18th Ascent Corporate Football Cup kicks off on Thursday

The 18th edition of the Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Football Cup 2025 is set to begin on Thursday at the STM Hall of Scholastica's Uttara campus.

Known as the Ascent Cup since its inception in 2006, the tournament has grown into one of the most anticipated and longest-running corporate amateur football competitions in Bangladesh.

At a press conference held at Gulshan Club on Wednesday, the organising committee officially launched the tournament by distributing team jerseys to all 30 participating sides. The teams were also divided into two divisions to ensure balanced competition: Premier League, featuring 14 stronger and more seasoned teams, and the Championship League, comprising 16 teams made up of emerging football enthusiasts.

Speaking at the event, Farhan Quddus, a member of the Bangladesh Football Federation's Futsal Committee and the convenor of the press conference and organising committee, expressed satisfaction over the tournament's evolution.

"We are pleased to have initiated such a tournament. It feels good to see the enthusiasm we've been able to generate through this event," he said.

"Now it feels especially rewarding that the BFF has officially recognised futsal in Bangladesh, a country where it has long thrived in the underground scene."

Ascent Group has served as the title sponsor of the tournament since 2008, taking over from BRAC Bank, which sponsored the event in 2006 and 2007. The 2025 edition is powered by EC Organic, a concern of the East Coast Group.

Associate sponsors for the tournament include: Securex Limited, Emkay Enterprise, Interport Group

Partners of the event are: The Business Standard, Aamra Group, Gold Kinen, and Ascent Health

Premier League

Group A: Apparels Village Limited, Double Rainbow, Green Delta Insurance, Apical Industries

Group B: Bando Design Ltd, Elite Security Services Ltd, Neo Zipper Company Ltd

Group C: Laila Group, Petromax Refinery Ltd, Sports24 BD, Securex Pvt Ltd

Group D: Comfit Composite, Fakir Fashion Ltd, InfoTitan Limited

Championship League

Group A: Zerocium, Emkay Enterprises Limited, X-Ceramics, Gold Kinen Technologies Limited

Group B: Garda Shield Security Services Ltd, iFarmer Limited, Community Bank Bangladesh PLC, North End Coffee Roasters

Group C: Aarong Dairy, Markopolo.Ai, Ontik Technology, Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Group D: Max Secure Limited, YoungShip Bangladesh, Swisscontact Bangladesh, Ascent Group.