Sports Desk:

The 2025-26 Federation Cup has pitted defending champions Bashundhara Kings and reigning Bangladesh Premier League champions Mohammedan in the same group during the official draw, which was held at the Bangladesh Football Federation house on Saturday.

The tournament will commence on 23 September with a Group B fixture, however, the detailed fixture format is yet to be announced.

Matches in the tournament will be played every Tuesday, with two fixtures scheduled across two separate venues. Unlike the league, which spans five venues, this year’s Federation Cup will be held exclusively at the Bashundhara Kings Arena and the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla.

The competition features 10 teams divided into two groups of five. Each team will play four group stage matches in a round-robin format. Upon the conclusion of the group phase, the top two teams from each group will progress to the next round. As was the case last season, the knockout stage will follow a structure inspired by the Indian Premier League. The two group winners will face each other for a direct ticket to the final. The loser of that match will have another opportunity to qualify by playing the winner of the match between the two runners-up.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has scheduled the final for 10 April next year. Responding to media queries after the draw, Imrul Hasan, chairman of the league committee and senior vice-president of the federation, confirmed that, in accordance with an executive committee decision, no BFF committee official will be permitted in the dugout during matches.

GROUP A: Abahani, Rahmatganj, Brothers Union, Fakirerpool, PWD

GROUP B: Bashundhara Kings, Mohammedan, Arambagh, Bangladesh Police, Fortis FC