CA assures SAFF champions of fulfilling their demands

Bangladesh's SAFF Women's Championship winners relayed their individual and collective demands to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus during a reception accorded at CA's official residence yesterday morning.

The 23-member team along with head coach Peter Butler and team manager Mahmuda Akter Ananya attended the reception. The team gifted the Chief Adviser their signed jerseys and footballs.

"I congratulate you on behalf of the whole nation on achieving this success. The nation is grateful to you. The people of our country want success. You have brought us the success," the Chief Adviser told the players in his opening remarks, quoted a press release from the CA Press Wing.

The Chief Adviser carefully listened to the demands of the victorious players and promised to address them on a priority basis.

"Do not hesitate to write whatever you wish. We will try to fulfil your demands. If anything can be addressed now, we will do it now," Professor Yunus said.

The demands ranged from infrastructure issues in their respective localities to improving practice facilities. The players also brought up financial issues such as regularity of salaries and bonuses. However, the overriding demand from them was arrangement of permanent accommodation in Dhaka.

"Sir asked everyone what demands they have. Everyone said they would prefer to have accommodation in Dhaka. When their family members come, they have to put them up in hotels, which is not viable for all of them. So, we asked to have accommodation for the families," captain Sabina Khatun told reporters after returning to the BFF House.

"We basically asked for increasing our facilities. We will pose our demands to the new BFF president [Tabith Awal] because eventually he will be the one working on the matter," Sabina said.

Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud, who was present at the reception, later told reporters that they would discuss the players' unpaid salaries with the new BFF committee members and come up with a solution.

"As far as I know, two months' salary [of the players] are due. Earlier, there was a different committee of Kazi Salahuddin at the BFF. Now, there's a new committee and we will talk to them and resolve the matter so that even in the future no such occurrences take place," he said.

Meanwhile, team's manager Mahmuda lamented not being able to attend the reception with all 31 members of the SAFF winning team.

It has been learnt that the BFF had sent a list of all 31 members, but were asked by the sports ministry to have the 23 players, head coach and team manager attend the event, leaving out six members including assistant coaches, goalkeeping coach and physiotherapist.

"I had told them that we always go to any reception with the full team. This hampers team bonding," Ananya said. "We all want to be in the same frame next time."