Bangladesh football has been witnessing mixture of excitement and dismay over the past few months. While Hamza Choudhury’s introduction has taken the hype surrounding the men’s team to an all-time high, the euphoria following the women’s team’s successful defence of SAFF Women’s Championship last year has soured due to a long-standing rift between the senior players and the head coach. To know about his views regarding the issues surrounding both teams, The Daily Star’s Atique Anam contacted Bangladesh Football Federation president Tabith Awal . Here are the excerpts of the interview:

The Daily Star (DS): You sat with the six senior women’s footballers on Saturday. Was it just a courtesy meeting or was there more to it?

Tabith Awal (TA): It is the mandate and obligation of the federation to routinely speak to all players concerned and especially those involved with the national teams.

DS: Does the departure of senior players before the coach’s arrival mean the process of their reintegration and contract signing is stalled for the moment or has there been any headway made?

TA: It’s a leading question, with speculation so I will respectfully not comment.

DS: With the opponents in Asian Cup Qualifiers already fixed, has there been any discussion by you or the women’s wing chairman with head coach Peter Butler regarding the standoff with 18 senior players and how many players he wants to start his camp with?

TA: We are in continuous discussion with all stakeholders to prepare for the AFC qualifiers. Our pre-training camp will have a revolving philosophy to accommodate as many talented players as possible. Then we will split the training sessions to prepare for both the women’s senior team and the women’s under-20 team.

DS: Has there been any demands or suggestions made by the players regarding their contracts or when they are willing to join the camp?

TA: It’s the current policy of BFF not to discuss individual contracts or discussions with individual players.

DS: What was your impression of the men’s team’s performance against India and which areas do you think need improvement?

TA: As a tournament, we are happy with one point from a draw and that too from an away match. As an individual match, we played to win and could have won. We need to scores goals and I am confident we will.

DS: Hamza Choudhury showed his class in his first game for Bangladesh, even with five days’ training with the team. People’s interest about the men’s team is probably at an all-time high. How should BFF cash in on the arrival of Hamza to make long-term progress?

TA: BFF doesn’t single out any individual player. We treat and respect all members of the national team equally. Hamza has definitely helped us to raise the level and quality of our game. We hope to now build the future teams at a higher quality of football as we now know what level we need to achieve.

DS: What is BFF’s stance regarding overseas-based players who have the interest of representing Bangladesh and possess a certain standard?

TA: Anyone of Bangladeshi origin can be considered for the national team as long as they qualify to the standards and are able to play according the Bangladeshi football philosophy. We don’t differentiate between players in the domestic league or any other leagues.

DS: The exclusion of Fahamedul Islam from the squad for the India game, especially after the coach himself brought him from Italy, created a lot of controversy. There have been talks of syndicates and locals not being supportive of foreign-based players. How will BFF address these concerns, going forward?

TA: This is a very uninformed question.

DS: Jamal Bhuiyan’s absence from the playing XI , too, raised questions. Have you or the technical committee had any discussion with the head coach or his coaching staff regarding the technical aspects, including the selection, of that game? If yes, what was the outcome?

TA: All our players are equally talented and able to represent their country while supporting each other. We have SAFF ahead to win and AFC ahead to qualify and a pool of 30 players who will all be needed at various times.