Greetings! Welcome to the briefing of January, 2018.

National Team residency begins

SAFF Championship 2018 is slated to be held in Dhaka from 4th to 15th September, 2018.

As a part of the preparation, the Bangladesh national team will take part in an international match in Laos under the ‘FIFA Tier-1 International Football Match’ schedule.

A residency camp for initial players began from February 13 at the international hostel of BKSP in Savar. The camp was minus the Abahani Ltd Dhaka players who are preparing to play in the AFC Cup.

As part of this preparation a training camp has also been arranged in Qatar as part of our close relationship with the Qatar FA.

Independence Cup 2018 concludes

The latest edition of the Independence Cup concluded on February 10 with Arambagh Krira Sangha being crowned champions.

One of the oldest clubs of Dhaka, Arambagh beat defending champions Chittagong Abahoni 2-0 in the final of the WALTON Independence Cup 2018 to secure the title for the first time.

Altogether, it was another successful edition of the Independence Cup with local players proving their mettle.

The tournament, as always, provided the opportunity for local players to shine and they stepped up to the occasion.

The BFF plans to create more ways to promote local talent and get them ready to compete at the international level with confidence and quality.

Artificial turf in Madaripur

A mini artificial turf, under the ‘AFC President’s Initiative: Mini Pitch Scheme 2017’, was inaugurated in Madaripur on February 9.

The turf has been opened to identify the promising grassroots players and provide them with facilities to utilise.

On January 7, the first mini artificial turf, under the AFC President’s Initiative was inaugurated in Nilphamari.

Another artificial turf under the same initiative is awaiting inauguration in Feni.

More turfs will be opened in other districts with time.

The BFF will apply to the AFC for establishing three more turfs in 2018 with a view to strengthening the pipeline of footballers.

Part 2 of BFF AFC ‘B’ Diploma Course begins

The second phase of the BFF AFC ‘B’ Diploma Coaching Course began on February 24.

All the 22 coaches who participated in the first phase are attending this phase to complete their B Diploma in coaching.

The first ever BFF AFC ‘B’ Diploma Coaching Course, now in its second phase, has been designed to educate coaches in player development, child development, technical & tactical teaching, analyze methods and resources, communication strategies, leadership, team building, physical development, planning, organizing, delivery and evaluating practical coaching sessions, laws of the game, management styles and methods and fitness.

Part 2 of the BFF AFC ‘AS’ Certificate Coaching Course is scheduled to begin on March 10.

National technical director Paul Smalley is the instructor on the courses.

U15 girls visit Hong Kong end March

The Bangladesh U15 Women’s Team is scheduled to visit Hong Kong at the end of March for a 4-nation friendly tournament.

The Hong Kong Football Association invited Bangladesh to participate which will also feature Iran and Chinese Taipei.

The tournament will be played according to single league system and the table topper will clinch the title.

BD women in AFC Futsal

The BFF has taken steps to test the Bangladesh Women’s Team in the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship Thailand 2018. The competition will be hosted in Thailand in May.

Alongside hosts Thailand and Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Bahrain, Chinese Taipei, Lebanon,
Macau, Turkmenistan and Indonesia will be participating too.

Referee’s Course ends

The New Referee’s Training Course 2018, organised by the BFF and directed by the BFF Referees Committee, concluded on February 14.

The course began on February 9 with the participation of 56 trainees, including 5 women, from 32 districts.

The course included rigorous theoretical and practical training.

BFF match commissioner course

The federation will form a match commissioner panel to conduct all matches in the upcoming season of 2018. This panel will be responsible for commissioning matches in the Bangladesh Premier League 2018, 1st Division Football League, 2nd Division Football League, 3rd Division Football League and any other tournament.

The BFF will host a day-long course in the 3rd week of March to form the panel.

Countrywide U-17 tournament soon

The government has decided on yet another tournament. The U17 national football tournament will be organized nationwide. I am glad to mention further that the national sports council is constructing mini stadiums at every sub-district that will be open for all.

We are looking forward to holding the nationwide tournament from next year.

AFC Development Officers visit BFF

Development Officers of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) — Domeka Gaizka Garaendi and Yogesh Srikant Desai — visited the BFF to discuss football development in Bangladesh under the AFC President Development Initiative.

During their two-day visit, the duo talked to various departments of the BFF about several aspects, including club licensing, pitch development, refereeing and media.

Sabina-Krishna to play for India’s Sethu FC

It gives me great pleasure to end my statement on a joyous note.

Sabina Khatun, captain of Bangladesh women’s national team, and star player Krishna Rani Sarker are set to play for India’s Sethu FC in the Indian Women’s League, a franchisee football league.

Sabina already has the experience of playing abroad while this will be Krishna’s first taste of foreign club football.

Besides, Sabina and Krishna, some of the other players of the Bangladesh team might also get to play as Sanjida, Ankhi Khatun, Maria Manda also caught the eye of some other teams of the Indian Women’s League.

I wish them all the success in all their endeavors.