Traditional kit ofDhaka Abahani

Traditional kit ofDhaka Mohammedan

TheDhaka Derby is afootballrivalry between theDhaka teams ofAbahani andMohammedan; although the rivalry was bigger in the past, it is still considered to be the biggest game in Bangladesh's domestic football scene.^[1][2][3][4]

Mohammedan was founded in 1936,^[5] andAbahani in 1972. Bangladesh football's popularity grew based on the two Dhaka clubs – Mohammedan and Abahani. These are the two clubs that have divided the country's fans into two camps over the course of a fierce rivalry of 47-odd years.^[6] These two clubs meet several times a year in competitions like theFederation Cup,Bangladesh Premier League,Independence Cup.

The two sides first met in 1973 inDhaka First Division League. During that match, Abahani playerAmalesh Sen scored the first goal in the history of Dhaka derby.Salahuddin scored the second goal for Abahani and theAbahani won that match by 2–0 and caused an upset over the mightyBlack and Whites.^[7]

In 1978,Bangladesh participated inAsian Games for the first time.Monwar Hossain Nannu, being the senior most player in the squad, was originally nominated as the captain for theBangkok event. But, then the Federation changed their decision and goalkeeperShahidur Rahman Shantoo from MSC was appointed the new captain. 7 Abahani players including Nannu withdrew from the team in protest.The much depletedBangladesh team struggled in the tournament losing 1–0 toMalaysia and 3–0 toIndia. Following this incident, the federation generally tried to pick national team captain outside the big twoDhaka teams for the next few years.^[8][9]

The 1980s was the golden era of club football in Dhaka. Any match involving Mohammedan or Abahani would draw huge crowd at the Dhaka stadium. The rivalry between the two rivals was at its peak in this era.^[10]Abahani won a hat-trick of titles in 1983, 1984 & 1985 and Mohammedan made a record of winning an unbeaten hat-trick of titles in 1986, 1987 & 1988-89.^[11] The rivalry reached its peak as fans always wanted their favorite team to win and they also contested in foreign tournaments and were the best sides.^[12][13]

Since the start of theBangladesh Premier League in 2007, the rivalry has lost majority of its past fame.^[14][15]

Following statistics are from matches since2007 B.League.

Following is the list of matches since2007 B.League.

All players inbold are still active in the derby.

Nation	Player	Club(s)	League	Years
	Souleymane Diabate	Dhaka Mohammedan	11	2019–
	Kervens Belfort	Dhaka Abahani	4	2018–2021
	Emeka Christian Jbe	Dhaka Abahani	3
	Daniel Colindres	Dhaka Abahani	3	2021–2023

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Souleymane Diabate	Dhaka Mohammedan	Dhaka Abahani	4–4 (H)[16]	30 May 2023

Friendly matches are not included in the following records unless otherwise noted.

• Widest winning margin:4 goals
  • Mohammedan 4–0 Abahani (16 July 2019,2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League)
  • Abahani 4–0 Mohammedan (4 March 2020,2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League)
• Highest scoring match:8 goals
  • Mohammedan 4–4 Abahani (30 May 2022,2022–23 Federation Cup)

• Abahani 2–0 Mohammedan (1973)

This was the first ever Dhaka derby played inDhaka First Division League.Amalesh Sen andSalahuddin scored the first and second goals forAbahani, defeatingMohammedan2–0.

• Abahani 0–0 Mohammedan (16 June 2007)

This was the first ever derby match in theBangladesh Premier League. The match took place inBangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on 16 June 2007, which ended in a 0–0 draw.

• Mohammedan 1-0 Abahani (27 March 2009)

The final match ofBangladesh Super Cup first edition. After the BDR uprising in February 2008, security was tight for the final held in March. Yet there was no shortage of interest among the audience. For the final match, more spectators stayed outside the stadium than on the field. A 21st minute goal by Nigerian midfielder John Godwin gave Mohammedan the Citycell Super Cup title with a solitary goal victory.

• Mohammedan 4–4 Abahani (30 May 2023)

This was thefinal of2022–23Federation Cup, it ended 3–3 in the normal time,Diabate scored hat-trick for Mohammedan whileFahim,Colindres andOgbugh scored for Abahani respectively. In additional time, Diabate scored his 4th goal in the 105th minute to give Mohammedan the lead.Mia scored in 118th minute equalizer to take the match intopenalty shoot-out, where Mohammedan won 4–2 afterAugusto andColindres failed to convert their spot-kicks afterEmon failed to score his penalty for Mohammedan.

Major Honours (National)

This following table includes only those titles recognised and organised by theBFF andAFC.^[17][18]

• Mohammedan SC (Dhaka)
• Abahani Limited Dhaka
• Association football rivalries
• Football in Bangladesh
• Sport in Dhaka
• Football in Dhaka

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