Youth cricket and football tournament, organised by BRAC's Adolescent Development Programme, concluded on a high note on Wednesday (Jan 17) at the T&T Sports Field in the capital's Mohakhali area. Boys and girls between 10-19 years of age displayed their skills and teamwork capacity in the tournament, said a press release.
Team Rajshahi defeated Mymensingh by eight wickets in girls' cricket. On the other hand, team Narayanganj raised the winner's trophy after defeating team Khulna by seven wickets in junior girls section. In the junior boys section, Mymensingh clinch the champion's trophy from Sylhet after beating them by 10 wickets. In the girls' football segment, Sylhet lost to Narayanganj at 0-1. Rangpur defeated Mymensingh (1-0) in the boys section.
The day-long event was inaugurated by chief guest, Meher Afroz Chumki, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs. Md. Asadul Islam, Secretary for Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Dr. Shafiqul Islam, Director of BRAC Education Programme, also were present, among others.
The State Minister stated, "I believe it is very important to focus on improving the physical and mental condition of our future minds. This is why it is great to see such events taking place to encourage our young girls and boys toward physical activities."
With the aim to improve mental and physical health, 1,080 girls from across the country participated in the cricket tournament. The qualifying rounds commenced from July 2017 across various sub-district and district levels. Finally teams from Rajshahi and Mymensingh successfully qualified for the final round. Simultaneously, teams from BRAC primary schools and 'Kishori Clubs' qualified for the finals as well.
Sports for development has been noteworthy initiative of the Adolescent Development Programme under the leadership of BRAC Education Programme. The initiative is geared towards improving participation of young girls in physical activities, therefore raising their confidence and ability to realise potential. 5,000 adolescent clubs have been established nationwide through the BRAC's ADP initiative, helping more than 100,000 youths, the release added.
BRAC Adolescent Development Programme started operations in 1993 with the mission to improve the living conditions for semi-urban and rural youths across Bangladesh. Similar sports tournaments have been organised since 2011 through the programme. Recently two female cricketers and two female football players became part of the national women's cricket and football teams respectively, the release also added.
