Today, February 21, the world is observing International Mother Language Day. On this day in 1952, Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Shafiur, Jabbar, and many unnamed others sacrificed their lives demanding that Bangla be recognized as a state language.
The sporting community is also observing the day with due respect. The official FIFA World Cup Facebook page shared a special message marking the occasion.
Using a photo of Canadian expatriate Bangladeshi footballer Samit Som, FIFA wrote in the caption:
“Different languages, same emotion.”
A football and heart emoji accompanied the post. On Samit’s photo, the message in Bangla read:
“Football is our language.”
Through the Bengali language, FIFA highlighted that football, too, has its own universal language. However, the post was shared with custom privacy settings, and it appears that only Facebook users in Bangladesh can view it.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) extended its greetings on its official Facebook page, stating:
“In the renewed spirit of youth, Ekushey will remain everyone’s inspiration.”
“On behalf of the Bangladesh Football Federation family, we extend our greetings on International Mother Language Day.”
In addition, Bangladesh’s newly appointed State Minister for Sports, Aminul Haque, paid tribute to the language martyrs, writing:
“On the occasion of Great Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day 2026, I pay deep respect to all language martyrs.”
“The memory of those who sacrificed their lives to establish our mother tongue rights will remain forever immortal in the hearts of Bengalis.”
“Ekushey, stained with the blood of martyrs, is our pride and our identity.”
