BFF President’s statement for January, 2018

Greetings! Welcome to the briefing of January, 2018.

Honourable PM greets U15 girls for SAFF triumph

Emerging as unbeaten SAFF champions, the U15 girls’ team exhibited their excellence but more than that they give us hope of scaling far greater heights as far as football is concerned. Our prime minister gave them a warm reception for their triumph. Receiving the champions at her official residence Ganabhaban, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the more our youths were involved in sports the more positive minded they would remain. She said football development should be given proper attention.

I am sure that her words of encouragement will inspire the young team to try even harder and apply themselves with renewed vigour against their opponents on the field.

 

Jessore District host the U15 girls for SAFF triumph

The Jessore District Football Association have hosted a grand reception for the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship 2017 winners in the district Zilla School. The logo of the Joy Bangla 1st Division Football League was also unveiled.

 

Licensed Coaches’ Refresher Courses

A total of over 50 coaches, who hold an AFC ‘C’ Certificate, took part in a refresher course on January 22 and 23. Among the participants were 3 female coaches with about 75% participants from remote areas across Bangladesh. The first group completed its course on January 22 and the second group on January 23.

In the day-long session, National Technical Director and AFC Instructor Paul Smalley focused on theory and practical football topics to develop their Football education and revalidated the coaches’ credentials.

We have also held refreshers for B and A Certificate Licensed coaches.

Over 40 participants attended the B Certificate Refresher Course and over 15 others attended the A refresher course. 4 female coaches took part in the B Certificate Refresher Course.

A high percentage of coaches who attended the refresher courses are representatives of various districts of Bangladesh.

The BFF plans to arrange more coaches’ refreshers this year. Registration information can be found on the BFF website as well as from the Coaches Education Coordinator at the BFF.

 

Independence Cup 2018

The Independence Cup 2018 has already begun with 12 teams of the BPL and is scheduled to end early February. Walton is the main sponsor of the Tk 60-lakh tournament with Tk 5 lakh going to the champions and Tk 3 lakh to runners-up.

 

FIFA referees receive badges

Five referees and seven linesmen received their FIFA badges at a special ceremony this month. As we had mentioned in the overall Football Development Plan, world class football is not just players and coaches alone. Football development also includes infrastructure, institutions and officials. This has been another small step in that direction.

 

Mini artificial turf in Nilphamari

A mini artificial turf, under the AFC President’s Initiative scheme was inaugurated at the Nilphamari District Stadium on Sunday. There is little doubt that such facilities across the country would be conducive to football. More importantly it will help us groom our talents better with more care. This turf will help identify promising grassroots players. Two similar turfs will also be inaugurated in Feni and Madaripur. We plan to approach the AFC for three more turfs in three other districts in 2018 with a view to strengthening the pipeline of footballers.

 

Saif Sporting in AFC Cup 2018

The level of football is not only denoted by a vibrant domestic scene but also when domestic clubs have increasing participation regional and international competitions. I am delighted to say that Saif Sporting has taken part in the AFC Cup 2018.

 

Saif Power Battery Third Division

The preliminary round of Saif Power Battery 3rd Division Football League 2018 began in January with 19 teams fighting it out in two phases. In the preliminary round, there will be two groups. The top 5 teams from each group will go on to play the Super League phase. Teams that end up among the top 5 will be promoted to the second division, and those at the bottom of each group will be relegated.

 

SEMS football fest

The much awaited 1st ever SEMS inter English medium school football festival, organized by BAF Shaheen English Medium School began on the school campus on January 25 with 560 participants from 22 schools under four categories — U14 boys, U16 boys, U19 boys and girls.

It is heartening to see such initiatives at the educational institutions because in many ways our schools and colleges could well become integral building blocks of a footballing environment that grooms and rears great talents of the game.

 

BFF lottery tickets

Bangladesh Football Federation is going to issue lottery tickets for the second time to raise funds for its development activities. These tickets will be worth Tk 20 each and will be sold from March 20 to May 3. The draw will be held on May 5 when 625 prizes will be given away with a top prize of Tk 30 lakh.

 

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