Scandals take sheen off on-field progress

Year 2023 could have easily been termed as the best year for men's football in Bangladesh in recent years as the national team, for a change, performed decently.

However, a couple of off-field scandals marred the on-field performances and turned 2023 into more of an above average year, which is still a pleasant change from the downward trajectory of the preceding years.

The first blow came on the first day of the calendar, the Bengali calendar that is.

On April 14, 2023, when all of Bangladesh was celebrating the arrival of the new year, the folks in charge of running the country's football were reeling from a colossal blow.

On that day, the world football's governing body, FIFA, imposed a two-year ban on Bangladesh Football Federation's long-serving general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag and implicated a few others in its findings, revealing systematic irregularities in use of FIFA funds by the BFF.

The findings and suggestions of the report were far-reaching as they unearthed long-standing financial irregularities in a number of areas, giving evidence to something which had been only whispers till then.

The BFF followed it up with a long-and-winding investigation of its own. But not much came out of that probe as those implicated in the report either resigned or were relieved of their duties, while the ones in higher positions walked scot-free.

Another episode that rocked Bangladesh football was when a number of leading players of the national team, while on duty with Bashundhara Kings in the Maldives, were caught with excessive amounts of liquor without permit while returning home.

The investigation conducted by the Kings, unlike the one headed by the federation, was a swift one and the punishment heavy.

Four of the five players implicated by the club were key figures in the Bangladesh team and their suspension led the national team to tread a tricky path ahead of crucial World Cup Qualifying matches.

Credit must be given to the national team management, and especially the coaching staff led by Javier Cabrera, for cautiously navigating the situation and shepherding the team to success in the playoff for the World Cup Qualifying group stage, which was built on impressive showings in the SAFF Championship and friendly matches against strong oppositions earlier in the year.

The positive performances on the field also drew crowds to the galleries. The Bashundhara Kings Arena was full to the brim as Bangladesh beat the Maldives in the second leg of the playoff and then as Cabrera's charges held Lebanon to a 1-1 draw.

The Federation Cup final between Abahani and Mohammedan in Cumilla drew the biggest crowd for a domestic football game in recent history, and credit to the teams as the final lived up to expectations and became one of the finest ever in Bangladesh's football history.

At front and centre of the positive strides taken by Bangladesh football this year were a few youngsters, who played key roles in a memorable SAFF Championship campaign and then guided the team to the World Cup Qualifiers.

Young forward Sheikh Morsalin turned from a prodigy into the nation's favourite in the matter of a few games as his outstanding goals salvaged Bangladesh from the brink of another group stage exit in the SAFF Championship and catapulted them to the semifinals.

Faisal Ahmed Fahim, another young forward of the national team, matured leaps and bounds and played a crucial role in the team's victory over the Maldives.

However, the best player this year was arguably Rakib Hossain – whose speed and dribbling caught many opposition defenders by surprise and finishing skill became better and better as the year progressed.

Captain Jamal Bhuiyan's pilgrimage from Dhaka to Buenos Aires, meanwhile, created buzz in social and mainstream media, and so did the short stopovers in Dhaka by Argentina's World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and retired Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho, although the extreme private nature of the events left the football fraternity and the general football fans with a bitter taste.

The lapses and transgressions this year are an opportunity for the Bangladesh football administration and footballers to learn and improve upon. If they can do so, the next year could prove to be an even more memorable one for Bangladesh football.