The punitive measures levied by FIFA against the Bangladesh Football Federation's (BFF) erstwhile general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag, alongside two senior officials, for financial misdemeanours were anticipated to dominate Saturday's BFF Annual General Meeting (AGM) discourse.
Marking the first AGM subsequent to FIFA's reprimands, it was an opportune moment for BFF councillors to interrogate the federation and its veteran president Kazi Salahuddin.
Contrary to expectations, the four-time president smoothly navigated another general meeting, with roughly 130 of the 147 councillors present, and appears poised to vie for an unprecedented fifth term in the forthcoming BFF elections.
In a surprising turn, disclosed by an anonymous club official present at the meeting, the councillors seemed more perturbed over a gift received at the meeting, a saree, than the pressing issues at hand.
"In post-meeting discussions, a number of councillors expressed dissatisfaction with their gifted saree, questioning its utility and suggesting a football might have been a more apt token," the official disclosed.
Certain councillors, particularly from district and divisional football associations, were outspoken in their calls for financial aid from
FIFA's coffers to nurture grassroots football.
"The assembly largely echoed 'pass, pass' for each motion, save for two district councillors – Jashore DFA's Asaduzzaman Mithu and Narail DFA's Ashiqur Rahman Miku – who championed district football and lobbied for oversight and fiscal support for DFAs, yet they steered clear of addressing the FIFA fund's misappropriation," added the club official.
During the two-hour conclave, a solitary councillor broached the subject of FIFA fund mismanagement, which culminated in sanctions casting a shadow over the federation and tarnishing Bangladesh's global reputation.
"It wasn't for lack of opportunity at the AGM, but all councillors bar one – journalist-cum-councillor Mozzammel Haque Chanchal—refrained from querying the FIFA sanctions and the financial discrepancies uncovered by FIFA," another club representative remarked anonymously to shield his club from BFF's potential backlash.
"The councillors, typically outspoken, remained reticent where it mattered most, likely to avoid repercussions. Chanchal queried the omission of Shohag's ban from the general secretary's report and implored the BFF office bearer to exercise greater prudence henceforth," he continued.
Fazlur Rahman Babul, a seasoned organiser and ex-BFF executive member, voiced his dismay at the councillors' reticence, believing they ought to have probed the implications of the FIFA sanctions for the nation's football future.
"It's disheartening that not one councillor challenged the FIFA sanctions imposed for two consecutive years on fiscal grounds. It serves as a stern admonition for the BFF to adhere to rectitude," Babul conveyed to the media.
"My suspicion is the councillors are biding their time for potential incentives ahead of the BFF
elections, hence their silence on the fiscal discrepancies spotlighted by FIFA."
In April 2023, FIFA's independent ethics committee imposed a two-year ban on Shohag for financial irregularities, with a subsequent ban in May this year extending to BFF's chief financial officer Abu Hossain and operations manager Mizanur Rahman. BFF senior vice president and financial committee chair Abdus Salam Murshedy also incurred a financial penalty from FIFA.
The current BFF executive committee's term is set to conclude on October 3, with indications that the committee is gearing up for the next BFF election mid-September. The precise date for the forthcoming BFF elections is expected to be determined at the next EC meeting.
