Dhaka Third Division Football League is the fifth-tier

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, as well as the third and lowest league division in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. It was established in 1948 as the third-tier of the

Dhaka League Dhaka Senior Division Football League, also referred as First Division Football League, is the third tier of football league in Bangladesh. Until 2006, it was the top-tier league of the country. It was established in 1948 as Dhaka League, while ...

, while Bangladesh was still under Pakistani rule. Currently the five top-finishing teams in the Super League round are automatically promoted to the

Dhaka Second Division Football League Dhaka Second Division Football League is the fourth-tier football league in Bangladesh, and the second highest league division in Dhaka. The league was founded in 1948 as the second-tier of the Dhaka League, while Bangladesh were still under the ...

. While the bottom team in the two groups during the first phase, are relegated to the Bangladesh Pioneer Football League. A total eighteen teams compete in the league.

History

In 1948, a year after the independence of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the Dhaka Sporting Association established a three-tierd football league, and the Dhaka Third Division Fotball League was formed as the third-tier of the

. Although it can be confirmed that a Dhaka Football League system was established with a second-tier (

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

), the inauguration of the third-tier cannot be confirmed, but it can be assumed that the third-tier was established simultaneously with the first and second tiers, in 1948, as there is evidence of a third-tier being present even in the early 1960s. Since 1972, the league has been run by Dhaka Metropolition Football League Committee under supervision of the

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānlādēśa phuṭabala phēḍārēśana'') is the governing body that administrates the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national tea ...

. In 1993, the league became the 4th-tier of domestic football, with the

Dhaka First Division Football League Dhaka First Division Football League was the second tier football league in Bangladesh which was established in 1993 by the Bangladesh Football Federation. In 2007, with the introduction of Bangladesh's first wide open national league, the Bangl ...

replacing the

as the second-tier, both the Second and Third divisions of Dhaka shifted down a tier. In 2007, with the introduction of the country’s first wide open national football league,

Bangladesh Premier League The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ প্রিমিয়ার লীগ) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league consisting of seven franchises. The BPL is one of the three professional cricket leagues in ...

, Dhaka football system changed again, as the Dhaka First Division Football League was merged to the Dhaka Premier Division League (Dhaka League), reintroduced as the 2nd-tier known as the Dhaka Senior Division Football League. However, the Dhaka Third Division League remained as the country’s 4-tier. In 2012, with the intorduction of the second wide open national football league, the

Bangladesh Championship League Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) is the second-tier 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 2018–1 ...

as the new second-tier, all three of Dhaka’s football leagues shifted down a tier and the Third Division turned into the 5th-tier of

Bangladeshi football Football is the second-most popular sport in Bangladesh, after cricket, and is governed by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). An interest in cricket resulting from the nation's success in Test cricket and participation in the Cricket World ...

. On 16 September 2021, the

decided to postpone the 2021–2022 league season. On 3 January 2023, the Bangladesh Football Federation announced that the 2021–2022 league season would finally began from 7 January 2023, and participating clubs will only be allowed to field U17 players.

Structure

League Summaries

Top goalscorers by season

References

{{B.League seasons Dhaka Third Division Football League Fifth level football leagues in Asia 3 Professional sports leagues in Bangladesh 1948 establishments in East Pakistan Sports leagues established in 1948 Sport in Dhaka