Tuesday marked the final day for submitting nomination papers for the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) election. The day's intrigue centred on whether Tarafdar Ruhul Amin, previously announced as a presidential candidate, would ultimately submit his nomination for the senior vice-president role.
While Ruhul Amin did indeed file his nomination for senior vice-president, Abdullah Al Fuad Redwan did not submit his candidacy for the presidency. Four individuals collected nomination papers for the presidential post, with Tabith Awal, Shahadat Hossain Zubair, and FM Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury officially submitting their nominations.
With Redwan abstaining from the presidential race, it now appears that Tabith Awal is set to secure the presidency. In a surprising turn of events, Tarafdar Ruhul Amin has withdrawn from the presidential race to run for senior vice-president instead. He explained, "I had initially announced my candidacy. However, after Tabith declared his intention to run, I decided to support him for the greater good of football, hence my decision not to pursue the presidency."
Ruhul Amin, who had aspired to the presidency in the 2020 BFF election, recently remarked, "I was unable to secure the position due to external pressures." When asked if he faced any pressure to step down this time, he responded, "There was no pressure this time. I chose not to run for president for the sake of football. One can contribute to the sport without being a federation member. I have been actively involved in district and divisional football from 2016 to 2020."
Imrul Hasan, president of Bashundhara Kings and current BFF vice-president, submitted his nomination for senior vice-president on Monday. The question now arises whether Ruhul Amin will be elected over Imrul. Ruhul Amin consistently stated, "Both Imrul and I are committed to the development of football."
The deadline for withdrawing nominations is October 20, and much discussion is expected until then. Abdullah Al Fuad Redwan, who had taken nomination papers for both president and vice-president, did not submit his candidacy for either position. He explained, "We are working as a unified panel for the benefit of football. That is why I did not apply for any position. I am primarily a cricket organiser, with the cricket board election approaching. I did not submit my vice-presidential nomination, considering it might affect my eligibility for the cricket board."
