'Goal is to hold BHF election on time'

Ishtiaque Sadeque, Bangladesh Hockey Federation’s (BHF) newly appointed general secretary, said on Saturday that their primary goal is to hold transparent election within stipulated time frame.

The National Sports Council (NSC) has dissolved the existing ad-hoc committee of 27 sports federations, including BHF, in favour of new ones in order to organise following elections within three months.

In the new ad-hoc committee of BHF, the Chief of Bangladesh Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan takes over as the president while Ishtiaque, the CEO of T Sports, has become the general secretary.

This information was revealed in a notification signed by Md Doulatuzzaman Khan, Executive Director of the NSC, on Saturday.

“Our primary goal is to hold the next BHF election on time,” Ishtiaque told Daily Sun after the notification was made public.

“In the meantime, I will try to contribute as much as possible to develop our hockey,” he added.

The notification stated that the existing ad-hoc committee was dissolved in accordance with Section 21 of the National Sports Council Act, 2018 (Amended 2026), as it failed to hand over responsibilities to an elected committee by arranging elections according to the constitution of the BHF.

The new ad-hoc committee has been appointed under the same law.

Former national hockey player Sajed A Adel, Cotton Group chairman and Usha Krira Chakra's Shaheen Mahmud, Group Captain (retd.) Mohammad Alamgir, Elite Paint's managing director Selim Ahmed, and Bangladesh Air Force's Air Commodore Md Rafiul Haque have taken charge as vice-presidents of the new committee.

The notification further noted that as per Section 14 (3) of the National Sports Council Act, 2018, this newly formed ad-hoc committee must complete the federation's elections within three months from the date of the order's issuance and passing on responsibilities to the elected committee.

Issued with the approval of the NSC, this order has come into effect immediately upon its publication.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation's 29-member ad-hoc committee

President: Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan

Vice-Presidents: Sajed A Adel, Shaheen Mahmud, Group Captain (retd.) Mohammad Alamgir, Selim Ahmed and Air Commodore Md Rafiul Haque

General Secretary: Ishtiaque Sadeque

Joint Secretaries: Ariful Haque Prince and Mohammad Sarafat Mia

Treasurer: Mizanur Rahman Don

Members: Nazirul Islam Nazu, Mohammad Yusuf Ali, Mosaddek Hossain Chowdhury Pappu, Mahbub Harun, Russell Mahmud Jimmy, Kamrul Islam Kismat, Ashraful Alam Babul, Mostafizur Rahman Mamun, Mohammad Faruk Ahmed, Abu Yasin Mohammad Masud Rana, Safayet Hossain Dalim, A N M Mamun Ur Rashid, Rahul Kanti Roy, Shahin Halim Don, Malik Abdullah Al-Amin Sadi, Shafiqul Islam Litu, Nur Hossain, Badrul Islam Dipu and Mohammad Akil Siddiq