Dhaka Wanderers Club

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka Wanderers jersey

Founded in 1937, The club was first known as Muslim Wanderers, until it became Dhaka Wanderers over time as a bunch of sports-lovers from Old Dhaka brought the club into a prominent position in the local sports arena. Under the teams president Abdul Gaffar who came from the Nawab's of Dhaka, they became a popular name in Bengali football after its debut in the Dhaka football scene in 1937. With the help of Gafur Beluch, Maznur Hasan and Santu, Wanderers lifted the first-division trophy 5 times. Before Bangladesh's independence in 1971, Wanderers produced local talents like Nabi Chowdhury, Amir Jang Ghaznabi, Ashraf Chowdhury, Chihla Mong Chowdhury Mari, Manzur Hasan Mintu, Zakaria Pintoo and Wazed Gazi to only name a few.[4] The clubs most prominent players Mong Chowdhury got the chance to represent the Pakistan national team and defender Zakaria Pintoo later went on to become the captain of the Shadhin Bangla Football Team.[5][6]

Including their first league trophy in 1950, the club won a total of 7 Dhaka League titles from 1950 to 1970. The historic club also won the league every season from 1950 to 1956. Wanderers are the only club from Bangladesh to win the IFA Shield, however, like all their other achievements the trophy was lost burnt during a local riot. During the fifties and sixties, the Wanderers and Mohammedan rivalry was the biggest and most anticipated game in Bengali football.[7] Nonetheless, over time after the nations Independence in 1971, the rivalry had lost its presence, as the club moved to the second division in the nineties, losing its huge support base and popularity all over the country. Former Bangladesh prime minister Bangabundhu Sheikh Mujibur Rhaman, was also a regular player at the club during the early 40s and 50s. It was under his captaincy, Wanderers won the Bogura Cup and in the final, Bangabandhu also managed to scored a brace, leading his side to a 5–0 victory.[8]

In September 2019, number of Bangladeshi clubs were caught running illegal casinos and Wanderers were one of them.[9] After the casino raid, President Advocate Mollah Abu Kawsar resigned citing personal reasons. General Secretary Joy Gopal Sarkar was sent to jail. Since the incident took place, the was in dismay, the players were reported to be living in the neighboring club Azad Sporting and some at the hotels or with their relatives, as the club failed to pay their dues. The condition of food is also as miserable as the accommodation. The club had no source of income, and ever since the scandal no donations were being made to help them. Surprisingly, Dhaka Wanderers Club gained promotion from the Dhaka League (third-division since 2007) in 2020.[10] It was the firs time the club reached the new second-division league in Bangladesh, after spending decades outside of the country's top 2 leagues. The club finished 7th during their first season in the BCL with 7 wins out of 22 league games.[11] In March 2021, it was revealed that the teams coach Kamal Babu himself paid 18,000 Bangladeshi Taka to the footballers instead of taking his own salary. Despite taking part in the Bangladesh Championship League with so much difficulty, the BFF had supposedly not yet paid the club their participation fee. During this predicament the club faced, a large institution connected with football gave them a check of 3 lakh rupees.[12]

Dhaka Wanderers Club squad for 2020–21 season.[13]

As of 19 July 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  BAN Sk Kazibur Rahman — GK  BAN Nadim Mahmud — GK  BAN Amir Hossain — DF  BAN Sakib Bepari — DF  BAN Bishno Sarkar — DF  BAN MD Malek — DF  BAN Minhaz Uddin — DF  BAN Akramul Haque — DF  BAN Asaduzzaman Badal — DF  BAN Ripon Sheikh — DF  BAN Johirul Islam Joy — DF  BAN Soroar Talkudar — DF  BAN Bijoy Chandra Das

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BAN Usha Ching Marma — DF  BAN Amanullah Santo — MF  BAN Imran Hossain Rubel — MF  BAN Mostakim Sharier — MF  BAN Indrojit Chandra Raya — MF  BAN Shihab Mia — MF  BAN Jahidul Hasan Dalim — MF  BAN Sankar Das — MF  BAN Kakon Bus — MF  BAN Moshin Ali — MF  BAN Rigvy Ahmed — FW  BAN Sawon Sardar — FW  BAN Mujahid Hossain

• Dhaka League[14]
  • Winner (7): 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960
• Dhaka First Division League
  • Winner: 2002
• Federation Cup
  • Runners-up: 1987