Grameenphone Federation Cup 2012
Ramu-torn Cox City pull out
The fallout from the recent attacks on Buddhist temples in Ramu of Cox’s Bazar has affected more aspects of life in Bangladesh than was immediately obvious, with the terrible series of events also taking a toll on the country’s sports.
Cox City Football Club, a local outfit of the coastal Cox’s Bazar district, pulled out of the Grameenphone Federation Cup as well as the Bangladesh Premier League as a majority of their players belonging to the Buddhist Barua family were affected.
“Eight of our local players are from the Ramu-based Barua family and two of those eight players — Dhiman Barua and Mutup Barua — were directly affected by the heinous attacks while others are upset by the incidents and are not in a position to play at the moment,” said Cox City FC organising secretary Khaled Mosharaf yesterday over the phone.
Cox City earned the right to play in the professional football league this season after emerging champions in the inaugural Bangladesh Championship League, the second-tier professional football league. But the newly-promoted club conveyed with regret their inability to take part in the Federation Cup to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Wednesday, following the incidents in ramu that rendered them unable to organise club activities and training.
“We are nervous about how to handle the club in such a situation and take part in the Federation Cup,” said Mosharaf. “Besides, we are also struggling to manage the donors as we are supposed to pay the players before October 10 and subsequently decided not to take part in the Bangladesh Premier League.”
Having sought to allow Cox City FC to play in the second-tier professional football league, Mosharaf said that they would accept whatever decision the BFF takes.
An emergency meeting of the professional football league committee yesterday decided to serve a show-cause notice on Cox City FC asking them why the federation should not take action against them.
BFF senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedy hinted that they might play the professional football league with nine teams after Cox City’s withdrawal and would promote two teams to the Bangladesh Premier League from the Bangladesh Championship League. On the other hand, one team will be demoted from the first-tier Premier League this season.
-With The Daily Star input
