Dhaka – Secretary General of Bangladesh District and Divisional Football Association (BDDFA) Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin on Saturday said Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) officials should offer apology to the nation for the football team’s failure in the just-concluded SA Games in Nepal.
He made the comment while exchanging views with journalists at the association office in the city.
BDDFA member Ashiqur Rahman Miku and general secretary of Narsingdi District Football Association Shahinul Islam Bhuiyan were, among others, present on the occasion.
Two-times champions, Bangladesh were miserably eliminated from the 13th SA Games football before reaching the final. They lost to Bhutan 0-1 while played 1-1 draw with the Maldives, beat Sri Lankan 1-0 and confirmed the elimination with 0-1 goal defeat against hosts Nepal in their last league match.
Although Bangladesh made a glorious record of bagging 19 gold medals this time in the history of any SA Games, clinching all 10 gold medals in archery, the frustrating results of football, country’s most popular game, in the month of victory faded the glory.
Bangladesh went to Nepal as one of the favourites for the football title, but they made a frustrating start suffering their first-ever defeat against Bhutan.
“BFF has neither taken any step nor made any comment on their failure and that of the Bangladesh football team in the month of victory. It’s shameful for us. The BFF officials should apologise for it,” Ruhul Amin, also president of Chattagram Abahani football committee, added.
He also demanded re-fixing the structure of Bangladesh football, saying, “If we don’t re-fix it, we’ll never get regular success.”
But, the present football officials are now busy making plans to win the next federation election instead of conducting any proper enquiry into the failure of the Bangladesh team in Nepal, Amin said.
Miku, also deputy secretary general of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), said, “The team wasn’t well-organised during the SA Games. We found some lacking in the team coordination. Besides, the football coach and team management were responsible for it.”UNB
