Dhaka: Describing children as the future leaders of the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government has given special importance to sports and cultural practices to groom them as worthy citizens.

‘We want to build the country. Through sports children will gradually attain mental strength and physical fitness, learn discipline, perseverance, dutifulness, responsibility, sincerity and tolerance. That’s why we give immense importance to sports,’ she said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a trophy and prize distribution ceremony among the winners of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournaments-2017 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, reports the UNB.

She hoped that the little players who are playing in the tournaments will play in the World Cup one day. ‘I’m waiting for that day.’

Hasina mentioned that some 10,99,696 boys participated in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournament, 2017 while 10,99,611 girls took part in the Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournament-2017. ‘This number is big and it’s increasing every year.’

Hasina said the girls of Bangladesh became champions in the under-14 South Asian Football Tournament Championship while in India the women of the country became runners up in the Women Football Championship.

‘Most of these players came from the teams of Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournament,’ she said.

At the outset of her speech, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib saying that Bangladesh earned independence under the leadership of Bangabandhu.

Primary and Mass Education Minister Mustafizur Rahman also spoke.

Earlier, the Prime Minister witnessed the final of Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold Cup sitting at the VIP Lounge of Bangabandhu Stadium.

In the final of the Bangamata Gold Cup, Doharo Government Primary School of Shailkupa beat Mymensingh’s Pocharukhi Government School.

In the Bangabandhu Gold Cup final,Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua East Ujantia School defeated Bhulbaria Government Primary School of Pabna.