To curb ticket scalping and the sale of fake tickets, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is considering taking legal action against those involved.
After a host of complications, the BFF finally managed to sell tickets for the upcoming match against Singapore. Now, with excitement surrounding Hamza and Samit at a high, the federation is taking further steps to harness this fan enthusiasm. According to BFF Competitions Committee member Tajwar Awwal, fan zones will be set up across all eight divisions of the country. He also mentioned plans to crack down on black market ticket sales.
Bangladesh will play a friendly match against Bhutan on June 4 at the Dhaka National Stadium, followed by the crucial third-round Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore on June 10.
Hamza Chowdhury made his debut for Bangladesh in March during the Asian Cup qualifiers in Shillong against India. Now, he’s set to make his first home appearance.
The arrival of Hamza and Samit Som has breathed new life into Bangladeshi football. The BFF hopes to keep the momentum going with their latest initiative. Tajwar shared details of the plan with the media:
“We’ll have a fan zone and cultural events. We’ve already started planning and some work is underway. The first challenge was the ticketing issue, which we’ve successfully managed. Now we’re moving on to the cultural program and fan zones. It’s challenging, but we’re working through it. Everything should be ready within the next five days.”
He added:
“There will be eight fan zones across the eight divisions. Around the stadium, we’ll have laser shows and concerts. The fan zones will feature futsal games, penalty shootouts, magic and circus shows.”
BFF faced several technical issues when selling tickets online, including claims of hacking. With those problems now under control, efforts are being ramped up to eliminate fake and black-market tickets.
“There were concerns about ticket scalping. We’ve spoken with the government. On matchday, there will be magistrates present. If we catch anyone with a fake ticket, they will be handed over to the magistrate immediately.”
He further stated:
“Each ticket will have a name, number, and email ID. If a mismatch is detected—if a ticket fails QR code scanning and a spectator is denied entry—we’ll verify it. If it turns out to be fake, a case will be filed against the person whose name is on the ticket.”
