The Fourth Bangabandhu Cup 2024 International Kabaddi Tournament, named after Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will begin on May 26 at the Shaheed Suhrawardy National Indoor Stadium in Dhaka's Mirpur.

Twelve countries from the three continents—Europe, Africa, and Asia—will participate in the eight-day tournament, organised by the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF).

Participating countries are: Poland, Kenya, Uganda, Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Indonesia Malaysia Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and host Bangladesh.

Japan, South Korea, and Uganda are participating in the tournament for the first time.

Foreign teams will start arriving in Dhaka on May 23.

The grouping and fixtures of the meeting will be finalised in the manager's meeting on May 25. The tournament will conclude on June 3 with the final match.

The details of the tournament were disclosed at a press conference at the Dutch-Bangla Auditorium of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) here on Monday.

The President of Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF) and Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, presided over the event. Whip of Jatiya Sangsad and former captain of the National Cricket Team, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza; BKF General Secretary and DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman; BKF Vice President Hafizur Rahman Khan and Joint Secretary SM Newaz Sohag were also present on the occasion.

Replying to a question at the crowded press conference, BKF President Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun said, "Our efforts to develop Kabaddi are continuing, we are making our national game of Kabaddi popular in the world landscape, our efforts are underway to make a separate Kabaddi complex in Dhaka.".

BKF General Secretary and DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman said that Bangladesh did not get the expected result in the last Asian meet as the coach was sick at that time, Playing without a coach, we lost to some weak teams.

Mashrafe said that improving the value of Kabaddi is not a one-day task and not so easy either. "I will try my best to serve the national game of Kabaddi. I will definitely try to do something about a Kabaddi complex in and around Dhaka, even if it is difficult."