Fakirerpool Young Men's Club () is a Bangladeshi professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club from

Motijheel Motijheel () is a central business district and a thana of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is Dhaka's primary central business district, and also the nation's largest commercial and financial hub. Motijheel, located immediately adjacent to Dhaka's zero ...

area of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It is currently competes in the

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

, the top flight of Bangladeshi football, having gained promotion from the 2023–24 Bangladesh Championship League.

History

Early years (1960–1987)

Fakirerpool Young Men's Club was established in Fakirapool,

area of

in 1960. Manjur Hossain Malu, one of the club's main administrators during its early years, also served as its general secretary until 2010. In the same year as its establishment, the club participated in the

Dhaka Third Division Football League Dhaka Third Division Football League (), officially known as Bashundhara Group Third Division (U-17) Football League due to sponsorship reasons and change of format, is the fifth-tier association football, football league in Bangladesh, as well a ...

and earned promotion to the Second Division as unbeaten league champions. During their time in the Second Division, the club produced talents such as Enayetur Rahman Khan, nonetheless, failed to gain promotion to the top division for almost three decades. It was in 1987, under the coaching of Shahiduddin Ahmed Selim, that the club finally earned promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, as unbeaten

Dhaka Second Division Football League The Dhaka Second Division Football League () is the fourth-tier association football, football league in Bangladesh and the second-highest league division in Dhaka. It was officially founded in 1948 as the league below the Dhaka First Division F ...

champions. Additionally, the club's striker, Mizanur Rahman Mizan, finished as league top scorer with seven goals. The club also established a junior team, Fakirerpool Shurjo Torun Sangha (formerly Fakirerpool B), which began participating in the

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...

. In the early 80s, the club helped players such as Imtiaz Sultan Johnny,

Monir Hossain Manu Monir Hossain (; 13 July 1959 – 20 April 2018), known by his nickname Manu, was a Bangladeshi former Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger. He was commonly regarded as the ''"Panther of Dhaka foot ...

and Nurul Haque Manik began their careers in Dhaka football.

The talent hub (1988–1999)

During their debut season in the

, in 1988/89, Fakirerpool finished sixth and made the cut for the championship play-offs. The club's most notable achievement came during their second season in the top-flight, putting an end to Mohammedan Sporting Club's historic 76-game unbeaten league run on 16 March 1990, with goals from Sadequl Islam Uttam and Shankar in a 2–1 victory. Some notable players from Fakirerpool's first stint in the top-flight under coach Shahid Uddin Ahmed Selim were Mizanur Rahman Mizan, Nurul Haque Manik, Sadequl Islam Uttam, Piyus, and Mohammed Ponir, to name a few. However, observing the club's performances in their debut First Division season, their players were poached by local giants Mohammedan SC and

Brothers Union Brothers Union () is a professional association football, football club based in Gopibagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (football), Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Football in Bangladesh, ...

, the latter also capturing coach Selim's signature in 1991. After finishing in the bottom ten positions (11th) in the 1992 season, they were not given entry to the Dhaka Premier Division Football League upon its introduction in 1993. Instead, they remained participants in the First Division, which began serving as the second-tier. In the First Division's inaugural season as the country's second-tier league, Nazrul Islam Ledu guided the club to promotion to the Premier Division as league champions. Upon their return to the top-flight, the club roped in numerous players from the

Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) (, Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education) is the national sports institute of Bangladesh. It is residential and is located at Savar Upazila, Savar, about north-west of the capital, Dhaka, and about ...

team which triumphed in both the

Dana Cup The Dana Cup, one of the world's largest football tournaments, takes place every year in the North Jutland town of Hjørring in Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous ...

and

Gothia Cup The Gothia Cup () is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms ...

in the early 90s. Some notable recruitments included, Hassan Al-Mamun, Askar Babu, Amin Rana and Mohamed Sohel Al-Masum. The young team coached by Nazrul Islam Ledu and captained by

Golam Robbani Choton Golam Robbani Choton () (born 2 July 1968) is a Bangladeshi professional football manager and former player, who is the current managing Bangladesh Army Football Team. He was the former head coach of Bangladesh women's under-14, Bangladesh wome ...

, managed to sruvive the drop in their first season back. Eventually the club saw an improvement in performances, finishing in the top-five in both 1995 and 1996. Nonetheless, were relegated to the First Division in 1999.

Financial woes and professionalization (2000–2018)

Fakirerpool returned to the Premier Division once again after winning the 2003/04 First Division League. However, the club was relegated in the first season following their return and missed out on a spot in the 2007 B.League, the inaugural edition of the country's first top-tier professional football league, the

(formerly B.League). From 2005 to 2006, the club remained inactive as the First Division was not held. Then, in 2007, it was merged into the Premier Division to create the

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

, serving as the second-tier to the professional league. In 2007, the club clinched victory in the inaugural edition of the Senior Division and was poised to participate in the 2008–09 B.League. However, they were not invited to participate in the professional league for unknown reasons. In the subsequent edition of the Senior Division held in 2010, the club successfully defended their title. Nonetheless, they faced the same fate, as their entry to the 2010–11 B.League was denied. Eventually, the club gained entry into the second-tier professional league introduced in 2012, the

Bangladesh Championship League Bangladesh Championship League (), simply known as the BCL and officially Bashundhara Group, ABG Bashundhara Bangladesh Championship League since 2023 for sponsorship reasons, is the second-tier professional association football, football league ...

, starting from the 2014–15 season as champions of the 2014 Dhaka Senior Division League. Fakirerpool became champions of the 2015–16 Bangladesh Championship League, held in 2017. However, for the third time in the club's history failed to appear in the Bangladesh Premier League even after securing promotion through merit. The club's withdrawal from the Premier League this time was reported to have been due to internal conflict and financial issues.

Casino scandal and new era (2019–present)

On 18 September 2019, Fakirerpool was one of the four

-based clubs raided by the

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

. It was found that the club had been operating an illegal casino inside its premises. Khalid Mahmud Bhuiyan, a

Jubo League The Bangladesh Awami Jubo League () commonly known as the Jubo League, is the first youth organization of Bangladesh founded by Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani. It is the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League. Jubo league's current chairman is Sheikh F ...

leader and the club's president at the time, was later arrested. He was accused of importing modern gambling equipment from abroad at a cost of Tk1.5 crore and installing them at the club. Additionally, he was reported to have hired several Nepalis to run this illegal business. The club's involvement in gambling culture reportedly began in 1988 when the clubhouse and premises were allocated by the

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. History Prior ...

. This eventually led to the departure of its founder, Manjur Hossain Malu, in 2010. Following the incident, the club premises remained under lockdown. On 4 January 2023, the club elected a new 69-member committee, with former vice-president Haji Mohammad Salim, who was jailed for six months in the casino scandal, elected as the new chairman. Anwar Hossain Makhon and Mostafizur Rahman Mainu were elected as the president and general secretary, respectively. Both of them had previously served jail time due to the casino scandal. During their incarceration, Mozammel Haque acted as the chairman of the governing body, but he left the post following their release. On 1 September 2023, the club premise was finally reopned after being closed for almost four years. The club began the 2023–24 Bangladesh Championship League under coach Imtiaz Khan Lablu. On 23 April 2024, following a 2–1 victory over

PWD Sports Club PWD Sports Club (), also referred to as PWD SC, is a professional football club based in Segunbagicha area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second tier of Bangladeshi football, after bein ...

, Fakirerpool once again secured promotion to the

as league champions. The club's striker, Rafayel Tudu, finished as the league's top scorer with 12 goals, while goalkeeper Shaju Ahmed won the ''"Best Goalkeeper Award"''.

Current squad

Coaching staff

Managerial statistics

Personnel

Current technical staff

Club officials

Competitive record

Honours

**Champions (2): 2015–16, 2023–24 * Dhaka Senior Division League **Champions (3): 2007–08, 2010,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* Dhaka First Division League **Champions (2): 1993, 2003–04 **''Runners-up (1):'' 2000 * Dhaka Second Division League **Champions (1): 1987 * Dhaka Third Division League **Champions (1): 1960

References

{{reflist

External links

Fakirerpool Young Men's Club
at BD League
Fakirerpool Young Men's Club
at Soccerway
Fakirerpool Young Men's Club
at Global Sports Archive Fakirerpool Young Men's Club Football clubs in Bangladesh Association football clubs established in 1960 1960 establishments in East Pakistan Sport in Dhaka