BFF sacks Gerard Jones after U-20 side’s Syria defeat
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has terminated the contract of Bangladesh U-20 head coach Gerard Jones with immediate effect, just hours after the youth side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Syria in their second AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifier in Tashkent on Thursday.
BFF president Tabith Awal confirmed to The Daily Star today that the federation had issued a termination letter to Jones.
In a letter addressed to Jones, the BFF said it had decided to terminate his employment “with immediate effect” in accordance with the termination provisions of his contract, which was signed on June 9, 2026.
The federation also instructed the English coach to hand over all BFF property in his possession to Bangladesh U-20 team manager Sameed Quasem, including his identity card, keys, documents, equipment and other materials.
According to the letter, the BFF will settle all outstanding financial dues owed to Jones and arrange an air ticket for his preferred destination.
The federation further instructed Jones to refrain from any in-person communication or interaction with Bangladesh U-20 players and officials for the remainder of the tournament, except for team manager Quasem and assistant team manager Oyon Mallick.
The decision comes as Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the AFC U-20 Asian Cup finals hang by a thread following their second successive defeat in Group B.
Bangladesh were beaten 2-0 by hosts Uzbekistan in their opening match on Monday before Syria inflicted a heavier defeat on Thursday. The result leaves the Young Tigers needing to beat India in their final match while also relying on a complicated set of results involving Uzbekistan, India and Syria.
The top eight group winners and seven best runners-up will qualify for the Asian Cup finals.
The latest setback is a particularly disappointing outcome for a team that travelled to Uzbekistan with considerable optimism after winning the SAFF U-20 Championship earlier this year.
Under Jones, Bangladesh spent July and August in a training camp in Jashore as the coaching staff sought to build on that regional success. Five overseas-origin players were also brought into the squad as part of preparations aimed at ending Bangladesh’s 24-year wait for an AFC U-20 Asian Cup appearance.
The team’s preparations, however, were far from smooth.
Just days before the squad’s departure for Uzbekistan, Jones and assistant coach Atiqur Rahman Meshu were reportedly involved in a scuffle, raising questions about the atmosphere within the camp.
The uncertainty deepened with a bizarre pre-departure press conference where neither the coaching staff nor any player appeared.
Those off-field concerns have now been followed by two defeats on the pitch—and the departure of the head coach with Bangladesh’s qualification hopes on the brink.
With Jones now out of the picture, the BFF faces the immediate challenge of managing the team through its final group match against India, while Bangladesh’s players must somehow regroup and produce a victory to keep their already slim qualification hopes alive.
Although Meshu was not included in the official team list for Bangladesh’s first two matches against Uzbekistan and Syria, he is now set to take his place in the dugout and oversee the team in their final group match against India on August 6.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. For a campaign that began with the ambition of ending a 24-year wait, Bangladesh now find themselves fighting simply to stay alive.
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