Senior division football league returns on Nov 15

After being sidelined for over a year, the Senior Division Football League -- Bangladesh's third-tier competition after the Bangladesh Premier League and the Bangladesh Championship League -- is finally set to resume on November 15.

A total of 20 clubs will take part in a round-robin format, with 190 matches planned. The month-long transfer window will run from October 1 to 30, revised from the original dates of September 15 to October 15.

Matches will initially be held on the newly-installed artificial turf at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur. However, the Dhaka Metropolis Football League Committee (DMFLC) is actively seeking two additional venues to ensure smooth scheduling and timely completion of the tournament.

Despite recent enthusiasm from the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) for launching newer formats like futsal and eFootball, the lower-tier leagues -- Senior, First, Second, and Pioneer -- have been largely neglected. Under the previous Kazi Salahuddin-led BFF executive committee, these leagues were organised only twice in the last five years, denying young players valuable match experience and forcing many to abandon their football ambitions.

"A lot of football academies have sprung up across the country, but budding players are quitting due to the lack of regular competitions," said Narayanganj-based coach Nipu Das on the sidelines of DMFLC meeting on Sunday. "Many non-school-going players are taking up jobs, leaving only students to stay involved in the game."

A club official named Arman echoed the concern. "There's no shortage of footballers to form squads, but quality is suffering because players don't get enough competitive matches. Most clubs are willing to take part if the league is held consistently."

DMFLC chairman and BFF vice-president Ahmed Aref admitted the delay in restarting the league but reaffirmed the committee's commitment. "We took extra time because several clubs were restructuring their committees following August, 2024. There were also logistical challenges," said Aref. "Still, I told the clubs -- we must move forward. We're determined to organise all lower-tier leagues under our committee without further delay."

With the league finally returning to the pitch, players, clubs, and fans are hopeful that this marks the beginning of a more consistent and competitive football structure in Bangladesh.