The Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited footballers faced an unwanted situation on Tuesday when they tried to enter the Arambagh field to do their regular practice without taking permission from the Bangladesh Football Federation. Some local boys blocked the Mohammedan players from entering and resorted to expletives as the students of Arambagh academy had previously failed to go through their scheduled practice session on Monday due to the presence of the Motijheel club.
Mohammedan are one of the football powerhouses of Bangladesh but they are yet to find a permanent training ground for their footballers.
Due to a lack of a training ground, the Mohammedan football team practised in four different fields in the ongoing season and as a result it was difficult for the players to focus on their game.
Mohammedan recently hired the Lalmatia Housing Society School and College field for the current season. Besides that, the Black and Whites also trained at the BUET field, the astro-turf field at Arambagh and at their own club ground.
‘We are yet to find a practice ground for our football team due to a crisis of places,’ said Mohammedan’s director in charge of administration, Lokman Hossain Bhuyan. ‘Due to the blockades, it was not possible to send the team to Lalmatia so they went to practise at Arambagh instead.’
Lokman claimed that they were looking for a place at Savar where they will set up a training ground.
‘We are trying to acquire 25 acres of land at Savar but it is a tough job for us to obtain the land from the government. Before that happens, we have to face this kind of crisis,’ said Lokman.
Meanwhile, a BFF official said that they could have provided a solution to the problem only if they were informed before citing that Mohammedan could have practised at the Motijheel turf.
‘We utilise the artificial turf [at Motijheel] for the national side’s training sessions. Other than that we also organise courses for coaches and referees there [Motijheel turf]. On top of that, many local footballers love to play there. And it is not possible for us to give permission [for Arambagh turf] to anybody without any notice,’ said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Sohag.
-With New Age input
