
AFC ranking
- As of 11 June 2023[33]
| Ranking | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 365 |  Transport United FC | 49.0 |
| 366 |  Taiwan Power Company FC | 49.0 |
| 367 | Chittagong Abahani Limited | 49.0 |
| 368 |  FC Ulaanbaatar | 49.0 |
| 369 |  Sabah FC | 49.0 |
World ranking
- As of 11 June 2023[34]
| Ranking | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Taiwan Power Company FC | 49.30 |
| 2014 |  Phare Petit-Canal FC | 49.30 |
| 2015 | Chittagong Abahani Limited | 49.28 |
| 2016 |  Vihiga United FC | 49.24 |
| 2017 | FC Ulaanbaatar | 49.15 |
Honours
League
- Bangladesh Premier League
- Runners-up (1): 2016
- Bangladesh Championship League
- Champions (1): 2013
- Chittagong Premier League
- Champions (4): 1980, 1994, 1996, 1998–99
- Runners-up (2): 2003–04, 2005–06
Cup
- Independence Cup
- Federation Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2017
Invitational
Notable overseas players
- Players listed below have had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries before, while and/or after playing at Chittagong Abahani. The years indicate the time they played for the club.[35]
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Asia
Africa
North America
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Notes
- Abu Azeez represents Nigeria national beach soccer team in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and other international beach soccer competitions.
References
External links
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