Md Aminul Haque, the state minister for youth and sports, has organized a meeting with the managing directors and CEOs of banks to discuss the advancement of sports in Bangladesh. The meeting is scheduled for February 25 at 11 am in the conference room of the National Sports Council, where the state minister will preside.
Invitations have been extended to 41 state-owned and private commercial banks, with confirmation received from several of them. While the agenda for the meeting was not explicitly stated in the invitation letters, efforts to reach Haque for further details were unsuccessful.
Recent discussions with sports journalists and key figures from various sports organizations highlighted the financial challenges faced by different sports bodies, particularly those representing lesser-known sports. Suggestions were put forward regarding potential engagements between private banks, financial institutions, and sports bodies under the state minister’s purview.
Past involvement of banks with sports bodies was noted during the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed in 2007. Haque, in response to the discussions, pledged to explore avenues by engaging with the finance minister to encourage banks to allocate a portion of their corporate social responsibility funds towards sports development.
Although some bankers expressed reservations, citing concerns over potential coercive fundraising tactics, they remained open to understanding the true intentions behind the upcoming meeting. A central bank official remarked on the increasing trend of soliciting donations from banks for various causes, citing a recent request from the Bangladesh Association of Banks for contributions towards constructing a school at the Demra Police Lines in Dhaka.
The official further highlighted the common practice of government bodies collecting donations from banks through the BAB on different occasions.
