Branding Bangladesh through sports

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Despite some hiccups, the first ever Bangladesh Premier League was successfully hosted in the country. This is the first time the country has held a major international standard sports event that saw a tournament comprising six teams representing each of the six divisions in the country playing against each other. A major challenge in terms of logistics for the organisers the curtain was drawn on this gala event on February 29.
The Dhaka Gladiators walked away with the cup having bowled the Barisal Burners for 140 runs and achieving the target for the loss of only two wickets. Needless to say, the game generated massive interest amongst both fans and the general public. It was a new experience for corporate bodies to be involved with sports so directly. They had to purchase teams that included both national and international players by auction where national players, broken down into three categories with prices ranging from US$30,000 - 210000 per player, were pitted against international players whose bidding started from $50,000 - 100,000 and ending up as high as $700,000.
Leaving aside the question marks raised on match-fixing and other matters, the game undoubtedly brought for Bangladesh more benefits than the contrary. There is no denying that the tournament provided an opportunity for local players to play against some of the best known international cricketers. This was by itself a major gain. The experience gained in BPL has undoubtedly enriched our players for the future, especially in terms of confidence in taking their game to the next level, i.e. playing as members of the national team in international tournaments such as One-day internationals.
Apart from the experience garnered by players, the hosting of prestigious international sports event such as the BPL will in the long run help promote a positive image of the country. It certainly goes a long way in branding 'Bangladesh' as a serious player in the world of sports, projecting the country that has the infrastructure, the fans and ability to host future events considered to be 'premier' in the world of cricket and sports in general. Naturally, when a country such as Bangladesh hosts an event such as this for the first time, it can make mistakes. The lack of skill in franchise-based leagues translated into less than desired profit generation for the cricket board. Due to this limitation, the responsibility of running the league was outsourced to an Indian event management company which won the contract, through a tendering process, for hosting the event for six years by paying Tk3.5 billion.
Despite this move, there are valuables lessons for Bangladesh to learn. These include local corporate bodies getting familiarised with franchising methods, the cricket board learning from observing how to handle marketing at an international level as also logistics on the domestics front involving thousands of guests pouring into the country to attend matches. This will give an idea of where infrastructure and services need to be developed to deal with the increased flow of people, their lodging, transportation and safety. In the long run, it is all about projecting a positive image of the country that is taking strides into areas hitherto unknown.