The first-ever “Phygital” Football Championship, held simultaneously on physical and digital platforms in Bangladesh, has crowned Xtreme Lungi (XL) as the champion. In a thrilling domestic match, XL triumphed over the formidable Team KK with a score of 8-19, marking a historic achievement for the country’s long-standing love for lungis.
The competition began with the digital phase on PC, where XL defeated KK with 15 goals in the game FC24. Following this, they took to the physical field and scored an additional 4 goals. On the other hand, the runner-up, Team KK, scored 3 goals in the digital phase and 5 on the field.
As a result of their victory, Team XL earned a ticket to the regional round of the Game of the Future Digital Football Championship, to be held in Dubai in the last week of February, where they will compete against the champions from 32 countries. In addition to the champion’s trophy, the team’s captain, Maruful Islam, received a dummy cheque of 50,000 BDT, while the runner-up’s captain, Iltemas Amin Adi, received a cheque of 30,000 BDT.
The awards were presented by Amit Richard, Senior Vice President of BYDESA, Nawaz Mahtab, Vice President of BYDESA, Touhid Hossain and Humayun Kabir of MSI Bangladesh, and Mazharul Alam Mazhar, Distribution Hub Manager.
The tournament began with a Volta Football match, where after three minutes of play, two players continued on the field while the other two switched to playing on PC. Team XL clinched victory by winning all five of their matches, with their digital performance playing a pivotal role. Players Sadman Sakib Aiman and Captain Maruful Islam Rafi showcased their dual skills, competing on both digital and physical fields. Meanwhile, Daiyan Khan and Sakib Hossain Jisan participated solely in the digital matches. The standout performance came from Faiz Ahmed Ifti, who scored a maximum of 8 goals in the 10-minute grass field game. Other team members included Mohammad Main Ahmed, Noman Ahmed Bishal, Pritom Hasan, and Faizullah, with coach Tawsif Islam.
Earlier, the tournament took place at the Athletes Hub in Beraid, near the capital, over three days, as part of the WPC Game MSI Bangladesh Figital Football Championship. Sixteen teams participated across four groups. The semifinal matches saw former national team captain Zahid Hassan Emily attending to watch the exciting play.
In the semifinals, Team KK defeated My Neighbors 4-7 to advance to the final, while XL secured their spot with a dominant 4-12 victory over Galactic Dynamos. In the third-place match, Galactic Dynamos triumphed 2-10 against My Neighbors, and the captain of the third-place team, Mohiuddin Mahir, was awarded a dummy cheque of 20,000 BDT.
The tournament was organized by the Bangladesh Youth Development and Electronic Sports Association (BYDESA), with MSI Bangladesh as the chief sponsor and Phygital Bangladesh as the implementation partner.
