On recommendations from the environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the National Sports Council has selected an alternative site for building the football federation's technical center, and ditched the original plans of constructing the facility on a 20-acre reserved forest area in Cox’s Bazar.

The new project site is a 19.1-acre abandoned plot in Dhalirchara, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar.

On 1 September, the National Sports Council sent a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Cox's Bazar and the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to take necessary steps in this regard.

Earlier, the environment advisor wrote to the Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud requesting an alternative site for the BFF Technical Center, in light of the huge environmental risks posed to the Ramu protected forest area by the project.

Honouring Rizwana’s request, the sports advisor promptly issued instructions to the relevant authorities to take necessary actions.

The originally planned site, a reserved forest in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar, has undergone various plantation and social forestry initiatives. Constructing the BFF Technical Center at this location would have destroyed the habitat of Asian wild elephants, forest resources, and biodiversity there.

In light of these issues, Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan submitted a summary to Chief Advisor Prof Muhammad Yunus, requesting the cancellation of the order to de-reserve 20 acres of land in Ruma for the construction of the BFF Technical Center funded by FIFA.

It is noteworthy that the proposal to build the BFF Technical Center in the reserved forest of Ramu had sparked protests by environmentalists, wildlife conservationists, and the general public.

The amended project and alternative project site would leave intact the Ramu protected forest and its wildlife.