SportsUnited: Bangladesh

Tony Sanneh and Linda Hamilton (3rd and 4th from left) with Bangladesh National Team players at the event.

The American Center, U.S. Embassy Dhaka partnered up with the Bangladesh Football Federation and hosted a Q&A Session at the Edward M Kennedy Center with former American professional soccer players Tony Sanneh and Linda Hamilton on February 4th, 2014.
Bangladesh is their latest stop on the U.S. Department of State's SportsUnited programme which is devoted to sports diplomacy. The goal behind sports diplomacy is to draw on the universal passion for sports as a way to increase dialogue and cultural understanding to bring people together. “Sports Envoys” are athletes and coaches who travel the world to lead programmes developed by U.S. embassies and consulates in partnership with local organisations. The American envoys hold sports clinics, participate in community outreach programmes, and engage the local youth in a dialogue on the importance of leadership and respect for diversity.
Tony Sanneh is a former U.S. Men's National Soccer Team player, recently named in the “All-Decade Team”, and among the final nominees for the United States Soccer Hall of Fame. He's won the Major League Soccer Cup twice, played regularly in the UEFA Champions League during his time in the German Bundesliga, and starred in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea. Tony has spent 17 years playing at the top level and even after retirement he continues to be an inspirational figure.
Linda Hamilton played for the U.S. National Women's Team from 1987 to 1995, and during the time she had won the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991, having collected 82 international caps as a defender. Recently, she has completed her five-year tenure as Head Women's Soccer Coach at the University of North Florida and remains involved with U.S. soccer as a member of the board of directors with the United States Soccer Federation.
During their time in Dhaka, Tony and Linda will conduct workshops and coaching classes with students of Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan (BKSP) and other local schools.
The session was due to start at 6:15 pm, but was delayed due to Bangladesh National Team players failing to show up in time. The organisers decided to start at 7 pm and due to time constraint only managed to fit in a Q&A Session.
Sanneh and Hamilton have been coaching youngsters since their arrival in the country and have been working with the coaches as well on teaching the youth the tactical aspect of the game. One of the things they've noticed in terms of women's football in Bangladesh, is how nearly all the players travel long distances from less-developed areas to attend the training sessions. They believe that if each district had some sort of youth programme, Bangladesh's football prospects would grow exponentially.
The Americans were joined by Bangladesh Men's National Team player Biplob Bhattacharjee, Women's National Team players Aungmaraching Marma and Suni pro Marma towards the end of the event.
Sanneh and Hamilton's SportsUnited programme is set to culminate in a series of final exhibition matches with the workshop participants, and players from the Bangladesh National Football Team. The exhibition matches were scheduled to be held at the Bangladesh Football Federation Turf in Arambagh on Friday, February 7th at 3pm at the time of writing this report.