Salahuddin wants an end to match-fixing

After a season of packed international football including the SAFF Championship and the SA Games, local football scene was expected to bring crowds pouring to the stadia.
But deep into current Bangladesh League season when the title fight is racing towards a close, crowd enthusiasm is nowhere to be found.
The big teams play at the Bangabandhu National Stadium before almost empty stands. The picture is same for the other five venues across the country where the league is taking place. It is widely regarded that the unabated match-fixing culture is debilitating the attempt of regaining popularity.
There has been numerous occasions in the current season where the games turned into some sort of mockery, for the lack of competition and spirit amongst the teams, suggesting something unholy going beneath.
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin is very concerned about the situation and is eager to take corrective measures to bring back fairness and popularity to the game. He was talking to reporters yesterday at the BFF House after returning home from a personal visit abroad.
“While abroad, I had been following what was going on in the league and I am very frustrated by the current situation. This cannot go on. We will have to go for some action to stop match-fixing. I am a disciplinarian and won’t tolerate any indiscipline. What’s the use of a Bangladesh League without spectators?” said country’s star of the seventies and eighties.
“We are talking with the concerned authorities about how to curb this menace. We are looking to take assistance from CID and Police to stop match-fixing. We have video-tapes of all matches which can be provided to solve the crisis.”
It may be mentioned here that BFF sent a letter to CID on March 29 requesting for their assistance to tract match-fixers.
The charismatic president of the football federation has other ideas as well to make the league more attractive. He is negotiating to lure a few more strong teams into the league to make it more competitive and attractive.
“I am looking to introduce at least two more strong teams into the league, who will have the financial strength to fight the established big names. I think that will work to break the monopoly and thereby eradicate match-fixing. I would expect total support of media in this venture,” concluded Salahuddin.

Courtesy of The Daily Star