The Dhaka league was officially established in 1948 while Bangladesh was the part of Pakistan. It was top-tier football league in Dhaka until Liberation war of 1971 and during this era Mohammedan Sporting Club and Dhaka Wanderers were the most successful teams sharing 7 league titles each.
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) was founded in 1972 but the league was unfinished in that season. In that year promoted Iqbal Sporting was transformed as Abahani Krira Chakra with the star signing of Kazi Salahuddin and other big names and they got success of winning the league title in 1974.
But in the previous year Team BJMC won the first league of Bangladesh football history. Dhaka league became so popular for the rivalry of Mohammedan and Abahani in the 1980s. Team BJMC, Brothers Union and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC formed strong teams, while Wari and Rahamatganj were the `Giant Killers’. Mohammedan striker Abdus Salam Murshedy made a history in 1982 by scoring a record 27 league goals in a season.
In 1993, BFF renamed the Dhaka league as the Dhaka Premier Division League and re-introduced the first-division league as the new second-tier.
In 2007, Bangladesh entered the professional football arena. The League was renamed as The B. League and now it is known as the Bangladesh Premier League. Abahani started the dominance and achieved a record 6 BPL titles till 2017-18. Next season Bashundhara kings promoted into the top league and made a significant change in country’s top-flight football. They established their supreme authority on the field by winning the last four league titles in a row.
In 2023-24 season ten clubs participate in the country’s top league.
