Following the formation of the Election Commission (EC), the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) typically refrains from holding executive meetings. However, this unwritten rule had to be broken due to pressing financial matters that were not adequately addressed or approved in Thursday’s meeting. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sarfraz Ahmed faced significant questioning during the meeting for his role in this oversight.
With the BFF elections scheduled for October 26, the federation has planned its annual general meeting for the morning of election day, where the next year’s budget will be presented. This budget must first be approved in an executive meeting. However, CFO Sarfraz Ahmed failed to send the draft budget to the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Imrul Hasan, citing a lack of time—a reason dismissed by General Secretary Imran Hossain Tushar. The meeting saw over half an hour of intense questioning and criticism directed at the CFO.
Sarfraz Ahmed succeeded Abu Hussain, the former CFO who was banned by FIFA. Although no financial corruption charges have been filed against Sarfraz, the executive members are dissatisfied with his perceived lack of sincerity and efficiency, which has complicated BFF’s financial processes. Additionally, other BFF staff are disgruntled due to perceived salary discrimination, as Sarfraz, despite his limited experience, secured a salary of 3 lakh taka and subsequently raised it within a year.
On April 14 last year, FIFA banned Abu Naeem Sohag, the former general secretary of BFF. Shortly after, BFF held an emergency meeting and banned Sohag from participating in any future BFF activities. Despite these bans, Sohag has sent a legal notice to BFF seeking his dues, and the response time for this notice has lapsed. General Secretary Imran Hossain Tushar mentioned that this issue was discussed on Thursday and will be addressed in an upcoming meeting focused solely on financial matters. Alongside Sohag, three other former BFF staff members—Abu Hossain, Mizanur Rahman, and Anupam Hossain—who were also banned by FIFA, have sought their dues from BFF.
These individuals have claimed gratuity and provident fund dues, with Sohag demanding crores from BFF in his legal notice. Despite being banned for financial misconduct, it is legally permissible for them to claim their dues from BFF. The silence of the BFF executive committee on this matter has allowed those punished to vocally pursue their claims, further complicating the federation’s financial and reputational standing.
