Hamza Choudhury, who plays for Leicester City in the English Premier League, has opened the path to represent the Bangladesh national football team. Like many others, Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Sojib Bhuiyan is delighted by this development.
At the prize distribution ceremony of the Yonex-Sunrise International Badminton Tournament held at the Shaheed Tajuddin Indoor Stadium in Paltan today, Asif Mahmud expressed his gratitude to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) for their efforts.
The sports advisor stated, “I thank BFF as they have been working with FIFA on Hamza’s matter for quite some time. With Hamza’s inclusion, our performance will improve in the coming days. I hope his arrival will change Bangladesh football. Many Bangladeshis who play in various clubs will be inspired to dream of playing for the country because of Hamza Choudhury.”
In another positive development for football, the BFF has secured a 10-year lease of Chattogram’s MA Aziz Stadium from the government. For years, the BFF had been requesting permanent allocations of stadiums from the National Sports Council (NSC), leading to this decision. Until now, MA Aziz Stadium was shared between cricket and football.
When asked about the renovation of Bangabandhu Stadium, Asif Mahmud said, “The work is expected to finish by December. We hope games will start there from January.” He further added, “We’ve leased the MA Aziz Stadium in Chattogram to BFF for 10 years. After renovations, football will begin there.”
Regarding the renaming of various stadiums, he commented, “There are thousands of names. The committee will propose any name changes, and decisions will follow.”
The government has formed ad hoc committees in nine federations based on recommendations from the search committee formed for sports reform. However, a month has passed, and the remaining federations’ committees are yet to be announced. Asif Mahmud assured that these announcements would come soon.
The advisor reiterated that the goal is to reform systems rather than individuals in sports. While visible progress has been slow, he mentioned that the government has begun working on the constitutions of federations. The BCB’s constitution reform committee is expected to submit a report soon. Similarly, BFF has formed its own constitution reform committee, and the government is working on reforms for other federations.
Regarding allegations against Kabaddi Federation’s ad hoc committee general secretary Nawaz Sohag, a committee was initially formed to investigate but later suspended by the NSC. Commenting on this, the advisor said, “As far as I know, it was a miscommunication, which led to an error. The decision was later withdrawn.”
