As the dawn breaks in the New Year, everyone would love to forget the depressing sporting year of 2007 as soon as possible. A flickering hope of walking in the right way again would keep the sportsmen alive though, as the country tries to settle and bank on the coming sporting events to revive its reputation in the backdrop of players plunging into uncertainty and many considering ending their careers prematurely as money continued to dry up from the grim domestic sports scene.

What began with the footballers' demonstration in demand of starting domestic competitions has also become a concern for cricketers following a court battle of some clubs with the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Football, on the wane regarding popularity, lost another point to cricket as the country's first-ever professional league failed to draw a single full-house crowd.

Unfortunately, it turned into all but a table sport throughout the year as the governing body of the game ran into fire from the frying pan by the end of the season, a complement of his highness SA Sultan's (BFF president) crusade of upholding the FIFA mandate against the popular demand of his resignation.

The launching of the Pro League — or the B. League - as it is called, was perhaps the only plus-point for the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), which shelved all other tournaments including the very popular National League to make its newborn a success.

It provided food for less than 300 footballers - or the so-called professionals -- for 11 teams as the remaining players had to travel across the country to play 'khap' (on hire) in negligible tournaments to earn their bread. A few youngsters, not already forced to leave

the profession or go abroad for meagre jobs of petite salaries — were told to concentrate in other sports by their worried parents.

Despite lack of infrastructure to go pro, footballers and organisers welcomed the B. League with hope of giving a booster dose to the

'dying game' and put it back on the big stage.

With eventual winners Abahani facing Muktijoddha in the opener, the historic event kicked off on March 2 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Three teams from Chittagong and Khulna

joined eight clubs of the capital and although the standard of the game got higher, the crowd was not attending. Matches were played, even outside Dhaka, in empty stadiums as one of the tightest title chases in history of local football climaxed on July 27 when Abahani

beat Sheikh Russel 2-0 to secure the maiden professional league title and end a six-year trophy drought.

The league concluded five days later with Dhaka Mohammedan, who had formed the weakest possible team as far as the memory goes, successfully securing the runners-