Season opener highlights football’s ground realities
In a repeat encounter of last season's Challenge Cup fixture, Federation Cup winners Bashundhara Kings thrashed Bangladesh Premier League champions Mohammedan by 4-1 in the curtain-raiser of the new football season at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla yesterday.
However, it was not the on-field action but the appalling condition of the pitch and the substandard broadcast quality that captured most of the attention.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The match kicked off 10 minutes later than scheduled due to last-minute efforts to make the ground playable. Journalists at the venue reported that nets were still being installed on the goals when the game was supposed to begin. Despite these efforts, the pitch resembled a long-neglected neighbourhood playground at best, showing no signs of curation.
Even more astonishingly, labourers were seen cutting grass beside the pitch after the match had already begun. Rifat Masud, one of the commentators for official broadcaster T Sports, could not hide his disappointment, gushing "jacchetai" (shambolic) live on air.
As the defending league champions, Mohammedan held the responsibility to prepare the pitch for this fixture. They also share ongoing maintenance duties for the ground with Abahani, as the venue will be used by both clubs throughout the season. Although Mohammedan secured the rights to use the ground from local administration on September 14, they reportedly made no effort to prepare it for play, leaving the local football's governing body scrambling at the last moment.
Sudipta Ahmed Ananda, a senior journalist from Desh Rupantor, expressed his frustration while speaking to The Daily Star from the venue. "This is unacceptable for a season-opening match but this is also the sad reality of our football. A match like this demands attention from all involved. Playing on such pitches can be extremely risky for the footballers."
Arafat Zubaear, a senior journalist at Dhaka Post, added: "I would say Mohammedan should take the lion's share of the blame for this but the federation, as the organiser of the event and guardian of football, cannot escape its responsibility."
Notably, the Bangladesh Football Federation's (BFF) governing body has yet to form a grounds committee -- nearly a year after assuming office.
The Cumilla venue is one of five designated for the upcoming season, each to be shared by two clubs. Only the Bashundhara Kings Arena – shared by Bashundhara Kings and Fortis FC – is in proper condition. The other four venues in Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, and Cumilla remain in poor shape, with clubs and the federation now in a race against time to prepare them ahead of the Federation Cup, which begins next Tuesday, and the league, set to kick off next Friday.
The quality of the pitch was not the only issue to spark discontent. The broadcast production also left much to be desired. Sources confirmed that T Sports, the official broadcaster, was only confirmed of their rights by the BFF a day before the match. Consequently, they were only able to deploy five cameras for the telecast, and did so without a riser (a platform used to improve camera angles) at the venue. In stark contrast, recent international matches involving Bangladesh at the Kings Arena featured as many as 21 cameras.
Several senior BFF officials have recently made bold claims in the media about making this football season a "complete package" with improved pitches and enhanced broadcast quality.
If yesterday's match was any indication of what lies ahead, football fans across the country should brace themselves for more frustration and disappointment in weeks to come.
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