After a lot of uncertainty, the third edition of the Super Cup will finally begin on June 14 and conclude on June 25, BFF president Kazi Salahuddin announced after
meeting club officials at the BFF house on Thursday.
However, the championship money has been decreased from Tk one crore to Tk 50 lakh by the BFF as requested by several club officials.
The runners-up side will be awarded Tk 20 lakh while the other participating teams will pocket Tk 15 lakh each.
With the exception of Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited, all the other Bangladesh Premier League teams confirmed their involvement in the Super Cup. Salahuddin informed that Mohammedan are yet to confirm their participation and they will notify their decision today.
Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, member in charge of administration of Mohammedan cited a lack of preparation behind their initial announcement of not partaking in the Super Cup.
The decision to rearrange the Super Cup means the previous verdict of hosting the cash-rich event in November is now canceled. Salahuddin also verified that the schedule of the Super Cup will be unchanged.
The club officials also agreed with the BFF president’s choice of arranging the Super Cup without foreign players.
‘I know that the clubs have many difficulties but they agreed to play in the Super Cup for the greater interest of football,’ said Salahuddin after the meeting with club officials.
‘The budget of the Super Cup will be the same but we decided to reshuffle the prize money according to the request of the clubs. Now the champion team will be awarded Tk 50 lakh instead of Tk one crore and the runners-up team will receive Tk 20 lakh. The participating teams will be allocated Tk 15 lakh each,’ he added.
Eight BPL teams will be invited to take part in the tournament and Salahuddin was hopeful that Mohammedan will also join in the momentous competition.
‘In the meeting, all the clubs except Mohammedan put forward a positive response to feature in the Super Cup. The Mohammedan officials assured me that they will let us know about their decision tomorrow [Friday].’
‘No foreign players will play in the tournament so the local players will get the opportunity to prove themselves ahead of the SAFF Football Championship in September at Nepal,’ Salahuddin told the reporters in the press briefing.
Nurul Alam Chowdhury, president of treble-winning side Sheikh Russell Krira Chakra, expressed his confidence on claiming another title in the upcoming tournament to go with their Federation Cup, Independence Cup and BPL titles this season.
‘Some difficulties might occur. I have duly noted that some of my key players have already decided to leave my club and confirmed about joining another club. But they are all professional players and we have a contract with them till August so I am hopeful that they will give their all for another crown,’ said Alam.
Monjur Kader, president of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, earlier differed with the decision of hosting the Super Cup before the transfer period but lastly he also agreed to play the most prestigious tourney next month.
‘We have many problems. We suffered in the goalkeeping position throughout the last season. Our captain, midfielder [Enamul Haque] Sharif has not fully recovered from the injury. Shakil [Ahmed] is also recuperating from a knee injury.’
‘At this moment it will be difficult to set up the best eleven but we will participate in the Super Cup due to the greater interest of football,’ he said.
-With New Age input
