Bangladesh Police

Early years

The club was established during the British Raj in Dhaka as the recreational section of the Dhaka Police under the Indian Imperial Police. Although it was occasionally referred to as Dhaka Police Athletic Club, contemporary sources more commonly identified it simply as Police Athletic Club. The team was initially composed of players employed as constables in the police force, although the club soon began recruiting footballers into the police through a sports quota. In 1942, the Policemen became unbeaten champions of the Dhaka Football League Second Division, winning all six of their matches to finish with the maximum 12 points, two ahead of runners-up Siddeswari Club. Their triumph secured promotion to the First Division. However, the club was relegated back to the Second Division prior to the partition of India.

Return to the First Division

Following Partition, the Dhaka team of the East Pakistan Police continued to compete in the Dhaka Football League. In 1949, the club earned promotion to the First Division after finishing as runners-up to Tejgaon Friends Union in the Second Division. They subsequently established themselves as a consistent mid-table side in the top flight throughout the pre-independence period. On 14 August 1957, Police were crowned joint champions of the Independence Day Football Tournament alongside Dhaka Wanderers Club after the final ended in a 1–1 draw at the Dhaka Stadium. The match was attended by the Chief Minister of East Pakistan, Ataur Rahman Khan. Following the draw, Police won a coin toss, giving them the right to retain the trophy for the first six months.

In 1959, the club strengthened its squad by recruiting Nabi Chowdhury, Zahirul Haque, and Kabir Ahmed from the Pakistan national team. On 14 August, Police once again reached the final of the Independence Day Football Tournament, where they shared the title with Azad Sporting Club after the match ended level. As in 1957, the trophy's initial six-month custody was decided by a toss, which was won by Azad Sporting Club. In the same year, the club also reached the second round of the 1959 Aga Khan Gold Cup, where they were defeated 4–2 by Karachi Port Trust. Between 1959 and 1967, Dhaka Police won the Zakir Hussain Shield, the trophy awarded in the Provincial Police Football Tournament, for seven consecutive years.

Stagnation, relegations and professional league

After the independence of Bangladesh, control of the club was taken over by the Bangladesh Police. The Policemen were among the fifteen clubs that resumed participation in the Dhaka Football League First Division in 1972. However, after the 1972 season was abandoned midway, the club finished the 1973 season in 12th place. In 1975, they finished as runners-up in the Independence Cup, losing 0–1 to BIDC in the final. The following decade saw the Policemen consistently battle against relegation before they were finally relegated in 1982, bringing an end to the club's 32-year stay in the top flight.

The club made a comeback to the First Division after securing the runners-up position in the Second Division during the 1989–90 season. However, their stay in the top flight was curtailed after experiencing another relegation in the 1992 season. In 1993, following the inception of the Premier Division, Police's Second Division triumph during the 1994 season which concluded in 1995 meant that the club would participate in the 1995 First Division, which began serving as a second-tier. The club spent two years in the First Division before facing relegation once again in 1998.

Since 1999, Police spent 15 years in the Second Division before a new generation, inspired by Amirul Islam, was crowned league champions in the 2013–14 season. The club was directly promoted to the Bangladesh Championship League after meeting the criteria required to enter the professional football league, and the club officially registered to participate on 14 October 2015. During this time, Police also participated in the 2011–12 and 2013 editions of the Federation Cup, without finding much success. The club started going by Bangladesh Police AC, following their promotion to the professional league.

The club entered the Championship League from the 2014–15 season and concluded their inaugural season in the second-tier professional league in 4th place. Police finished mid-table in the subsequent two seasons and barely contended for promotion. On 12 May 2019, following a 1–0 victory over Wari Club, Police secured promotion to the Bangladesh Football League with three games still remaining in the 2018–19 Bangladesh Championship League. On 26 May 2019, Police were officially announced as champions after defeating Feni Soccer Club 5–1 in the season finale. The club's lethal striker, Amirul Islam, scored four goals, including his second hat trick of the season during the match, and finished as the league's top scorer with 17 goals.

Bangladesh Football League era

Police began the 2019–20 season with the 2019 Federation Cup, where they crashed out after being defeated 3–0 by Bashundhara Kings in the semi-finals. Thus, the Federation Cup campaign of Police FC ended. The club, which throughout its history has mainly consisted of employed police constables, signed four foreign players, including Puerto Rico national team striker Sidney Rivera. On 16 February 2020, Police began their 2019–20 Premier League campaign with a 0–2 defeat to Dhaka Abahani. In its following games four days later, Police salvaged a point with a 1–1 draw with Bashundhara Kings, thanks to an own goal from Kings defender Nurul Naium Faisal. On 24 February 2020, Police secured their first-ever victory in the professional league, defeating Uttar Baridhara 2–1. The club's goals came from Sidney Rivera and Antonio Laskov. Nevertheless, their first season in the professional league only lasted for five matches, as domestic football was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The club was also renamed to Bangladesh Police FC soon after their entry to the professional top-tier.