The fighting situation of Bangladesh football in the field is miserable. However, in the off-field discussions and 'games', the country's football is now hot every day! The name of this 'game' is the fight to sit in the chair of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), the highest body of football in the country. Election fight! Whoever wins will have the BFF chair for the next four years. Many are fighting for BFF's election in different positions this time. From membership to President - BFF has a total of 21 chairs of power. And all 42 people are fighting for these 21 chairs! There are two candidates for each post and there are three candidates for the post of president.
On Saturday, October 3, at noon, the focus of all the attention in this battle of votes is around the chair of the President. The names of three persons who are officially fighting for the post of BFF president are Kazi Salauddin(incumbent), Shafiqul Islam Manik and Badal Roy. However Badal Roy announced his withdrawal from the election race. Badal Roy made this announcement a little late. And so his name is on the list of candidates for the vote. Despite announcing an over cover, Badal Roy is still in this 'match'. Voting is actually a 'match' - where there is no way to tell who has won first! And so it is not surprising that Badal Roy won the 'match' 2-0 by defeating Salauddin or Manik in this fight on Saturday!
Salauddin is coming down knowingly as his favorite in this 'match' of fighting for votes. However, football favorites do not win every day. If he had won, Argentina or Brazil would have won the World Cup every time!
The Samannay Parishad is fighting for votes against Salauddin's entire panel. The Samannay Parishad, headed by senior vice-presidential candidate Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, fielded candidates for all the posts but could not find anyone to challenge Salauddin for the post. Shafiqul Islam Manik single-handedly challenged Salauddin. He is not on any panel.
Salauddin has been in power as BFF president for last 12 years. He has won the last three elections. For so long, no one in Bangladesh has had the opportunity to be the president of BFF. Salauddin got it. But has Kazi Salauddin, who has won the last three ‘election matches’, has he been able to bring real development or solve problems in the country's football?
Even people very close to Salauddin will probably not give him a pass mark in answer to this question. And the rest is not!
For the past two or three years, football organizer and businessman Ruhul Amin Tarafdar has been rumored to be a potential candidate for the BFF's top spot. Ruhul Amin Tarafdar was creating almost everything that was needed to enter the electoral field. He spent a lot of money on football sponsors. He also established his own football club. He was also showing organizational skills. But as the football election approached, he removed himself from the voting scene for mysterious reasons.
Exactly why and to what pressure, Ruhul Amin Tarafdar left the field before going to the polls?
The 139 BFF delegates will elect a new BFF committee for the next four years at Hotel Sonargaon after the AGM on Saturday morning.
Is the president of the new committee also new? "To defeat Salauddin in this fight, Manik or Badal Roy has to play the best 'game' of their lives!
All three have fought as opponents on the football field as footballers; now fighting in the polls!