SPORTS REPORTER

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Sunday narrowed its shortlist of candidates for the national team’s head coach to 26, with European and Latin American applicants dominating the pool.

A four-member committee, including BFF technical director Saiful Bari Titu, has been tasked with reviewing applications. Despite the submission deadline set for April 30, the committee has already reduced the number of applicants from around 270 to 26.

“On Saturday, we cut the list down to 30, and today [Sunday] we have brought it down to 26, which features coaches from Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil, along with one from Bangladesh,” BFF technical committee chairman Kamrul Islam Hilton told The Daily Star.

He added that Zulfikar Mahmud Mintu is the sole Bangladeshi coach to be among those shortlisted.

Hilton further revealed that the number of goalkeeping coach candidates has been reduced to 10, which includes local coach Nuruzzaman Noyon.

“We will meet once or twice more before forwarding the final shortlist to the National Teams Committee by April 30. Applications are still coming in and we are waiting to see if any more high-profile coaches submit their CVs,” he said.

Responding to queries about the selection process, Hilton explained that candidates are being assessed based on several criteria, including professional coaching licences, an age range of 40 to 60, prior experience with national teams, and familiarity with working in Asia, among other factors.