Ready or not, the BFL begins today

Most clubs are set to kick off their Bangladesh Football League campaigns when the 18th edition of the country’s professional league begins at five venues today.

The league has expanded to 13 teams for the first time in five years after the Bangladesh Football Federation froze relegation and promoted an additional club to the top tier. With national-team players spread across different clubs and several strong squads assembled, there had been hopes of a competitive campaign.

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With the national team preparing for the ASEAN Cup from September 24 to October 5, most clubs were uncertain whether the league would start on time. They had also submitted a six-point demand to the BFF and expected the league to begin after the ASEAN Cup.

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“We never raised any questions over the extension of the club licensing for five times for three clubs -- Abahani, Bashundhara Kings and Fakirerpool Young Men's Club -- but the federation did not give us any time to get prepared for the league, rather the federation insulted us not replying to our demands,” said Mohammedan SC director-in-charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, adding that their patrons could lose interest in investing in football if they fail to get success despite spending heavily.

PWD SC manager Iftekharul Islam said, “We could have got the clear idea about the start of the league if the federation would have revealed the league fixtures one or two days after the close of transfer window closed on Sept 3 but they disclosed it on Sept 13, just five days before the start of the league.”

Limited build-up

Only City Club had reached their venue in Gopalganj when this report was filed, while the other seven teams playing outside Dhaka remained in the capital. Most planned to travel shortly before their matches and return afterwards.

Fortis FC, Bangladesh Police FC and City Club had seven to eight weeks of preparation. Kings, Abahani and Rahmatganj MFS had less than two weeks, while Fakirerpool and Wanderers Club trained for only three days. Brothers Union and Chittagong City FC began training yesterday.

Big-spending Mohammedan had yet to begin their pre-season and planned to start today without their foreign coach.

“We are afraid of losing more players in coming days as the players have risks to sustain injuries in the game as they are not fit to play 90-minute game,” said Rahmatganj coach Kamal Babu.

Fakirerpool YMC general secretary Ahmad Ali said, “We never participate in the league match on the back of such preparation. We are just going to play the match as we have to play.”

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Incomplete squads

Abahani were struggling to fill a 23-member squad for today's match, with four players in the national team and their foreign recruits yet to arrive in Dhaka. They had only 18 players available, with two joining training the day before yesterday.

Several clubs had also delayed bringing their foreign recruits to Dhaka because of uncertainty over the league's start. Four Pakistani players signed by different clubs are unavailable because of Pakistan's involvement in the upcoming ASEAN Cup.

“I think the federation could have organised the Federation Cup at the start of October as part of the pre-preparation of the league and then hold the league, then every clubs have good proper preparation for the league,” said Abahani coach AKM Maruful Haque, questioning why a certain club received a first-round bye while Abahani did not.

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Venue and coverage concerns

Venue management is another concern. Poor management at most venues last time made it difficult for journalists to cover matches, while questions were also raised about playing-surface standards.

The league will now be played at seven venues, raising questions over whether the BFF can maintain standards after struggling to do so at five venues last season.

The federation issued a tender for event-management vendors only yesterday. Also, there has been no clear notice on how the matches would be available on digital platforms, despite previous questions over the standard of television coverage.

BFF's decision to hold domestic matches during a FIFA window has also raised questions, as clubs will have to play without their national-team players.