Premier League resumes on April 7

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday decided to resume the Bangladesh Premier League on April 7, three days after the resumption of Federation Cup, which is being held simultaneously alongside the professional league.

The 13th edition of the league is scheduled to come to an end on July 22 following two breaks -- the first one is FIFA window from June 12 to 20 and the second one is for SAFF Championship from June 20 to July 3. The final of the Federation Cup has been fixed for May 30 after four quarterfinals will be held between April 4 and May 2 while the two semifinals will be held between May 9 and 16.

The decisions of the league committee also indicates that the game's local governing body is setting less priorities on hosting world champions Argentina in June Window

Besides, the Bangabandhu National Stadium is not yet ready to host matches, even two years after renovation work started. The youth and sports ministry officials, who visited the venue yesterday, did not either give any deadline for completion of the remaining work before the June FIFA window.

"If we really want to bring Argentina, we will have to work intensively on the renovation work of the BNS," BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said after a joint-coordination meeting.

"We will try our best to use the FIFA window for the national team. In that case, If the BNS is not ready, we can arrange international matches in Sylhet or the team can go abroad to play friendly matches as preparation for the SAFF Championship," Shohag told The Daily Star.