# 2021 Independence Cup (Bangladesh)

The 2021 Independence Cup also known as Riviera Independence Cup 2021 due to the sponsorship from Riviera. It was the 12th edition of the Independence Cup, the main domestic annual top tier clubs football tournament organized by Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). The fifteen participants were competed this edition in the tournament.
Dhaka Abahani is the defending champion, having defeated 3–0 goals Bashundhara Kings in the final of the tournament.

## Participating teams

The following fifteen teams were contested in the tournament.
| Team | Appearances | Previous best performance |
| Bangladesh Police FC | Debut | n/a |
| Bashundhara Kings | 2nd | Champions (2018) |
| Chittagong Abahani | 11th | Champions (2016) |
| Dhaka Abahani | 11th | Champions (1990) |
| Dhaka Mohammedan | 11th | Champions (1972, 1991, 2014) |
| Muktijoddha Sangsad KC | 11th | Champions (2005) |
| Rahmatganj MFS | 11th | Semi-finals (2017-18) |
| Sheikh Russel KC | 7th | Champions (2013) |
| Sheikh Jamal DC | 7th | Runners-up (2012–13) |
| Saif Sporting Club | 3rd | Quarter-finals (2018) |
| Swadhinata KS | Debut | n/a |
| Uttar Baridhara Club | 2nd | Group-stage (2016) |
| Bangladesh Air Force (Invited) | Debut | n/a |
| Bangladesh Army (Invited) | 2nd | Quarter-final (1991) |
| Bangladesh Navy (Invited) | Debut | n/a |

## Venue

All matches was held at BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
| Dhaka | Dhaka |
| BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium | Dhaka |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Dhaka |

## Draw

The draw ceremony of the tournament was held on 23 November 2021 15:00 at 3rd floors of BFF house Motijheel, Dhaka, Bangladesh. There are fifteen teams were divided into four groups. Top two team's from each group will through Knockout stage.

## Group summary

| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Dhaka Abahani | Sheikh Jamal DC | Saif Sporting Club | Bashundhara Kings |
| Rahmatganj MFS | Sheikh Russel KC | Muktijoddha Sangsad KC | Chittagong Abahani |
| Swadhinata KS | Uttar Baridhara SC | Dhaka Mohammedan | Bangladesh Police FC |
| | Bangladesh Air Force | Bangladesh Army | Bangladesh Navy |

## Round and dates

| Dates/Year | Round | Match dates |
| 27 November 2021–18 December 2021 | Group stages | 27 November–8 December 2021 |
| 27 November 2021–18 December 2021 | Quarter-finals | 10–12 December 2021 |
| 27 November 2021–18 December 2021 | Semi-finals | 14 December 2021 |
| 27 November 2021–18 December 2021 | Final | 18 December 2021 |

## Match officials
### Referees

* Bitura Barua
* Md Saymoon Hasan Sany
* Md Jalaluddin
* Md Anisur Rahman Sagor
* Md Jasim Akter
* Md Mizanur Rahman
* Md Alamgir Sarkar
* Md Shorab Hossain
* GM Chowdhury Nayan
* Mahmud Zamil Farouqee Nahid

### Assistant Referees

* Md Shah Alam
* Sujoy Borua
* Md Nuruzzaman
* Junayed Sharif
* Md Monir Dhali
* Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun
* Sharifuzzaman Tipu
* Mehedi Hasan Emon
* Md Rasel Mia
* Bayezid Mondol
* Sheikh Iqbal Alam
* Md Khorshed Islam
* Sheikh Farid

## Group stages

Key to colours in group tables :
* Group winners and runners-up advance to the Knockout-stage

### Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.
* Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
* Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
* Drawing of lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status |
| 1 | Dhaka Abahani | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 2 | Swadhinata KS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 3 | Rahmatganj MFS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status |
| 1 | Sheikh Russel KC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 2 | Sheikh Jamal DC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 3 | Uttar Baridhara Club | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Bangladesh Air Force | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status |
| 1 | Saif Sporting Club | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 2 | Bangladesh Army | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 3 | Dhaka Mohammedan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Muktijoddha Sangsad KC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status |
| 1 | Bashundhara Kings | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 9 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 2 | Bangladesh Police FC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | Qualified for Knockout stage |
| 3 | Chittagong Abahani | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Bangladesh Navy | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 2 | |

## Knockout stage

* In the knockout stages, if a match finished goalless at the end of normal playing time, extra time would have been played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 10 December – Dhaka | 10 December – Dhaka | | | |
| Dhaka Abahani | 4 | | | |
| Dhaka Abahani | 4 | 14 December – Dhaka | 14 December – Dhaka | | |
| Bangladesh Army | 0 | 14 December – Dhaka | 14 December – Dhaka | |
| Bangladesh Army | 0 | Dhaka Abahani | 2 | |
| 10 December – Dhaka | 10 December – Dhaka | | Dhaka Abahani | 2 | |
| 10 December – Dhaka | 10 December – Dhaka | Saif Sporting Club | 0 | |
| Saif Sporting Club (a.e.t.) | 2 | Saif Sporting Club | 0 | |
| Saif Sporting Club (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | 18 December – Dhaka | 18 December – Dhaka |
| Swadhinata KS | 0 | | | | 18 December – Dhaka | 18 December – Dhaka |
| Swadhinata KS | 0 | | | | Dhaka Abahani | 3 |
| 12 December – Dhaka | 12 December – Dhaka | | | | | Dhaka Abahani | 3 |
| 12 December – Dhaka | 12 December – Dhaka | | | | Bashundhara Kings | 0 |
| Sheikh Russel KC | 0 | | | | Bashundhara Kings | 0 |
| Sheikh Russel KC | 0 | 14 December – Dhaka | 14 December – Dhaka | | | |
| Bangladesh Police FC | 1 | 14 December – Dhaka | 14 December – Dhaka | | | |
| Bangladesh Police FC | 1 | Bangladesh Police FC | 1 | | | |
| 12 December – Dhaka | 12 December – Dhaka | | Bangladesh Police FC | 1 | | | |
| 12 December – Dhaka | 12 December – Dhaka | Bashundhara Kings (a.e.t.) | 2 | |
| Bashundhara Kings | 4 | Bashundhara Kings (a.e.t.) | 2 | |
| Sheikh Jamal DC | 0 | | | |

### Final
## Winners

* 11th Independence Cup (Bangladesh) 2021 Winners
* Dhaka Abahani Second Title

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

There have been 75 goals scored in 28 matches, for an average of 2.68 goals per match.
4 goals
* Dorielton (Dhaka Abahani)
3 goals
* Fernandes (Bashundhara Kings)
* Robinho (Bashundhara Kings)
* Daniel Colindres (Dhaka Abahani)
* Tetsuaki Misawa (Muktijoddha Sangsad KC)
2 goals
* Foysal Ahmed Fahim (Saif Sporting Club)
* Mohammad Ibrahim (Bashundhara Kings)
* Motin Mia (Bashundhara Kings)
* Nabib Newaj Jibon (Dhaka Abahani)
* Ailton Machado (Sheikh Russel KC)
* Raphael Augusto (Dhaka Abahani)
* Stojan Vranješ (Bashundhara Kings)
1 goal
* Amredin Sharifi (Bangladesh Police FC)
* Eleta Kingsley (Bashundhara Kings)
* Emon Mahmud Babu (Dhaka Abahani)
* Jewel Rana (Bangladesh Navy)
* Juwel Miah (Bangladesh Air Force)
* Mannaf Rabbi (Sheikh Russel KC)
* Maraz Hossain Opi (Saif Sporting Club)
* Mehedi Hasan Mithu (Bangladesh Army)
* Mehedi Hasan Royal (Dhaka Abahani)
* Minhajul Abedin Ballu (Dhaka Mohammedan)
* M S Bablu (Bangladesh Police FC)
* Nasirul Islam Nasir (Saif Sporting Club)
* Rajib Hossain (Dhaka Mohammedan)
* Ranju Shikdar (Bangladesh Army)
* Rakib Hossain (Dhaka Abahani)
* Sahed Hossain (Dhaka Mohammedan)
* Sanowar Hossain (Rahmatganj MFS)
* Sazzad Hossain (Saif Sporting Club)
* Shahin Ahammad (Sheikh Jamal DC)
* Shahriar Emon (Bangladesh Army)
* Shamimul Haque (Bangladesh Army)
* Sheikh Alamgir Kabir Rana (Bashundhara Kings)
* Sohanur Rahman (Sheikh Jamal DC)
* Yeasin Arafat (Bashundhara Kings)
* Nedo Turković (Swadhinata KS)
* Danilo Quipapá (Bangladesh Police FC)
* Denilson Rodrigues Roldão (Bangladesh Police FC)
* Ahmed Shamsaldin (Muktijoddha Sangsad KC)
* Solomon King Kanform (Sheikh Jamal DC)
* Philip Adjah (Rahmatganj MFS)
* Esmaël Gonçalves (Sheikh Russel KC)
* Souleymane Diabate (Dhaka Mohammedan)
* Emeka Ogbugh (Saif Sporting Club)
* Kehinde Yisa Anifowoshe (Chittagong Abahani)
* Mfon Udoh (Saif Sporting Club)
* Peter Ebimobowei (Chittagong Abahani)
* Rafał Zaborowski (Swadhinata KS)
* Evgeniy Kochnov (Uttar Baridhara Club)
* Nodir Mavlonov (Swadhinata KS)
* Otabek Valijonov (Sheikh Jamal DC)

### Own goals

† Bold Club indicates winner of the match
| Player | Club | Opponent | Result | Date |
| Mehedi Hasan Mithu | Bangladesh Army | Saif Sporting Club | 1–2 | 28 November 2021 |
| Habibur Rahman | Bangladesh Navy | Bashundhara Kings | 0–6 | 30 November 2021 |
| Mohammad Al-Amin | Rahmatganj MFS | Swadhinata KS | 2–3 | 3 December 2021 |
| Tutul Hossain Badsha | Dhaka Abahani | Rahmatganj MFS | 1–3 | 7 December 2021 |
| Amredin Sharifi | Bangladesh Police FC | Bangladesh Navy | 1–1 | 8 December 2021 |