But when BFF said that he could not send the team due to financial constraints, it was too late. The federation demanded funds from the government at the last moment. Salahuddin himself said, on getting the news, the Prime Minister called him and scolded him. So why didn’t he inform the Prime Minister about the problem earlier! All of this has given his critics an opportunity to question whether the BFF took this decision to induce the government to allocate 4.5 billion taka (TK 450 crores), which the federation has promised over five years, for the development of football. asked for the project.
There is no way to say for sure whether it is true or false. But the damage is already done. Now there is a need to ensure that nothing like this happens in future. FIFA has completely banned any kind of government interference in the national football federation. But that doesn’t mean the government can’t help with long-term projects to develop women’s football. This needs to be done on an urgent basis. Because, although it is the BFF that is responsible for the failure to send the team to the Olympic qualifiers, it has brought shame to the entire nation.
*Utpal Shuvro, Chief Sports Editor, Prothom Alo
* This opinion piece appeared in the print edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-ul-Alam Niloy