[6] In 1964, after going through many legal implications, former Youth and Sports Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, Harunur Rashid got hold of the Dhanmondi field in Road No.

However, as an institution was needed to complete the transaction, in May 1966, Rashid established Abahani Samaj Kalyan Samiti, a social welfare association involved with sports, literature and culture.

Before the 1972 season went underway, Abahani had already made a name for themselves by attaining the service of the country's first "megastar" footballer, Kazi Salahuddin from Mohammedan SC.

[8] Abahani's first league squad consisted of: Abul Kashem, Muslim, Zubair, Abdus Sadek (captain), Sheikh Jamaluddin, Hashemuddin, Farooq, Jahangir Shah Badsha, Mozammel Quader, Kazi Anwar, Mohsin, QM Rafique Dipu, Ranjit Kumar Saha, Gafur Bhuiyan, Sheikh Farid, Kazi Abu Siddique, Golam Sarwar Tipu, Kazi Salahuddin, Amalesh Sen, Mohammad Hossain, Abdul Quader, Masood Hasan, Sheikh Ashraf Ali, Belal Hossain, Ali Imam (vice-captain) and coach Kabir.

Due to the political situation in the country Abahani's future was left uncertain and were on the path of disbanding only to be saved by some officials and players.

[10] Amidst the chaos Abahani lost the league title to Mohammedan, starting off the fierce rivalry between the two clubs, which was later branded as the Dhaka Derby.

The late 90s was a rebuilding era for Abahani, players like Monwar Hossain Nannu, Golam Rabbani Helal, Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu and Amalesh Sen were a major part of the club's return to glory.

The return of Kazi Salahuddin in 1976, was a major boost as he scored 14 goals during their unbeaten 1977 league triumph and again in 1978, helping Abahani retain the title.

Although Mohammedan SC were crowned the first league winners of the new decade, Abahani responded with the signings of Sri Lankan defender Pakir Ali and Rahmatganj MFS midfield maestro Ashish Bhadra.

[12] The Ashish–Babul combination in the midfield served both the club and the country with great distinction, as Abahani won the league in 1981, and were joint champions of the Federation Cup alongside Mohammedan.

There was confusion inside the Abahani camp as well, Salahuddin who had retired the previous year, was made the head coach replacing Ali Imam, who had just won them successive league titles.

[12] A year before Salahuddin had retired, Abahani brought in striker Sheikh Mohammad Aslam from Mohammedan, Aslam went onto terrorize the Dhaka field, being named the league's top goal scorer for 4 consecutive years (1984 to 1987), scoring 17 goals during Abahani's hattrick winning season and also helped the club win their second Federation Cup in 1985.

Abahani made marquee signings of their own by bringing in Iraqi duo Samir Shaker and Karim Allawi both of whom played in the 1986 World Cup, and also completed the transfer of 19 year-old teenage sensation Monem Munna.

On 9 September 2022, three days after the previous encounter, the title deciding game between Abahani-Mohammedan got underway, and after repeated police intervention, the high-voltage match which saw two players sent off after a scuffle, ended 0–0.

They were also able to win India's historic Sait Nagjee Trophy in 1989, under Yugoslavian head coach Marko Velich, they defeated previous years winner Salgaocar FC, 1–0 in the final, Aslam was the lone scorer.

In late 1991, Monem Munna returned to Abahani from India, and the club officials paid him a record fee of 20 lakh taka, which made nationwide headlines, preventing his move to Muktijoddha SKC.

Among all the departures, Sheikh Aslam and Monem Munna remained loyal to the club, and carried on the team's legacy for the following few years, by winning consecutive league titles from 1994 to 1995.

In 1994, Abahani defeated Kolkata Mohammedan in the final of India's Charms Cup, with goals from Mamun Joarder and Zulfiker Mintu.

The joy did not last long as, Aslam who had 119 goals for the club, hung up his boots in 1996, while Munna was forced to retire in 1997, due to kidney complicacy.

However, Cruciani departed midway through the season, and it was the local striker Zahid Hasan Ameli who lead Abahani to the title, by scoring 12 league goals under club legends Satyajit Das Rupu and Amalesh Sen who served as the team manager and head coach respectively.

[28] After securing the 2010 Federation Cup trophy, Amalesh Sen's Abahani side became the first club to win hattrick B.League titles with their 2009–10 Bangladesh League triumph, and striker Enamul Haque also became the first local golden boot winner in B.League history.

[31] They also managed to win the 2012 BPL, nonetheless Abahnai's record in continental competitions remained dismal, failing to advance past the group stages of the AFC President's Cup after five attempts.

[34] On 5 January 2018, Abahani emerged as Bangladesh Premier League champions for the record sixth time, after they edged Sheikh Jamal DC 2–0 to confirm their second straight title with a game in hand.

[38][39] Sohel Rana and Nabib Newaj Jibon scored once apiece while Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba netted a brace.

Regarding the design, Rahid said "The flag of the United Nations is blue, we take that color from there and to make it bloom better, I wrote Abahani below with yellow paint.

During the mid-1970s Abahani players were constantly targeted, by rival supporters and football authorities because of political disputes, even more so after Sheikh Kamal's assassination in 1975.

In the return game during the league, with Mohammedan SC leading 1–0, a fight broke between fans and players, and the match was called off with Abahani withdrawing.

[50] The early years saw many violent confrontation between fans of both clubs, usually leading to police intervention or matches to be played behind closed doors, such as in 1987 when Mohammmedn SC secured the league title.

[48] Some of Abahani's notable wins include the 1986 Federation Cup match, when Sri Lankan striker Premlal scored the first ever hattrick in a Dhaka Derby.

[53] While home matches have predominantly been played at the 36,000 capacity Bangabandhu National Stadium as, the domestic league regularly took place at a single venue.