BFF puts league launch ahead of tradition

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has broken with tradition by deciding to continue domestic matches during the upcoming FIFA international window.

Usually, local football leagues are paused when the national team is in action. However, domestic clubs will now have to play in both the league and the Federation Cup without their national team players, who will be away competing in the ASEAN Cup.

The Bangladesh Football League (BFL) is scheduled to kick off on 18 September, with the Federation Cup starting shortly after on 22 September. The Professional League Committee finalised the draw and venues for the Federation Cup during a meeting on Saturday. Matches will take place across four venues, including the National Stadium.

Group A features Abahani LTD, Fortis FC, Rahmatganj, Brothers Union, Fakirerpool Young Men's Club, and Chittagong City. Defending champions Bashundhara Kings have been drawn into Group B, where they will face Mohammedan, Police FC, PWD SC, Arambagh, City Club, and Dhaka Wanderers Club.

The committee plans to hold two league rounds while the ASEAN Cup is being played. This schedule has already faced opposition from several clubs, who have written a letter to the BFF president demanding a delay to both competitions. Despite these objections, the league committee has decided to start the tournaments on time.

When asked if all teams would actually take the field, league committee chairman Imrul Hassan remained hopeful.

"We are optimistic that all clubs will participate in the tournaments or the league within the scheduled time," Imrul said. "I will discuss it with the president, Tabith Awal, on Sunday. After considering the overall situation, we will sit with the clubs."

Defending the unusual choice to play through a FIFA window, Imrul added: "We took this decision for the sake of starting the league. Just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it never will."