Languid BFF shows mismanagement
The Bangladesh Football Federation finally released the partial fixture of Bangladesh Premier League on Thursday but not before the some drama behind the curtains.
With only 48 hours to go before the league starts, BFF struggled to decide how many rounds will be held in the opening phase in Chittagong.It was finally decided that three rounds will be held during the opening phase at the port city from July 24 to August 3, but BFF’s professional football league committee chairman Abdus Salam Murshedy himself was not convinced.
‘Due to the weather condition, I don’t think Chittagong venue [MA Aziz Stadium] will be in a position to hold 15 consecutive matches in such a short period,’ he said.
The league will get underway with the match between holders Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and newly promoted Arambagh Krira Sangha while Sheikh Russell Krira Chakra will face Uttar Baridhara in the second match of the opening day.
Salam was also concerned with the Mymensingh venue where the fourth and fifth round matches of the league will be held from August 5.
‘If the rain continues it will be difficult for us to hold next two rounds in Mymensingh.’
The fracas over fixture came amid glitzy build up to the league which saw a colourful logo and trophy unveiling ceremony in Dhaka followed by a musical concert in Chittagong last week.
BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag admitted the arrangement of programmes caused a delay in releasing the fixture of the league.
‘We had some other involvements like logo and trophy unveiling ceremony and concert in Chittagong. So it took us some time to publish the fixture,’ he said.
‘Due to some unavoidable circumstances we had to alter the fixture repeatedly which is also one of the main reasons over the delay.’
BFF also failed to release a full fixture that also raised quite a few eyebrows.
Insiders said that the decision of dropping Gopalganj’s Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium from the venue list created a furor in the BFF.
BFF dropped the venue following the requests of some participating clubs but insiders said they are now reconsidering the decision.
The delay also created some trouble for participating clubs and sponsors.
Mohammedan Sporting Club coach Jashimuddin Joshi said he failed to make a plan for not getting the fixtures.
‘It was really difficult for me to chalk a total plan with the team,’ said the coach.
‘If we were given the fixture at least a week ago then we could make a proper plan.’
Abahani Limited manager Sattyajit Das Rupu said they sought BFF
for a permanent domestic calendar for a long time but the BFF did not pay any heed.
‘In the current situation it was really tough for the clubs to prepare a team because nobody knows the starting and ending dates of a season,’ he said.
Brothers Union manager Amer Khan blamed BFF for lacking coordination.
‘Due to their carelessness, the clubs have to suffer a lot,’ he said.
Saif Global Sports Limited, the marketing rights holder of the league, also expressed their concern over the fixture issue.
‘It’s really embarrassing for us because the title sponsor asked for the final fixture repeatedly,’ SGSL chairman Tarafder Ruhul Amin said.
‘We are facing some trouble communicating with the broadcasters as they also require the final schedule to set their plans.’
-With New Age input
