Since the beginning of this month, every conversation in the country’s sports community has centered on football. Unfortunately, most of these discussions have been about administrative failures, such as the Bangladesh Football Federation’s (BFF) inability to send the senior women’s team to the Paris Olympic Qualifiers, or more sordid off-field affairs, such as FIFA’s sanctions against the former general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation for financial irregularities.
Before events took yet another unseemly turn during an awkward and inexcusable conversation between two BFF higher-ups, the formation of the investigation committee made to look into Shohag’s breaches and their mode of operation provided more topics for discussion.
The national football scene has deteriorated to a sad state, despite the fact that football was the most popular sport in the country immediately following the country’s freedom. The deterioration has been especially pronounced during the time when legendary footballer Kazi Salahuddin has been in charge, which spans the previous 14 years.
The current FIFA Rankings, which place Bangladesh at position 192 out of 211 countries, might provide some insight into the way that football has been organized over the course of its history. The cries of football fans from all across the country have been ignored by those in charge of making decisions, who have not even been able to formulate and adhere to a precise strategy for the future of the sport.
In most cases, the catch-all phrase ‘budget restrictions’ is used in response to demands, and this was the case with the BFF’s failure to send the women’s team to the Paris Olympic Qualifier tournament. Concerns of this nature were, however, rendered moot when the BFF unexpectedly presented an extravagant proposal costing 10 million dollars to welcome the world champions Argentina in a friendly match against an opponent who had not yet been chosen.
Because “it would not be possible to prepare the venue before the game,” the BFF president finally broke his silence on the matter yesterday, confirming that the plan will no longer be implemented. This comes after months of radio silence on the matter.
However, FIFA’s disclosure of financial irregularities — more specifically, “for having used false and/or falsified documents to justify payments made by the BFF with FIFA funds” — raised more questions than it answered.
In spite of calls for vital answers and the establishment of an impartial inquiry committee to look into those punishments, the investigation committee was constituted with 10 BFF officials, of which two have since resigned from their positions. In an even more perplexing turn of events, the remaining eight members of the inquiry committee have not yet found the time to get together, despite the fact that the group was created more than two weeks ago. This offers yet another insight into the mentality of the BFF.
In the aftermath of the conclusions made by FIFA, Salahuddin had the opportunity to take action to restore the harm done to the country’s reputation in the world of football. However, he chose not to do so. Instead, he got himself into trouble by making derogatory statements about journalists and by making insulting remarks about their parents.
Instead of spending one’s energy on something that is so negative, it can be more productive to concentrate one’s attention on the information, the facts, and the proof. In his job as president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), Salahuddin is unable to evade the obligations that come with the part he has played in the demise of football in the country or the financial irregularities that have occurred inside his organization.
As the steward of the sport across the country, he needs to shift his attention to issues that occur on the field and the revitalization of football.