The Bangladesh U-23 national football team (), also known as the Bangladesh Olympic football team is a youth football team operated under the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). The team represents Bangladesh in international youth football competitions in the Summer Olympics, South Asian Games and the Asian Games, as well as any other under-23 and under-22 international football tournaments, such as the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
History
1990s
In 1991, the Bangladesh Football Federation formed its first olympic national team in preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics qualifiers, which was jointly held in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur. The team coached by Abdul Hakim consisted of: Langol, Bijon, Mohamed Mohsin, Arif Hossain Moon, Aman, Masoud Rana, Barun Bikash Dewan (vice-captain), Mohammed Jewel Rana, Sohel, Jamrul, Rumman Bin Wali Sabbir (captain), Mahabub Hossain Roksy, Alamgir Hasan, Sadekul Islam Uttam, Shafiqul Quader Munna, Zakir Hossain, Golam Gauss, Ekramur Rana, Mamun Joarder and Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. Bangladesh were placed in Group D with South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. In the first game held in Seoul, South Korea, on 18 May 1991, Bangladesh went down 2–3 to Thailand. Masoud Rana scored the olympic team's first ever goal with captain Sabbir scoring a consolation late into the game. On 24 May 1991, the team registered their first victory by thrashing the Philippines 8–0 as, Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib scored a national record of five goals in one match. In the second phase of the qualifiers held in Malaysia, Bangladesh earned victories over both hosts Malaysia and returning Philippines. The team finished second bottom in the group with three wins and five losses from eight games.
2000s
The team returned to action during the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea. Under Austrian coach György Kottán they failed to win a single game while conceding nine goals and scoring only once in the process. The 2004 South Asian Games saw Bangladesh produce another disappointing campaign as they failed to advance past the group-stages after suffering a surprise 0–1 defeat to Pakistan. Nonetheless, during the tournament they earned their first victory in more than a decade by defeating Afghanistan 2–1, on 30 March 2004. The team followed up their dismal performances with multiple unsatisfactory campaigns, failing to win a single match during both the 2006 South Asian Games and 2006 Asian Games. On 14 February, Zahid Hasan Ameli lone strike against hosts Hong Kong earned the team only their second victory of the decade, however, Bangladesh crashed out of the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers preliminary round 1, suffering a 1–3 aggregate defeat.
2010–present
2010 South Asian Games
The 2010 South Asian Games took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Football Federation appointed Serbian coach Zoran Đorđević only three weeks before the tournament. The hosts opened the tournament with a 3–0 victory over Nepal, on 30 January 2010. In the following game, held two days later, the team confirmed their semi-finals berth by thrashing Bhutan 4–0. They finished group winners as Mohamed Zahid Hossain scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Maldives in the final group game. In the semi-final against tournament favourites India who fielded an U-20 team, Tawhidul Alam Sabuz scored the lone goal in front of 20,000 fans present in the Bangabandhu National Stadium and sent the hosts to the final. In the gold medal match against Afghanistan, the team outplayed their opponents 4–0 and set a new tournament record of not conceding a single goal for five consecutive games. This was also the country's first South Asian Games football triumph since the tournament's re-introduction as an under-23 competition in 2002. Nonetheles, coach Zoran decided against extending his contract and departed only six days after the tournament concluded. Eventually, the team which was branded as the Golden generation were unable replicate the same form during the 2010 Asian Games and also as senior internationals.