Mohamed Atikuzzaman (; born 10 October 1999) is a Bangladeshi professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for

Bangladesh Championship League Bangladesh Championship League (), simply known as the BCL and officially Bashundhara Group, ABG Bashundhara Bangladesh Championship League since 2023 for sponsorship reasons, is the second-tier professional association football, football league ...

club

Dhaka Rangers FC Dhaka Rangers Football Club (), simply known as Dhaka Rangers, is a Bangladesh, Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second-tier of Football in Bangladesh, B ...

. Mainly a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, he can also play as either a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Early career

In 2009, Atik gave medical examinations for the

Sherpur District Sherpur District () is a district in northern Bangladesh. It is a part of Mymensingh Division. Sherpur District was a sub-division of Jamalpur District before 1984. It was upgraded to a district on February 22, 1984 under Hussain Muhammad Ershad's ...

team for the JFA U-15 Cup, while attending a school cricket match at the Shahid Muktijoddha Smriti Stadium. Although he was originally interested in cricket, his focus shifted to football after being selected for his district team. In 2013, he trained in the BFF Sylhet Academy and also participated in the

2013 SAFF U-16 Championship The 2013 SAFF U-16 Championship was the second edition of the SAFF U-16 Championship organized by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament hosted by Nepal from 20 to 30 July at Dasarath Stadium and army ground. Seven teams from th ...

. In 2014, he came to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and went onto win the

BFF U-18 Football Tournament The BFF U-18 Football Tournament was a youth club football tournament in Bangladesh which was managed, organized and controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). History The tournament was established in 2014, in order for Bangladesh ...

with Mohammedan SC U-18 while also receiving the tournaments ''Best Player Award''. His performances saw coach Syed Golam Jilani recall him to the Bangladesh U16 team the following year. During the 2015–16 season, he led

Dilkusha SC Dilkusha Sporting Club (), also referred to as Dilkusha SC, is an association football club based in the Dilkusha area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth-tier of Bangladeshi Football ...

to win the Dhaka Third Division League.

Club career

Victoria SC

In 2016, Atik joined second-tier club

Victoria SC Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division Football League, Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football i ...

for the 2015–16 Bangladesh Championship League, after being involved with youth international football the previous few years. On 18 December 2016, he scored his first professional league goal by slotting in a penalty, in a 1–3 defeat to

Saif Sporting Club Saif Sporting Club was an association football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 2016, the club competed in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Bangladeshi football, from 2017 to 2022. On 3 August 2022, the club owners an ...

Arambagh KS

In 2017, Atik joined Arambagh KS in the

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

, a club which is known to focus on giving game time to local talents. On 5 August 2017, he made his top-tier debut during a 0–1 defeat to

. He remained ever-present during their 2017–18 Independence Cup triumph, which marked the club's first-ever domestic silverware in its history. His last appearance for the club came on 20 July 2019, coming on as a stoppage time substitute in a 6–3 victory over

Rahmatganj MFS Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society (Bengali language, Bengali : রহমতগঞ্জ মুসলিম ফ্রেন্ডস সোসাইটি) is a Bangladeshi professional association football, football club based in Old Dhaka. Found ...

. He departed the club after the 2018–19 league season concluded, with 10 league appearances in two seasons.

Mohammedan SC

In 2019, Atik joined Mohammedan SC. He made his league debut against his former club Arambagh KS, on 14 February 2020. However, his first season at the club was hampered, as domestic football in the country was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The following year, Atik played both in defence and in midfield, under coach Sean Lane. He scored two goals in the 2020–21 Federation Cup, one of which came in the quarter-finals against

. Mohammedan ended up losing the game 6–7 on penalties, as Atik missed their final spot kick. On 24 August 2021, he scored his first top-tier league goal, as Mohammedan defeated

Muktijoddha Sangsad KC Muktijoddha Sangsad KC () is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club plays in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second level of Bangladeshi football league system, as they suffered relegation from th ...

2–0. The same day, Atik was called up to the Bangladesh national team for a 2021 Three Nations Cup in Kyrgyzstan. His final year at the club saw him make 21 appearances in the league, his highest in a single season and following the leagues conclusion, Atik was the subject of numerous transfer rumors.

Sheikh Jama Dhanmondi Club

In December 2019, it was reported that Atik had taken transfer money from both Mohammedan SC,

Abahani Limited Dhaka Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional Association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Pr ...

and

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club (Bengali language, Bengali: শেখ জামাল ধানমন্ডি ক্লাব) is a professional association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club com ...

. Following the report, Mohammedan management filed a complaint to the

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānglādesh fūṭbôl fēḍārēshôn'') is the governing body that administers the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national teams, ...

. Nonetheless, Atik joined Sheikh Jamal for the 2021–22 season, after he declared he would return the money he had taken from the other two clubs. He appeared in the 2021 Independence Cup, against both

Uttar Baridhara Club Uttar Baridhara Club () is a Bangladeshi football club, established in 1995, based in Kalachandpur, Baridhara, Dhaka. They currently compete in the Dhaka Senior Division League, the third tier of Bangladeshi football, following relegation from ...

and

Bashundhara Kings Bashundhara Kings () is a professional football club based in Bashundhara Residential Area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club competes in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top tier of the Bangladesh football league system. The club was established i ...

. Atik found limited game time in his lone year with the

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

based club, scoring his first goal, on 17 February 2021, in a league fixture against

Bashundhara Kings

In 2022, Atik moved to

. However, after not making a single appearance for the team in any competition, he joined

on loan during the second phase of the 2022–23 league season. On 4 April 2023, he made his debut Muktijoddha against his parent club Bashundhara Kings during the 2022–23 Federation Cup. On 8 April 2023, he scored for the club in his league debut, as they were dismantled 1–6 by Mohammedan SC.

International career

In 2015, Atik was an integral part the Bangladesh U16 team which won the

2015 SAFF U-16 Championship The 2015 SAFF U-16 Championship was the third edition of the SAFF U-16 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-16 national teams organized by SAFF. The tournament was hosted by Bangladesh from 9–18 of August, 2015 at ...

. He scored group-stage goals against both Sri Lanka U16 and India U16. He also converted his penalty as Bangladesh won the final 4–2 on penalties against India U16. In 2017, Atik played for the Bangladesh U23 team in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, under coach

Andrew Ord Andrew Ord (born 30 June 1979) is an English-Australian football coach who has held various roles in both International and club football throughout Asia. He is currently Head Coach of the Western Australia representative side. Career Early yea ...

. In the same year, he was selected for the Bangladesh U19 team which participated in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. On 6 November 2017, he scored a stoppage time own goal against Uzbekistan U19 in a 0–1 defeat. Nonetheless, his solid defensive performance during the game was praised by local media outlets. On 9 September 2021, following their 2021 Three Nations Cup exit, coach Jamie Day played Atik in an unofficial friendly between the Bangladesh national team and Kyrgyzstan U23, which ended in a 2–3 defeat. In 2023, he made the final national squad for the initially delayed

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, China.

Personal life

Atik is the oldest among three brothers, and was brought up in

of Bangladesh. In 2013, Atik's father Mohamed Badiuzzaman died of a stroke. However, due to Atik's mother, Hamida Begum, being the second wife, his family did not receive any financial support. His mother had to work as a cook in a hotel to support the family. According to Atik, his early life circumstances had given him even more desire to pursue a football career and achieve financial stability. In 2017, Atik was offered a job in the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

, however, he decided to focus on football and rejected the offer.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Youth

Honours

Dilkusha SC * Dhaka Third Division League: 2015 Arambagh KS * Independence Cup: 2017–18 Bangladesh U16 *

SAFF U-17 Championship The SAFF U-15/U-16/U-17 Championship is an annual international football competition contested by the national teams of the members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The first edition was held as ''SAFF U-16 Championship'', where most ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual * 2014 − ''

Best Player Award.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohamed, Atikuzzaman Living people 1999 births People from Sherpur District Bangladeshi men's footballers 21st-century Bangladeshi sportsmen Bangladesh men's youth international footballers Victoria Sporting Club players Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players Arambagh KS players Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club players Bashundhara Kings players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Chittagong Abahani Limited players Men's association football defenders Bangladesh Premier League footballers Footballers from Mymensingh Division