e_Paper, Monday, October 17, 2016

We used to play football
It’s now time for the blame games to stop
SERPENT
I N
EDEN
Opinion 23
DT
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
• Towheed Feroze
A
fitting epitaph for
Bangladesh football.
On Saturday, TV
channels were showing
five matches; three European
ones and two from South Asia,
the Indian Super League, and
the Bangladesh premier League
(someone said “premier,” should
be replaced with “pathetic”).
The Indian one showed a
boisterous stadium, a fast-paced
match similar to any top level
football derby, while the local one
was drab, with the stadium hardly
showing 100 people.
Some of you may be asking,
why write about football at all?
Well, for the last three and a half
years, at least three of my Dhaka
Tribune op-eds were on football
with one supporting a suggestion
to give nationality to three African
players in the local league who
had also expressed their interest to
play for Bangladesh.
At that time, several people
opposed the idea on the rationale
that if foreigners were to be taken
local players won’t come up.
Well, so much for local players,
because everywhere you look in
the national team, there is absence
of talent or skill.
Many at that time clamoured
for root level grooming. OK, I
agree, starting from the bottom is
the long-term solution, but what
Bangladesh football needed was
a stopgap measure, a face-saving
compromise.
The African players were not
given citizenship. Today, with the
national team in shambles, we are
in an abyss.
Recriminations will continue,
lack of funds will be underlined,
with many other excuses made.
The reality is, Bangladesh is at the
bottom of the fourth tier of Asian
football.
Worrying thing, no one is being
made to answer for this. Oh, firing
the coach is the standard way of
putting the blame on someone
else.
However, this time, we feel
that serious questions need to be
asked, and no, we do not blame
the coach because what can he do
with a bunch of average players?
After the recent debacle in
Bhutan, he said: “Bangladesh is
not equipped to play at this stage.”
So much for local players
The “this” kept on bothering
me. The meaning is clear, we are
way below South Asian standards.
If the Africans had been
included then we would be
spared the ignominy of losing
to sides which, once upon a
time, not too far back, used to
request club teams, Abahani and
Mohammedan, to go easy on the
striking.
With those players, especially
strikers, Bangladesh’s ranking
would not have plummeted, and
some of the matches could have
been won.
With no light anywhere, the
ongoing debate is of grassroots
level training.
Wake up guys, by the time
your youngsters are ready, other
countries won’t remain where they
are now.
India played at the BRICS U-17
tournament where they lost 1-3 to
Brazil U-17, and by a solitary goal
to China.
This team, powered by
experience from such top level
matches, will go on to make the
national team.
Stands to reason, by five years,
all South Asian teams will have
very strong sides.
I am talking regionally because,
practically speaking, our football,
at the best of times, was riding
high in the region and, if it ever
sees a resurgence, will hardly go
beyond it.
For a person who saw
Bangladesh beat Thailand, Syria,
First, think about salvaging the prestige; then talk about building a better
team. These recruits can play at least three to five years by which time
other players will be ready
Malaysia, and Indonesia way back
in 1985 for the ‘86 World Cup
qualifiers, digesting defeat against
Maldives and Bhutan is difficult.
But kudos to them, these
nations have worked hard and
are getting the results. Despite so
many tournaments and matches,
Bangladesh has hit rock bottom.
I hear some people saying that
addiction to alcohol is a major
concern. Many players have
refuted this.
But seeing many professional
footballers up close, and being
privy to the private lives of some, I
know this allegation is not entirely
fabricated.
There have been instances
when, prior to a match, players
spent the night before drinking.
Anyway, no use picking out the
problems because they are known
to all.
At this moment, the best move
the BFF can do is grant citizenship
to two African strikers plus two
defenders playing in the domestic
league.
First, think about salvaging the
prestige; then talk about building
a better team. These recruits can
play at least three to five years by
which time other players will be
ready.
Though my sense says there
won’t be any strikers in the likes
of Sunil Chetry (India), Chencho
(Bhutan), Hemang Gurung (Nepal),
or Ali Ashfag (Maldives) in the next
five to seven years.
Against the roaring success
of cricket and its ever rising
popularity, young people of today
have changed their sporting
preference.
In Bangladesh, talking up sport
as a profession is still not favoured
socially, unless there is no other
option for livelihood. On top of
that, if someone has to choose,
it would be cricket followed by
hockey.
Women’s football is on the rise
so there is plenty of hope there,
but for the men’s national team to
survive, the immediate step is to
take in foreign players.
After all, in the dismal local
league matches, they are the ones
who usually score the goals. •
Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently
working in the development sector.
MUMIT M