The Dhaka Derby is a football rivalry between the Dhaka teams of Abahani and Mohammedan; although the rivalry was bigger in the past, it is still considered to be the biggest game in Bangladesh's domestic football scene.
Mohammedan was founded in 1936, and Abahani in 1972. Bangladesh football's popularity grew based on these two Dhaka clubs. The two clubs have divided the country's fans into two camps in a fierce rivalry of more than 50 years. The two clubs meet several times a year in competitions like the Bangladesh Football League, Federation Cup, Independence Cup.
History 1970s–1990s
The two sides first met in 1973 in Dhaka First Division League. During that match, Abahani player Amalesh Sen scored the first goal in the history of Dhaka derby. Salahuddin scored the second goal for Abahani and the Abahani won that match by 2–0 and caused an upset over the mighty Black and Whites.
In 1978, Bangladesh participated in Asian Games for the first time. Monwar Hossain Nannu, being the senior most player in the squad, was originally nominated as the captain for the Bangkok event. But, then the Federation changed their decision and goalkeeper Shahidur Rahman Shantoo from MSC was appointed the new captain. 7 Abahani players including Nannu withdrew from the team in protest. The much depleted Bangladesh team struggled in the tournament losing 1–0 to Malaysia and 3–0 to India. Following this incident, the federation generally tried to pick national team captain outside the big two Dhaka teams for the next few years.
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. Before the match flags of Abahani and Mohamedan were observed in rooftops of Dhaka residents. 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. 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.
2000s–2010 Since the start of the Bangladesh Premier League in 2007, the rivalry has lost majority of its past fame.
Head-to-head Statistics Following statistics are from matches since 2007 B.League. CompetitionAbahani wins DrawsMohammedan winsAbahani goalsMohammedan goals League 14 12 5 40 24 Federation Cup 1 1 1 8 6 Total 15 13 6 48 30
Matches Following is the list of matches since 2007 B.League. #SeasonDateCompetitionStadiumHome TeamResultAway TeamReport12007 16 March 2007Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–1 Abahani 216 June 2007 Kamalpur Stadium Abahani 0–0 Mohammedan 32008–091 September 2008Federation CupBangabandhu National StadiumAbahani1–1 Mohammedan424 November 2008Bangladesh Premier League Kamalpur Stadium Abahani 2–2 Mohammedan 524 January 2009 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 1–2 Abahani 62009–1019 March 2010Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–0 Abahani 72 June 2010 Kamalpur Stadium Abahani 1–2 Mohammedan 82010–1113 March 2011Bangladesh Premier League Kamalpur Stadium Abahani 1–0 Mohammedan 924 June 2011 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–0 Abahani 10201217 February 2012Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 1–1 Mohammedan 1122 May 2012 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 2–0 Abahani 122012–1328 December 2012Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 2–0 Mohammedan 137 April 2013 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 1–1 Abahani 142013–1419 January 2014Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–1 Abahani 154 May 2014 Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 0–1 Mohammedan 1630 June 2014 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 1–1 Abahani 17201520 May 2015Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 0–1 Mohammedan 1816 August 2015 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–0 Abahani 192016 21 September 2016Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–3 Abahani 206 December 2016 Gopalganj Stadium Abahani 2–1 Mohammedan 212017–18 7 August 2017Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 1–0 Mohammedan 2222 November 2017 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 0–2 Abahani 232018–19 28 February 2019Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 3–0 Mohammedan 2416 July 2019 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan 4–0 Abahani 252020 4 March 2020Bangladesh Premier League Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 4–0 Mohammedan 2625 June 2020 Bangabandhu National Stadium Mohammedan N/A Abahani 272020–21 4 March 2020 Federation Cup Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 3–0 Mohammedan 2828 January 2021Bangladesh Premier League Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 2–2 Abahani 2927 June 2021 Bangabandhu National Stadium Abahani 1–1 Mohammedan 302021–22 23 February 2022Bangladesh Premier League Sylhet Stadium Abahani 1–0 Mohammedan 3122 June 2022 Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 2–4 Abahani 322022–23 27 January 2023Bangladesh Premier League Comilla Stadium Abahani 2–0 Mohammedan 3326 May 2023 Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 1–1 Abahani 3430 May 2023 Federation Cup Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 4–4 Abahani 352023–24 13 February 2024 Federation Cup Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium Abahani 1–2 Mohammedan 3623 February 2024 Bangladesh Premier League Comilla Stadium Abahani 2–2 Mohammedan 3729 May 2024 Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium Abahani 1–2 Mohammedan 382024–25 14 December 2024 Bangladesh Premier League Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 1–0 Abahani 397 January 2025 Federation Cup Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 0–1 Abahani 4026 April 2025 Bangladesh Premier League Comilla Stadium Abahani 0–0 Mohammedan 412025–26 24 November 2025 Bangladesh Football League Comilla Stadium Mohammedan 3–2 Abahani 4210 April 2026 Bangladesh Football League Comilla Stadium Abahani 2–1 Mohammedan
Statistics All players in bold are still active in the derby. All-time top goalscorers NationPlayerClub(s)LeagueYearsSouleymane DiabateDhaka Mohammedan112018–2025Kervens BelfortDhaka Abahani42018–2021Emeka Christian JbeDhaka Abahani3Daniel ColindresDhaka Abahani32021–2023
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Dhaka Mohammedan Dhaka Abahani 4–4 (H) 30 May 2023
Records 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)
Notable matches
Abahani 2–0 Mohammedan (1973) This was the first ever Dhaka derby played in Dhaka First Division League. Amalesh Sen and Salahuddin scored the first and second goals for Abahani, defeating Mohammedan 2–0. Abahani 1–1 Mohammedan (1982) In 1982, the Dhaka Derby between Abahani and Mohammedan ended in a 1–1 draw, becoming an infamous match, causing a riot.
Mohammedan 4–3 Abahani (2000) In a dramatic league clash, Mohammedan were trailing by two goals before Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib pulled off a stunning hat-trick to lead a remarkable comeback, sealing a 4–3 win. The game ended with Motiur Rahman Munna scoring in the dying moments, cementing its place as one of the most thrilling derbies ever. Nakib’s performance remains iconic in derby folklore.
Abahani 0–0 Mohammedan (16 June 2007) This was the first ever derby match in the Bangladesh Premier League. The match took place in Bangabandhu 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 of Bangladesh 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.
Abahani 4–0 Mohammedan (4 March 2025) In a mirror to the previous derby, Abahani answered back the following season with a commanding 4–0 win over Mohammedan.
Mohammedan 4–4 Abahani (30 May 2023) This was the final of 2022–23 Federation Cup, it ended 3–3 in the normal time, Diabate scored hat-trick for Mohammedan while Fahim, Colindres and Ogbugh 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 into penalty shoot-out, where Mohammedan won 4–2 after Augusto and Colindres failed to convert their spot-kicks after Emon failed to score his penalty for Mohammedan.
Players who played for both clubs General information Player Abahani Mohammedan Ashish Bhadra 1981–1984, 1985–1990 1984 Mohammad Aslam 1984–1991, 1991–1992, 1994–1996 1983, 1993 Samrat Emily 1983–1985 1986–1992 Satyajit Das 1987–1991 1995 Ariful Kabir Farhad 1995–1996, 2005–2006 2003–2004, 2007 Alfaz Ahmed 2010–2011 2005–2006 Souleymane Diabate 2018–2025 2025–present
General information +Dhaka AbahaniMohammedan SCFirst established nameAbahani Krira ChakraMohammedan Sporting Club Limited DhakaFounding year19721936StadiumsBangabandhu National Stadium, Sylhet District Stadium, Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium, Comilla StadiumBangabandhu National Stadium, Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium, Comilla StadiumCapacity36,000, 15,000, 15,000, 18,00036,000, 5,000, 18,000Number of seasons in Bangladesh Football League15 (never been relegated)15 (never been relegated)
References
External links