Prime Minister’s Spokesperson and Adviser Mahdi Amin on Monday said Prime Minister Gold Cup tournament will be a historic event in the country’s education and sports arena.

“To this end, extensive nationwide publicity, effective coordination and optimum monitoring will be ensured from the beginning to the end of the tournament,” he said.

Mahdi Amin made the remarks while speaking at a meeting of the Prime Minister Gold Cup Tournament National Standing Committee at the conference room of the Ministry of Education on Monday.

He said earlier, about 22 lakh students from all over the country participated in the primary level tournament, while over 11 lakh students in the secondary level competition.

However, he said, there were some limitations in proper publicity and branding of such a big event.

This time, initiatives have been taken to overcome the limitations and promote the tournament on a wider scale, the adviser said.

He said: “This time, one of our main goals is to strengthen the campaign and public relations activities, so that this event gets due importance in every media of the country and common people can get involved in it.”

Mahdi Amin said a strong committee has been formed for the overall management, campaign and coordination of the tournament.

He said the committee includes the relevant ministers, state ministers and senior officials of the government.

As a result, more effective coordination will be ensured in the planning and implementation of the event than before, he said.

He said a plan has been taken to transform the Prime Minister Gold Cup into a national festival.

“There are plans to organise an opening ceremony on the model of the World Cup, where there will be various creative events, theme song and other programmes with the participation of students,” the spokesperson said.

He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is planned to be present at both the opening ceremony and the final stage of this year’s tournament.

The journey of this event will start from outside Dhaka, so that students from all over the country get the opportunity to be equally involved, he said.

Mahdi Amin said the Prime Minister himself has decided the name of this tournament. The government aims to make it not just an annual sports competition, but a unique national event combining education, culture and sports for the next generation.

He said emphasis has also been given to increasing the involvement of elected representatives at the local level.

Initiatives are being taken so that local leaders, including members of parliament, encourage students in their respective areas and play an active role in the tournament activities, he said.

The spokesperson said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Local Government and various related ministries and departments will work in coordination to make this event a success.

He said through coordinated efforts from the grassroots level to the national level, the Prime Minister’s Gold Cup will be made into a quality event, which will also be an example for future national programmes.

Secretaries and officials of the concerned ministries and members of the National Standing Committee were present at the meeting.