Photo: PMO

DHAKA, June 20, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury became emotional while addressing the closing and prize-giving ceremony of the National Final of the Primary School Gold Cup Football Tournament at the Bangladesh Army Stadium today, saying that receiving a trophy from the Prime Minister is no ordinary achievement.

The state minister said Achargao Uttar Para Government Primary School of Nandail, representing Mymensingh Division, could not become champions in the tournament, but playing in front of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and receiving a trophy from him were significant accomplishments.

He made the remarks while addressing residents of Nandail, players and well-wishers following the final match and closing ceremony held at the Bangladesh Army Stadium this afternoon.

Referring to the impressive performance of the Nandail team, he said, "I watched your game. You played extremely well today as well. But according to the rules of the game, there will always be victory and defeat. Through today's loss, we have learned many things. We will use this experience to perform even better in the future."

He thanked and expressed gratitude to the people of Nandail for qualifying to play the final on a highly prestigious venue like the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

The tournament is one of the largest and most participatory sporting events in the history of primary education in the country. This year's competition provided participation opportunities for millions of students from 65,569 government primary schools across Bangladesh.

A total of 123,174 matches were held nationwide through union, upazila, district and divisional stages before teams advanced to the national level.

In this massive football competition, 1,110,814 students participated in the boys' category and 1,103,291 students in the girls' category, setting a unique example of gender equality and women's empowerment in grassroots sports across the country.