WAPDA Sports Club

WAPDA Sports Club (Bengali: ওয়াপদা স্পোর্টস ক্লাব) is a multi-sports club based mainly in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club is owned by the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The club was well known for its football team which participated in domestic football prior to the turn of the century.

WAPDA Sports Club
ওয়াপদা স্পোর্টস ক্লাব

Full name	WAPDA Sports Club
Founded	1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Owner	BPDB

Club name

• 1958–1970: East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (EPWAPDA)
• 1971–present: Bangladesh Water and Power Development Authority (BPWAPDA)

History

WAPDA entered the First Division Football League of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1969 as East Pakistan WAPDA. The club coached by former Pakistan national team captain, Abid Ghazi, mainly consisted of player who were employed at the Bangladesh Power Development Board (then East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority). The club also had a wing established in both Chittagong and Khulna, which saw them produce new talents each season.^[1][2]

Following the Independence of Bangladesh, the club was renamed as Bangladesh WAPDA. During the first-leg of the 1973 Dhaka League, WAPDA, led by brothers; Nowsheruzzaman and Sharifuzzaman, were league leaders before internal conflict saw them eventually finish mid-table.^[3] In the same year, the first Bangladesh national football team was announced, which included four players from the club – Nowsheruzzaman, Sharifuzzaman, Dilip Barua and Sunil Krishna Dey Chowdhury.^[4]

WAPDA suffered relegation to the Dhaka Second Division Football League in the 1984 season, and failed to return to the top-flight ever since.^[5] In the early 2000s, the club's football department, along with many other of its sports departments, stopped functioning.

Honours

• Dhaka Second Division League
  • Champions (1): 1968

References

1. "প্রথম জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের খ্যাতিমান ব্যাক দীলিপ বড়ুয়ার চীর বিদায়". Kiron's Sports Desk (in Bengali). 29 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
2. ফুটবলার আসলামের আসলাম হয়ে ওঠার গল্প (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
3. আমার চেয়ে ভাল স্কোরার কেউ ছিল না. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). June 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
4. ১৯৭৩ সালে যাদের হাত ধরে বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের পথ চলা শুরু হয়েছিলো. Kiron Sports Desk (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
5. "Bangladesh 1984". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.

Further reading

• Mahmud, Dulal (20 September 2020). "ফুটবলার আসলামের আসলাম হয়ে ওঠার গল্প" [The story of footballer Aslam's journey of becoming Aslam]. khulnagazette.com (in Bengali). Khulna, Bangladesh: খুলনা গেজেট. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
• Mahmud, Dulal (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
• Mahmud, Dulal (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
• Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.
• Mahmud, Noman (2018). ফুটবল পায়ে মুক্তির যুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war fought by football) (in Bengali). Agamee Prakashani. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.