PM Gold Cup football tournament to involve over 1.6cr students, 40,231 institutions

The Prime Minister's Gold Cup National Football Tournament 2026 is set to take place with a massive participation of over 1.6 crore students from 40,231 educational institutions across the country.

Although matches will begin in August as scheduled, the tournament's official inauguration has been rescheduled to 9 or 10 September due to adverse weather and preparations.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to inaugurate the tournament at Chattogram District Stadium.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon announced the details at a press conference held at Chattogram Press Club today (30 July).

He said the tournament will involve 40,231 educational institutions, including 19,211 secondary schools, 1,556 schools and colleges, 3,380 colleges, 9,296 madrasas and 6,788 technical education institutions.

More than 1.6 crore students, making it one of the country's largest school sports initiatives.

The competition will feature separate boys' and girls' events in two categories: secondary and higher secondary/equivalent.

Following the inauguration, secondary-level matches will begin at the upazila and thana levels before advancing through district and divisional rounds to the national stage. Higher secondary-level competitions will start on 6 October.

Organisers said 32 teams from eight regional competitions will qualify for the national finals in Dhaka, with four teams, one from each category, being crowned national champions.

The finals and closing ceremony are scheduled for the last week of October in Dhaka. Organisers have also launched competitions for the tournament's theme song, reels and mascot, with winners set to receive awards from the prime minister at the inauguration.

Speaking at the event, State Minister for Land and Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin said the government aims to expand grassroots sports participation.

Greater involvement in sports would help keep young people away from drugs while creating scholarship opportunities through sports quotas at internationally renowned universities, he added.