 | |||
| Full name | Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1995; 30 years ago (1995) | ||
| Ground | Bashundhara Kings Arena | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
| President | Sayem Sobhan Anvir | ||
| Head coach | Jugoslav Trenchovski | ||
| League | Bangladesh Premier League | ||
| 2023–24 | BPL, 6th of 10 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra (Bengali: শেখ রাসেল ক্রীড়া চক্র) is a professionalfootball club based inDhaka,Bangladesh.[1] Founded in 1995, the club currently competes in theBangladesh Premier League. They wonFederation Cup in2012, which is club's first major title. The club also won their maidenBangladesh Premier League title in the season2012–13.Sayem Sobhan Anvir, managing director ofBashundhara Group, is the chairman of Sheikh Russel KC.[2] The club was based at theSylhet District Stadium until 2021 when they moved to their present home venue, theBashundhara Kings Arena.[3]
Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra was established in 1995 and named afterSheikh Russel, son of former President of BangladeshSheikh Mujibur Rahman.[4] The founder was Shahjahan Kabir, and striker Shofiqur Rahman Titu was appointed as the team's first ever captain in 1996. The club started its journey in 1996 with thePioneer Football League. Then in 1998 the team became runners-up in theDhaka Third Division and were promoted to theDhaka Second Division, under the coaching of Wazed Gazi.
In 2002, Sheikh Russel KC became runners-up in theDhaka First Division (second Tier). In their first appearance in top-flight football in 2003–04 season, Sheikh Russel stunned traditional powerhouses like Abahani, Mohammedan and Muktijoddha Sangsad to finish second in the top-tier at the time, thePremier Division Football League. Since then, despite playing in the country's first professional top-tier league, theBangladesh Premier League regularly, Sheikh Russel did not get the expected success until the start of the next decade.[5]
In the 2012–13 season, Sheikh Russel KC got its highest success by winning the domestic treble, under the guidance of local coachMaruful Haque. Sheikh Russel defeatedSheikh Jamal DC 2–1 in extra time of theFederation Cup final to win a title for the first time its history. They then went on to win the 2013Independence Cup final, 3–2 against Sheikh Jamal. They completed the treble by again edging Sheikh Jamal DC, this time to the2012–13 Bangladesh Premier League. The team captained by goalkeeperBiplob Bhattacharjee, only conceded 14 goals in league, while Haitian playmakerSony Norde, was the lethal, scoring 16 league goals.[6]
Since their treble winning season, the club has failed to win another trophy finishing runners-up in multiple tournaments and were also knocked out of theAFC Cup qualifiers twice.[7][8][9] They were also defeated byMohammedan SC in the2013 Super Cup final.[10] However, the team did manage to reach the semi-finals of the2014 AFC President's Cup.[11]
On 9 January 2015, the managing director ofBashundhara Group, Sayem Sobhan Anvir was appointed as the club's new chairman. He assured that the club would be back challenging for titles once more.[12] However, the club's further investment all went in vain as they failed to produce results on the pitch the following seasons.
On 20 April 2017, Sheikh Russel KC were fined 2000 Swiss Francs by FIFA over contract disputes with a player and a coach.[13]
In October 2018, veteran coachSaiful Bari Titu was appointed as the club's head coach. In 2020, Sheikh Russel were one of the four clubs from Bangladesh to attain AFC Cup licensing.[14] Russel spent heavily the next three years signing several national team players alongside expensive foreign recruits, however, the club found themselves fighting for relegation, leading to Titu's dismissal after three and a half years of service to the club, in March 2022.[15][16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Jugoslav Trenchovski |
| Team Manager |  Shahedul Alam Shahed |
| Assistant manager | Md Ifthekar Rahman Khan |
| Team Leader | Md Fakhruddin |
| Trainer | Abdul Baten Komol |
| Goalkeeping coach | Masud Ahamad |
| Interpreter | Md Maruf Kazi |
| Physiotherapist | Nujaim Khan Pranto |
| Head of delegation | Md Habibur Rahman Khan |
| Masseur | Md Shamim |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Sayem Sobhan Anvir |
| Vice-chairman | Naem Nizam Imdadul Haque Milon |
| Senior vice-chairman | Liaquat Ali Khan |
| Sporting director | Saleh Zaman Salim |
| Director in Charge | Ismat Jamil Akhond |
| Director of Finance | Md. Fakhruddin |
| Head Coach | Nat. | From | To | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | %W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wazed Gazi | | 18 January 2007[19] | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— |
| Kamal Babu | | 27 August 2009[20] | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— |
| Mahmudul Haque Liton | | December 2010[21] | June 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— |
| Maruful Haque | | September 2011 | 15 April 2014 | 73 | 45 | 12 | 16 | 130 | 61 | 061.64 |
| Dragan Đukanović |  | 21 April 2014[22] | 20 May 2015 | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 44 | 040.00 |
| Maruful Haque | | 3 June 2015 | 26 August 2016 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 46 | 40 | 042.86 |
| Shafiqul Islam Manik | | 27 August 2016[23] | 3 February 2018 | 44 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 46 | 42 | 031.82 |
| Saiful Bari Titu | | October 2018[24] | 13 March 2022 | 84 | 41 | 16 | 27 | 118 | 85 | 048.81 |
| Zulfiker Mahmud Mintu | | 14 March 2022[25] | 19 August 2023 | 45 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 80 | 61 | 046.67 |
| Jugoslav Trenchovski | | 20 August 2023[26] | Present | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 32 | 021.74 |
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–present | Cosco | Bashundhara Cement |
Independence Cup (2):| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | AFC President's Cup | Group stage |  | KRL | 0–0 |
 | Air Force | 5–0 | |||
 | Ugyen Academy | 4–0 | |||
| Final stage |  | Erchim | 1–0 | ||
 | Rimyongsu | 0–4 | |||
| 2015 | AFC Cup | Preliminary stage |  | Khayr Vahdat | 0–1 |
| 2017 | AFC Cup | Qualifying round |  | Tatung | 1–1 |
| F.C. Terton | 3–4 |
The following club is currently affiliated with Sheikh Russel KC:
East Bengal Club (2022–present)[28][29]
