With huge needs and excessive hopes, Kazi Salahuddin entered the stage as a football chief. Expectations surrounding him soared, fueled by his recognition and charisma. His early tenure began on a undeniable exclaim—below his influence, significant firms came on board as sponsors, and loads believed that the prolonged-dormant state of football in Bangladesh had at final came upon a direction to revival. On the opposite hand, following his announcement to step down, how need to we assess his 16-year reign because the President of the Bangladesh Soccer Federation (BFF)?
There are every successes and mess ups in his tenure. To originate up with the positives, home football on the very best doubtless level did catch some constructing below his leadership. Although the amount of taking part clubs has been reducing year by year and the venues remain inconsistent, the Premier League has been held ceaselessly—a undeniable pattern. At least the game is calm being played. Not like within the past, footballers did no longer desire to strike to be trek that the continuation of the league for the length of Salahuddin’s tenure, which just isn’t any minute feat fervent about that forward of his leadership, leagues would most incessantly happen once every three years.
In the intervening time, home membership football is held in six venues everywhere in the nation, which is positively a step forward. Bangladesh’s membership Bashundhara Kings moreover participated within the AFC Champions League qualifiers—a pattern that would possibly perchance well also be notion of as a signal of development. Additionally, the salaries of high-tier footballers maintain reached gigantic sums, with some incomes as much as a crore taka (10 million BDT), marking a significant expand in financial investment within the game. Salahuddin deserves credit ranking for this inflow of money into football.
Salahuddin can moreover exclaim credit ranking for advancing women’s football in Bangladesh, even supposing his critics have a tendency to downplay this achievement. On the opposite hand, it is price noting that Bangladesh currently holds four SAFF (South Asian Soccer Federation) titles, three of which belong to the women’s groups. The women’s nationwide group obtained their first-ever title in 2022, and the U-16 and U-19 groups secured the quite quite a bit of two. The fourth title was obtained by the lads’s U-20 group, who defeated Nepal lawful final month.
When Salahuddin first obtained the BFF presidential election in 2008, he prioritised the nationwide group. He was re-elected unopposed in 2012, and again obtained the elections in 2016 and 2020. Over time, he grew grand more centered on the nationwide group, ensuring that they got most resources and advantages. Beneath his leadership, the nationwide group loved entry to foreign places coaches, instructing workers, a amount of friendly fits, foreign places coaching camps, and stays in high-notch accommodations—bringing world standards of toughen to the group.
Yet, the nationwide group, into which he poured so many resources, is moreover the greatest offer of disappointment for the length of his tenure. Beneath his leadership, Bangladesh never reached the final of the SAFF Championship. He once promised to raise the nation to the 150s within the FIFA rankings, but as an different, from February to Would perchance well also of 2018, Bangladesh sank to 197th. As Salahuddin prepares to head away, Bangladesh sits two ranks below Bhutan (182nd) within the FIFA rankings, having lost to Bhutan for the 2d time lawful recently. Serve in April 1996, Bangladesh was ranked a hundred and tenth among 181 worldwide locations. Precise 19 days before Salahuddin took region of job in April 2008, the nation was ranked 180th. Now, as he exits, Bangladesh has dropped four locations.
Given his charismatic persona as a footballer and his conclude ties with the easier echelons of the outdated government, grand more was anticipated of Salahuddin. How grand of these expectations he fulfilled is a subject of debate. To in this present day and age, football in Bangladesh calm lacks a true stadium. The Bangabandhu Stadium has remained unused for the past three years below the guise of renovation. No subject promises, he didn’t put a as much as date football academy. His pledge to manufacture divisional football centres everywhere in the nation moreover went unfulfilled. Over the route of his tenure, Bangladesh has got finest two full-sized turfs from FIFA, every of which maintain since deteriorated. Additionally, he was unable to place a FIFA-funded coaching centre, even supposing portion of the blame would possibly perchance well also be attributed to bureaucratic delays in securing land from the government.
Salahuddin can no longer be held straight to blame for the clubs’ failure to place academies or create age-based fully groups. On the opposite hand, he didn’t compel the clubs to tackle these concerns. Gamers most incessantly emerge from the decrease leagues, yet the decrease divisions in Dhaka maintain no longer got the important consideration. District leagues are irregular, with Narayanganj, a district neighbouring Dhaka, no longer maintaining a football league in six years. The BFF, below Salahuddin’s leadership, did nothing to tackle these gaps. In actuality, the BFF has functioned as cramped higher than the Dhaka Soccer Federation. In September 2022, Salahuddin assumed the chairmanship of the BFF’s District League Committee, promising to revitalise football everywhere in the nation. On the opposite hand, no longer a single assembly has been held by the committee within the final two years.
Whereas there would possibly perchance well perchance also be no sunless marks of corruption straight tied to Salahuddin, below his leadership, feeble BFF Normal Secretary Abu Nayeem was banned for two years by FIFA in April final year due to financial irregularities. BFF Senior Vice President Salam Murshedy was moreover fined 1.3 million BDT by FIFA for his failure to create his responsibilities because the head of the BFF finance committee—a significant within the history of Bangladesh football. Salahuddin can no longer break out accountability for these concerns, and this episode will with out a sign of ending remain a unhappy stain on his 16-year tenure.
