District league, women’s football in focus

Footballer-turned-politician Aminul Haque emphasised the importance of “neglected” district football league for overall football development, as well as the need to hold regional competitions for women footballers.

Aminul reiterated his views at a meeting with the BFF executive committee in the NSC conference room on Tuesday, marking his third consecutive meeting with sports stakeholders since his appointment as state minister for youth and sports following February 12 national polls.

“We have observed for many years that district-level leagues are often neglected. Although the BFF started the inter-district football tournament last year, we want to make district leagues a permanent fixture. We have discussed this with the BFF officials today,” said Aminul.

Since the formation of independent football bodies -- the district football associations -- in 2008, the district football league has virtually derailed due to the financial constraints faced by the associations, which have traditionally relied on support from the Bangladesh Football Federation.

However, the local game’s governing body has provided financial help four to five times to complete the district leagues over the last 18 years.

“We have sought cooperation from the BFF to create high-quality coaches in every district. If we can develop quality coaches at the district level, we believe we can advance the process of creating and monitoring new footballers while providing all necessary facilities,” said Aminul, adding that they will also strike an agreement with the BFF to hand over three stadiums: Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur, Sylhet Stadium and Chittagong Stadium.

The sports state minister also stressed the importance of domestic women’s football competitions, rather than focusing solely on international matches.

“Our goal is to enrich domestic football. We want to focus on age-based tournaments from upazila to district level,” Aminul said. “For our female players, we shouldn't just look at international matches; we need to focus on the regions from which these talented girls emerge. I have requested the federation to review whether we can organise more leagues in those specific regions to keep them engaged in the game.”

Aminul also acknowledged the presence of Hamza Choudhury and the continued success of the women’s football team on the international circuit, while emphasising the need to bring both men’s and women’s national team players under a structured pay scale.

“You know that several players, including the Bangladeshi-origin Hamza Choudhury, are now representing Bangladesh at the international level. As a result, Bangladeshi football is becoming significantly more enriched and robust than ever before.

“We hope to sustain this momentum. To encourage both our male and female footballers -- especially given the excellent performances of our women's team.

“We have reached a significant decision, which you are already aware of. Since we want to establish sports as a profession, we intend to bring the players currently representing the national teams under a structured pay scale. We will include these footballers in a permanent, government-backed, contract-based monthly salary framework.”

BFF vice president Nasser Shahrear Zaheedi said that they discussed all ongoing requirements, though the minister is already aware of the issues.

“First, the issue is pitches. We suggested creating fields wherever possible within Dhaka. If large plots aren't available, we suggested creating spaces for futsal. He took this positively. At the district level, we requested that the government allocate ‘Khas’ land, about 5 to 6 bighas per district, to build football pitches. He was positive about this as well,” Zaheedi said.

“The government has recently allocated land for us for the FIFA Centre of Excellence, but we have to pay about Tk 8 crore. We requested him to allocate the land at a token price. He mentioned he would consider it and discuss it with the relevant ministries.”