New hope in football revolves around Tabith

When legendary footballer Kazi Salahuddin was elected as the president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) some 16 year ago in 2008, hopes were that the former footballer-turn-organiser would revive the country's declining football and elevate it to a new height. But unlike his playing days, Salahuddin failed to deliver by and large as an administrator.

By announcing he would not compete in the BFF elections, Salahuddin ended his 16-year tenure as the BFF boss, opening the door for Tabith Awal to get elected as the president in the polls held in Dhaka on Saturday.

Tabith, a businessman, politician, and former footballer, won the elections by a landslide, receiving 123 of the 128 votes casted by the delegates and will be the BFF president for the next four years.

After four consecutive reigns under Salahuddin, former footballers and members of the country's football fraternity are expecting something good from the newly elected committee, especially from new president Awal and senior vice-president Imrul Hasan, in the next four years.

"After Imrul was elected senior vice president unopposed, it was widely expected that Tabith was going to become president and it happened yesterday [Saturday]. I think this pair can be good for our football," former Bangladesh footballer Golam Sarwar Tipu told The Daily Star.

The former national coach also explained the logic behind his thinking, "Tabith himself was a player. He is a capable organiser as he runs a football club [NoFel Sporting Club]. Besides, he is passionate towards football, a well-behaved person and doesn't impose any decision on anyone. So, I want to keep my faith in him. Let's see what happens.

"Imrul is an experienced organiser who is running Bashundhara Kings brilliantly and built up a good sports structure there. So, the pair of Tabith and Imrul can do something different for football," Tipu added.

Even though Salahuddin has stepped aside, seven members of the previous executive committee – Tipu Sultan, Mahi Uddin Selim, Jakir Hossain Chowdhury, Mahfuza Akter Kiran, Satyajit Das Rupu, Imteaz Hamid Sabuj and Bijon Barua – were elected in the new 14-member committee.

Four fresh faces were elected as vice-presidents – Nasser Shahrear Zahedee, Wahid Uddin Chowdhury Happy, Sabbir Ahmed Arif and Fahad Mohammed Ahmed Karim.

"I thought the incumbent members would go through difficulty but they hardly faced any problem in getting into the committee again. Let's see what they do under new leadership," said Tipu, who is however not familiar with the four vice presidents who were elected for the first time.

Former footballer Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu wants to reserve his judgement on the new committee for now, saying, "It's too early to comment on the newly elected committee but I hope the country's football bounces back under new leadership."

The former national forward also emphasised on grassroot football which has been overlooked over the years.

"There is no alternative to going back to the grassroot football – setting up district, school and university competitions. The current committee should first make short, mid and long-term development plans," said Chunnu, adding that vice president Zahedee could be an important figure in developing the country's football.

"Zahedee has been running Shams Ul Huda Football Academy for a long time. He is dedicated to football and the committee should utilise him," said Chunnu.