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Season delay in view amid 6-week prep demand
SPORTS REPORTER
The country’s 2024-25 football season was originally scheduled to get underway today with the lone match of the newly introduced Challenge Cup, but the recent changes in the country’s political scene deferred the season’s opening by three weeks, with a tentative start date of October 4.
However, the majority of clubs have requested at least six weeks for preparation before the season begins. If the demand is met, the season will commence after the upcoming Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) elections, scheduled to take place on October 26.
Of the 10 participating teams in the Bangladesh Premier League, defending champions Bashundhara Kings have already kickstarted their preparations, considering their October-November AFC Challenge League campaign. Bangladesh Police FC are also engaged in pre-season training, but the remaining eight clubs are eagerly awaiting the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting between the BFF Professional League Management Committee and the representatives of the participating clubs before beginning their pre-season activity.
“We are waiting for Saturday’s meeting before making our decision to begin pre-season preparations, as we have already requested six weeks for preparation,” said Abahani manager Nazrul Islam, adding that they were originally supposed to start their pre-season on August 9 but could not proceed following political changeover on August 5.
Mohammedan SC coach Alfaz Ahmed said, “I believe a team need at least six to seven weeks for pre-season preparation. I also think BFF needs one to two months to prepare new grounds, as the clubs want to play at venues near Dhaka.”
Fortis FC manager Rashedul Islam also stressed on the importance of a six-week preparation period, informing that their preseason training was also supposed to begin in early August. “We are now waiting for Saturday’s meeting,” he said.
Rahmatganj MFS general secretary Imtiaz Hamid Sabuj wants the issue of bringing foreign players to be settled as well. “I think we may face issues bringing in foreign players because we’re unsure whether they will receive on-arrival visas after the government change. So, we need time to settle that matter as well as to prepare the team.”
“If the league committee allows the clubs six weeks of preparation from now, then the season is likely to start after BFF elections, and there could be uncertainty over the start of the season. Let’s see what decisions are made at the meeting on Saturday,” added Sabuj, also a BFF executive member.
Brothers Union manager Amer Khan, however, expressed that they do not want any decisions imposed on the clubs without their input.
“We believe the league committee must discuss the matter with the participating clubs, who are going through a very different situation than usual. The federation should understand the current state of the clubs, who also need time to restructure everything following the changeover.
“We need to know why the one-match Challenge Cup has been introduced and why the Independence Cup was excluded. We don’t even know the timeframe for the season or the league venues,” said Amer, also a BFF executive member.
The federation should understand the current state of the clubs, who also need time to restructure everything following the changeover.
Brother Union manager and BFF executive member AMER KHAN