Brazil’s bond reportedly took root in the 1970s, when Pelé was more than football’s biggest star. His rise from poverty to global success resonated in a country familiar with hardship and the idea of sporting escape. Mehedi Farhana recalled schoolbooks that highlighted Pelé’s difficult beginnings, giving young supporters a human story before live international football became routine.
Argentina’s claim grew sharply in 1986. Bangladesh Television broadcast the World Cup live as colour television became more common, bringing the tournament into homes across the country. Diego Maradona’s brilliance - including the famous Hand of God goal against England - carried an added political charge. For supporters in a nation shaped by colonial rule, Argentina’s victory could feel like more than a football result, the report says.
Ibrahim Chowdhury described matches as a rare release during years of martial law, with neighbours gathering even when public life felt constrained. That habit survived changing technology: one family in Kulkandi reportedly hosted watch parties around a battery-powered television.
The tradition has also travelled. Bangladeshi communities in the United States keep it alive through amateur leagues, World Cup gatherings and family rituals. Shahidul Partha still connects Brazil with home, while Onyx Chowdhury is passing Argentina on to his young son.
For Bangladesh supporters, the next World Cup will not simply renew a rivalry between Argentina and Brazil. It will test which memories endure - and whether the next generation adds its own heroes to the lasting legacies of Pelé and Maradona.