Spectatorless domestic football, empty field

• Women's football's franchise league hanging up
• 'K Sports' financial problem with federation

'The federation cannot brand domestic league. They lack sponsor. It is federations’ responsibity to inform people, to take people, to reach out to the people. In this respect, Federation completely failed. They suddenly play games; Then suddenly game stops; Fixture's changes are all going on in a messy way. They can't handle themselves now; how do they handle football?'

Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu

Former footballer, Bangladesh national team

In Bangladesh, criticism is a regular aspect about football. The nation's football scene is currently in disarray as a result of several criticisms. How many football domestic league teams are there, if a spectator were to ask? The majority of people could be surprised. But when are the La Liga, Champions League, and English Premier League games? Maybe the majority of sports fans can know without even looking. But many don't likely know when or where the domestic league games are played in Bangladesh. However, it's difficult to gauge how much football is cherished in this nation.

There was a time when a newspaper called 'Stadium' would have come out during big games. Before the game began, more than 10,000 copies were sold only in and out of the gallery. The youth of local town used to come to Dhaka in groups to reserve buses and enjoy the game. The gallery was packed with spectators. Crowds flocked everywhere in every nook and cranny of the stadium.   

But that day of football is no more. To today's school and college kids, they may seem like some of the events of history. In the near future, there may come a day when our young people will not believe in the football heritage of this red and green country.

There will be a crowd of spectators in the gallery to watch a game, there will be long queues, tickets will be blackmarketed, there will be pushing, rushing, shouting as you enter the gallery along the line, then there will be no real fun of watching football. The love for the game will be revealed. But there is no such thing anymore. Currently, domestic league football does not have spectators on the field. The games are played in an empty field.

Former Bangladesh footballer Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu said, "There is no good game; Lack of good players. That's why the crowd doesn't want to go to the ground. If the players were playing well; then, of course, there would be spectators on the field.

"How can the crowd go to the ground; the crowd doesn't know when the match will take place; where would it be? Because they can't get this news to the audience. They can't campaign properly. This, of course, is a failure of the federation. The federation cannot brand the domestic league. They don't have sponsors. BFF's irregularities; No one wants to sponsor football anymore because of corruption. They lack money. All in all, they have put football on the back foot.

Chunnu said it was the responsibility of the federation to take them seriously. But the federation is not paying any heed to this. It is the responsibility of these federations to inform the people, to take people, to reach out to the people. In this respect, the Federation has completely failed.

The biggest thing here is that they suddenly play the game; Then suddenly the game stops; Fixture's changes are all going on in a messy way. They can't handle themselves now; How do they handle football?

Meanwhile, the Women's Super League was scheduled to start on May 15 with four teams. But that too is now hanging on. Earlier, Bashundhara Kings withdrew their name from the tournament. Not only that; the match was supposed to be held at Bashundhara ground, but they will not give the ground. All in all, the women's Super League game is also in uncertainty. On the other hand, the football federation will not allow K Sports to organize the Women's Super League unless the arrears of Tk 2.5 crore are paid. The BFF said a final decision in this regard will be taken at the next board meeting.

K Sports has announced to host the Women's Super League at a five-star hotel. But there is no initiative to resolve the financial difficulties that have arisen with the federation to make the tournament a success. After that announcement of March 13, there has been a change in the country's football. The BFF general secretary, who shared the same platform, has been banned for two years. The federation is shocked by the incident. WSL could have been a way to overcome that situation. But that too is now in the dark.

JH