The final match of the Cox’s Bazar DC Gold Cup Tournament was scheduled for Friday. For the occasion, a syndicate sold five times more tickets than the stadium’s actual capacity. On top of that, a huge number of counterfeit tickets were also sold. When the organizers still failed to complete the final match, angry spectators unleashed massive vandalism and arson at the Birshreshtha Ruhul Amin Stadium.
During the Awami League government, this stadium had undergone several rounds of renovation and modernization. For Cox’s Bazar’s sports community, all kinds of modern facilities had been ensured. Yet today, this beautiful stadium has been shattered. Dressing rooms for players, the press room, and office spaces have all been destroyed.
The roots of the chaos lie in what happened after August 5. BNP-Jamaat and NCP leaders took control of the Cox’s Bazar Sports Association through a syndicate. Under the pretense of managing the tournament, leaders of Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, and NCP took the lease for ticket sales and created a “ticket syndicate.” It was these irregularities that sparked the outrage of ordinary people in Cox’s Bazar district.
