Resignation of BFF’s Salahuddin, Kiron demanded

Defying inclement weather, members of Bangladeshi Football Ultras (BFU), a fan group of Bangladesh football, gathered at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarter in Arambagh today, demanding the immediate resignation of BFF president Kazi Salahuddin and women's committee chairperson Mahfuza Akter Kiron.

Approximately 50 BFU members turned up as part of their 'March to BFF' programme braving the rain, chanting different slogans.

The organisation has been campaigning for the resignations of Salahuddin, Kiron and senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy, who already stepped down on Thursday soon after the resignation of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the face of vigorous protests from the students.

The BFU members now want Salahuddin and Kiron to follow Murshedy's footsteps and exit from the federation.

"I want him [Salahuddin] to willingly resign from his post like Abdus Salam Mursedy," said BFU general secretary Mehedi Hasan Ovi in front of the main gate of the BFF House.

"Kiron time and again threatened the women's footballers and she is using the sentiments for the women's footballers to accumulate wealth for herself. We demand Kiron's resignation as well.

"They are trying to tag us as extremists, dangerous for football. But we are ready to counter the dirty games Salahuddin is playing, whom we respect as a legendary footballer but he has been a failure as an organiser," he added.

The BFU general secretary also demanded Salahuddin to give it in written form that he would not be involved in football administration in future.

Though the BFU demanded the resignation of only Salahuddin and Kiron, former national footballer and coach Shafiqul Islam Manik thinks the entire BFF executive committee needs to step down.

"Instead of three or two members, I think the whole BFF executive committee should resign because no one can avoid their responsibility for the failure of the country's football," said Manik, who had once contested for the BFF president post.

Manik also added that every party should be wary of FIFA's regulations over government interference in football federations, a sentiment echoed by former footballer and coach Hasanuzzaman Khan Bablu.

"I think change in a systematic way is the better option because there is a FIFA binding. FIFA had suspended Bangladesh in 2001 following the interference of the then government. And we should not do anything that forces FIFA to ban Bangladesh," Bablu said.

"I think the interim government will look into football and form a dynamic leadership in a systematic way as the BFF elections is approaching close."

Although the Salahuddin-led committee's term is set to end very soon with the next BFF election scheduled to take place in October, former footballer Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu thinks, "The entire BFF committee should resign before the elections because it is a demand of the time."

Adviser of the youth and sports ministry in the interim government Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan has yet to comment on the situation in BFF but reiterated that the current government is determined to bring a systematic change everywhere.

"We want to reform the entire country. The reform is not about changing an individual from a position. We want to change the system in this interim government's period."