The search committee submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to form ad hoc committees in nine sports federations nearly three weeks ago. However, the committees were only announced on Wednesday. Despite this, the remaining work has not progressed.
An official from the National Sports Council (NSC) said, “Everything is ready. Hopefully, the ad- hoc committees can be announced on Sunday. Whatever delays have occurred will not happen again."
It is crucial to avoid further delays. The search committee is eager to announce these committees. The committee's convener, former national badminton champion Jobaidur Rahman, stated, “We formed ad- hoc committees for nine federations several days ago and submitted them to the government as proposals. Let these be announced first. Then we will submit the ad hoc committees for the remaining federations. We have also started forming draft ad hoc committees for 12-13 more federations."
The search committee has not disclosed which nine federations the proposals were submitted for. However, sources indicate that the list includes hockey, kabaddi, athletics, chess, basketball, billiards and snooker, tennis, squash, and bridge. The delay in announcing the committees is partly due to intelligence agencies needing time to vet the proposed members. Additionally, Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan was out of the country for a few days.
Football and cricket are operating on their own schedules. The Swimming Federation recently concluded the National Swimming event. Handball has had a school tournament, and weightlifting has had a club tournament. Most other federations have no visible activities.
On August 21, all district and divisional sports organizations, including women's sports organizations, were dissolved. This also affected sports federations in Dhaka. On September 10, the Ministry of Youth and Sports dismissed the presidents of 42 federations in a single notification. Prior to this, the presidents of three federations and the general secretary of one federation were dismissed. Two general secretaries resigned voluntarily, and some are in hiding. The government has stated that as part of the reforms, current committees will be abolished, and interim ad hoc committees will be formed.
To this end, the interim government formed a five-member search committee on August 30 to make recommendations. Although the committee was given two months, nearly two and a half months have passed without new leadership in the sports arena.
The search committee is also preparing to meet with district and divisional sports organizations. Committee members will hold discussions with eight divisions. The search committee has consulted with former and current players, officials, coaches, and referees from the remaining 52 federations/associations, excluding Football, Cricket, and Olympic Associations, to gather their input. They focused on identifying mistakes and flaws in the federations' constitutions. Based on this, the search committee recommended names for the ad hoc committees. However, sources suggest there may be changes to the proposed names. The search committee is also preparing to meet with district and divisional sports associations. Committee members will hold discussions with eight divisions, and districts under those divisions will also be involved.
Regarding the formation of new leadership, Jobaidur Rahman said, "We will not form committees for district and divisional associations. The government will handle these. However, we will discuss the constitutions of the districts and divisions to facilitate elections. If district elections are not held, federation elections in Dhaka cannot proceed."
