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Are we destined only to watch the downfall?
BISHWAJIT ROY
Nowadays, hardly anybody shows interest in Bangladesh’s declining football scene unless the women’s or girls’ teams deliver something special.
However, Bangladesh football took centre stage and dominated headlines for the last few weeks, but for all the wrong reasons.
It all started at the end of March, when the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), citing financial constraints, pulled its team from the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Football Qualifying Tournament.
Following that, a FIFA-imposed suspension on BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag “for having used false and/or falsified documents to justify payments made by the BFF with FIFA funds” triggered intense criticism from every nook and cranny and lay bare the lack of proper governance under the leadership of federation president Kazi Salahuddin.
Yet, the Salahuddin-led committee appeared indifferent to any criticism and the way they washed their hands of the Shohag controversy after an executive meeting on Monday led many to question if they were destined to simply watch the downfall of the nation’s once most popular sport.
During a 20-minute press meet, BFF senior vice-president and finance committee chairman Abdus Salam Murshedy was in an even more dismissive mood than his president regarding their responsibility.
He not only said that “if there is forgery, he [Shohag] did it individually” and that “the finance committee would not take any blame”. But he also reminded reporters about the difficulties of taking any decision against this elected body due to FIFA’s strict supervision.
The BFF came to the conclusion that any wrongdoing happened on account of Shohag, as if the general secretary rather than the all-powerful BFF president was calling the shots. Still, they formed an inquiry committee with their own men to unearth, in their words, “what happened and why it happened”.
An idea of what happened can be gleaned from FIFA’s exhaustive 51-page findings, but for the greater interest of the game, there is a need to know why it happened and who was responsible.
The BFF, as a professional body, must have procedures in place to deal with any financial issue. One man cannot be solely responsible for everything.
Salahuddin also did not deny that there were faults in the system.
So how then can those involved in the system unearth the truth? If the BFF was sincere, they could have invited an independent inquiry committee to unearth the facts.
“I didn’t even know that they bought a bus [for the women’s football team] because it was purchased by the purchase committee. The cheque is signed by any two of three and I sign after Murshedy signs,” Salahuddin told The Daily Star last Saturday when asked about the irregularities in repairing and installing water pipes at the BFF House.
“Everybody in the BFF knows everything hundred per cent,” he added.
The statements clearly indicated that BFF followed a procedure when it came to handling such things and a professional like Murshedy, who is the managing director of a big corporate house, must know in detail how things happen in an organisation of such magnitude.
Whispers about financial irregularities in the BFF have been prevalent for a while and this presented an opportunity for them to clear the air by inviting an independent inquiry committee.
Instead, the BFF executive committee has decided that Shohag will not get any opportunities to work with the federation in the future. But should they have first allowed him to give his explanations to an independent inquiry committee?
There was a lot of hope when Salahuddin came to the helm of the BFF as many believed the champion striker would be able to restore the game to its previous stature. Now serving his fourth consecutive term since 2008, he brought more misery than glory to the game.
Now the question is whether he further damages his image by sweeping the issue under the rug or shows bravery and clears the air by taking responsibility for the mess in Bangladesh football.
Whispers about financial irregularities in the BFF have been prevalent for a while and this presented an opportunity for them to clear the air by inviting an independent inquiry committee.