Mitul Marma

Mitul Marma (মিতুল মারমা; born 11 December 2003) is a Bangladeshi Marma professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bangladesh Premier League club Sheikh Russel KC, which he captains and the Bangladesh national team.

Mitul has played for Bangladesh U15 and Bangladesh U23 too. He also won 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship with Bangladesh U-15.

Early career
Mitul's football journey was guided by Shantjit Tanchangya, a local teacher in Rangamati. He began with Bangabandhu Primary School Football and then represented the Rangamati District Team. In 2015, Mitul represented Noakhali Football Academy in the Pioneer League. In 2017, he played for Bangladesh Government Press SRC in the Dhaka Third Division League. In 2018, Mitul participated in the BFF U-18 Tournament with Mohammedan Sporting which led to him being selected for the Bangladesh U-15 team.

Club career
In 2020, Mitul joined Uttar Baridhara in the Bangladesh Premier League, after having been instrumental for Bangladesh in youth football in the previous few years. On 23 December 2020, he made his debut for the club against Saif, coming on as a substitute for Azad Hossain in the 80th minute during the 2020 Federation Cup. He went onto to make a total of 18 appearances in the league season, which earned him a senior national team call up later that year.

On 25 November 2021, Mitul joined Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi after his impressive stint with Uttar Baridhara. His transfer to the Dhanmondi based club came with controversy, as Uttar Baridhara filed an official complaint, accusing him of taking advanced payments. Mitul made five appearances in the league that year under coach Juan Manuel Martínez Sáez, however, following the appointment of Joseph Afusi, he spent the remainder of the season as a substitute.

On 7 August 2022, Mitul joined Premier League newcomers, Fortis FC. On 13 November 2022, he made his comeptitive debut for the against Sheikh Russel KC in the 2022 Independence Cup. In July 2023, he signed for Sheikh Russel.

Youth
Mitul played 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship for Bangladesh U-15. Mitul was sent off during a 2–1 victory over Nepal U15. He also started in the final, however, was substituted by Mehedi Hasan during the penalty shootout. Mitul also played two games in the 2018 UEFA Assist U-15 Development Tournament in Thailand.

Mitul was part of the Bangladesh U-19 team in both the 2019 SAFF U-18 Championship and 2020 AFC U-19 Championship qualification as a substitute. He also represented Bangladesh in the 2019 U19 Three Nations Tournament, an invitational tournament, hosted by Qatar Football Association.

Mitul was named in the Bangladesh U23 team by coach Maruful Haque for the AFC U-23 Championship 2022 qualifiers. On 2 November 2021, he started the last group stage match against Saudi Arabia U23 which concluded in a 3–0 defeat and during the game Mitul was replaced by goalkeeper Pappu Hossain in the first half.

Mitul represented the Olympic team at the 2022 Asian Games in Huangzhou, China. He appeared in all three group-stage fixtures where he produced impressive performances against both India U23 and hosts, China U23, keeping a cleansheet against the latter.

Senior
Mitul got his first call up to the Bangladesh national team in March 2021 as an under-23 standby player. In August 2021, Mitul was included in the 23-men final squad for the Three Nations Cup in Kyrgyzstan. He made his debut for Bangladesh against Kyrgyzstan U23 in an unofficial match on 9 September 2021.

On 12 October 2023, Mitul made his official debut for Bangladesh in their 1–1 draw with Maldives in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round.

Honours
Bangladesh U15
 * SAFF U-15 Championship: 2018