The predicament with the venue of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League Football expected to be over soon when the matches will take place at the home venues of the clubs, they would desire from next week.
There were so much talking about the quality and the conditions of the venues - Shahid Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium, Tongi and Bir Sreshtha Flight Lt. Matiur Rahman Stadium Munshiganj where the matches are going on. Some of the clubs claimed that that the quality of the grounds and the facilities of players’ dressing rooms are not up to the marks.
Meanwhile, the league was supposed to be held in six different venues outside Dhaka in accordance with the participating clubs’ demand as their respective home venues but due to increasing the COVID, BFF changed their decision and reduced the venues with clubs consent.
BFF, finding no other alternative decided to organise the league matches at two grounds in Tongi and Munshiganj.
But after completing the two rounds some of the club officials and the players just started to speak out their discontent and expressed the problems with venues and also difficulties to travel to the venue at Tongi.
Now, BFF going to back to their earlier routine to hold the matches at six different grounds, at clubs’ home venues outside Dhaka, regarding that the league committee will have an important meeting to select venues.
Abdus Salam Murshedi MP, the senior vice-president of the BFF and the chairman of the BFF league committee when talking to the Bangladesh Post on Thursday said that they are hopeful to turn back to their previous schedule to hold matches at home and away basis.
“We are extremely thinking afresh to go back to our earlier decision to hold the league in home away ground.”
“As the COVID situation is now decreasing, very shortly we will take our decision, we have a meeting tomorrow (Friday) hopefully we will make a suitable decision to go back soon to our earlier plan of organizing matches at club’s home grounds.”
Salam Murshedi replying to a query said that it would take two weeks to go Cumilla venue (home venue of Mohammedan Sporting Club and applied by Chittagong Abahani to have their home) but before that Rajshahi and some other venues would be ready and matches would be started there.
“I personally talked to the local (Cumilla) MP and the district commissioner (DC) of Cumilla, about the stadium, they ensured me that after a final of a local cricket tournament on February 16, the ground would be ready for football. So, I hope from February 25 the ground would be ready to play there but before that we hope matches will start at the Rajshahi and others stadium, previously we decided.”
“You know we were forced to reintroduce our schedule due to COVID situation to organise the matches at two venues, in fact we had no way but review our earlier decision because of COVID restrictions, now situation coming normal and hope to move back our previous schedule,” revealed the former football star Salam Murshedi.
Abu Nayeem Shohag, general secretary of the BFF, also talked to the Bangladesh Post on Thursday about to back to their origin formation to hold league matches at the home venues of the clubs.
“It’s our earnest desire to increase venues going back to original format of home and away. Everything is in our control and under monitoring, now waiting to make ready the venues. But hope everything will be done very soon and could be able to start matches by early of next week,” Shohag replied to a query.
