In the world cup, Bangladeshi fans steal the show Curtain fell for FIFA world cup 2022. Despite being no participant of this world cup,Bangladesh garnered lots of media attention due to its crazy football fans. In any world cup,streets and rooftops are ornamented with flags of Brazil,Argentina, Germany,Italy. I encountered flag of Spain on balcony and rooftops of some houses too. Numerous examples of jersey of Brazil,Argentina, Germany are sold in the streets. This year was no exception. Except semifinals and final, projection of the matches on giant screen was limited because of tense political atmosphere. But nothing matches the joy and fun we had experienced when we were kids back in the 90’s. There was just one channel, the state-owned BTV that aired the matches. And in between matches cinemas,songs and foreign movies were broadcast. Those were the perks for staying awake late at night and the main attraction for us.Besides we collected stickers and post cards of the players. Trembling tables and showcases and utensils caused by wild screams whenever a goal was scored by the favorite team is a timeless manifestation of affection of Bangladeshis to the sport. Maradona,Matthäus,Baggio,Schillaci,Donadoni,Cannigia,Roger Milla,Rossi,Jorginho,Zico were some of the names I could recall at the moment. But Argentina and Brazil largely dominated the support base.It would not br an exaggeration if someone dubbed the country a colony of Latin America. Without firing a single shot the two countries from the other side of the globe overtook Bangladesh. This year's crazy jubilation is the continuation of that football empire. It is indeed interesting that Argentina is going to open an embassy,closed back in the early 80’s,in Bangladesh again to acknowledge the love of the football fans.Both the countries have remarkable similarities. Both have witnessed dictatorial rule.Corruption,inflation, current account shocks are common to both economies. Protests of mothers of disappeared political activists of recent years and of those who lost dear ones in the military coups in the late 70’s remind us the protest of mothers of 30000 disappeared during the military rule (1976-83) in Argentina. Both the countries witnessed how worst the inflation could be. Argentina witnessed wild fall of its currency against dollar. Bangladesh in recent years sold significant part of its forex reserve to peg its currency against dollar. Military coups in both the countries gave birth to structural corruption. However, the ties need materialism to get strengthened. Bangladesh imports soybean oil,wheat,meat every year. Our spending on cooking oil is staggering. We could easily import these things from Argentina and Brazil. Our RMG items,home appliance,ship,pharmaceuticals could be exported to these countries in exchange. In addition, one or two telecom operators from these countries could be given license to operate here. Currently, we have only three mobile phone operators (Grameenphone+Robi,Banglalink and Teletalk). Entry from another operator from another continent could deepen the strategic ties. Apart from that, Bangladesh Air Force is trying hard to produce advanced jet trainer cum light attack aircraft domestically. Argentina has longed to have fleet of such aircraft. If there is no sanction,Bangladesh and Argentina could jointly develop such aircraft and produce them in bulk quantities so that unit production cost gets significantly reduced. Air Force's ground troops already use Brazil-made sub machine gun. Privatization of defense article production in these countries could pave the path for further defense cooperation.Because only then defense spending could reach private organization, financial institution and research labs of the universities. It is indeed a good news that both the countries are eying for Free Trade Agreement,which will make goods of both the countries cheaper. Meat that most poor people could not afford nowadays will become cheap due to FTA. Container cargoes bound to China and Japan could easily go to Argentina and Brazil. It will be lucrative route if there is indeed FTA with Brazil and Argentina. It is indeed interesting how Football becomes the navigating star to connect countries located at different continents. Deeper economic ties could bolster the relationship. Crazy euphoria for football will only get a true meaning when economic benefits make a difference into the lives of most of the people in these countries.
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