Mare appointment sparks BFF discord

The appointment of French coach Eric Mare for Bangladesh women's national football team has exposed a difference of opinion within the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), with women's wing chairperson Mahfuza Akter Kiron questioning both the need for a foreign coach and the Frenchman's suitability for the senior team.

Kiron said she had opposed bringing in a foreign coach for Bangladesh's two upcoming international friendlies against Singapore, arguing that the federation's technical director, Saiful Bari Titu, could have handled the assignment.

"Two friendly matches were not enough reason to bring in a foreign coach. Our technical director, Titu bhai, was enough for these two matches. He knows and understands the girls," Kiron said.

Her comments have also raised questions about the consultation process behind Mare's appointment, as the women's wing is primarily responsible for overseeing the national women's team's coaching and management.

Kiron said the technical director and the federation's secretary had previously shared the CVs of three foreign coaching candidates with her, but she had reservations about their suitability for the senior team.

"The technical director and the secretary gave me the CVs of three coaches. After going through them, I told them that they were qualified to coach at the junior level, not at the senior level. Among those three or four candidates, I eventually saw that one had been appointed as coach. I have nothing more to say," she said.

Earlier Mare arrived in Dhaka on Monday and was appointed on a short-term basis to guide Bangladesh through their two matches against Singapore on 1 and 5 December. He was brought in after former head coach Peter Butler returned to England for medical reasons.

The 54-year-old Frenchman holds a UEFA A Licence, but his recent career has largely revolved around technical-director roles in Africa. He served as national technical director of Guinea from 2018 to 2022 and Guinea-Bissau from 2022 to 2025, focusing mainly on youth development and technical support for national age-group teams.

Although he has experience managing first-division clubs in Mauritania, he has never been head coach of a senior national team.

Mare has pledged to maintain Butler's playing philosophy and take responsibility for the results against Singapore. Bangladesh are scheduled to leave for the assignment on 29 November.