Who are really running the BFF camps?

Something is not quite right with the way the Bangladesh Football Federation is running its national team camps. The latest example is the senior team’s management, where a change of manager was made two days after the camp had started.

The BFF announced on Sunday that Amirul Islam Babu was appointed as team manager for the senior national team, which is preparing for next month’s FIFA ASEAN Cup. Amer Khan, who had overseen the first two days of the camp, was retained as team coordinator, while another executive committee member, Iqbal Hossain, was appointed team leader.

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The timing of the announcement is unusual. Managerial appointments are generally settled before a camp begins, particularly when a team is preparing for an international tournament. The decision to change the manager after the first two days naturally raises questions about what prompted it.

Several BFF executive committee members had reportedly shown interest in the manager’s position. One of those who had been in the running told The Daily Star that Amer had initially been expected to continue before pressure from a particular quarter led to Babu’s appointment. There has been similar talk within football circles about Babu receiving backing from influential figures associated with Mohammedan Sporting Club.

Babu’s appointment also marks a return to the practice of a non-footballer member rather than a former footballer manage the national team. He previously held the position during the 2015 SAFF Championship and is currently chairman of the BFF’s media committee.

The bigger issue, however, is not simply who has been appointed manager. It is the growing presence of federation officials around the national teams as the coaches are becoming increasingly distant from public view.

Thomas Dooley has had no interaction with the media since the senior team’s camp began. Apart from photographs from closed-door training sessions released by the federation, there have been no interviews with the head coach or players. This is different from the recent practice, when national team camps routinely included media sessions with both.

That matters because Dooley himself raised concerns about the team’s preparations on August 15. He spoke about the limited preparation time caused by uncertainty over the start of the domestic season.

The Under-20 national team presents a similar picture.

Bangladesh’s U-20 side is currently in Uzbekistan for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers, with their opening match against the hosts scheduled for today. Yet coach Gerard Jones has remained largely away from the media, following on from a bizarre pre-departure press conference where neither the coach nor any player was present. Instead, it was manager Sameed Quasem, and BFF technical director Saiful Bari Titu, who spoke to journalists.

Quasem’s role in the youth set-up has also attracted attention. He was involved in the appointment of Jones, as well as his predecessor Mark Cox. Cox’s tenure ended with success on the field but controversy over his coaching credential. Jones has since been involved in a series of disputes, including a scuffle with assistant coach Atiqur Rahman Meshu. The circumstances surrounding the U-20 team’s preparations have added to the sense of instability around the programme.

Taken together, the developments around the two camps point to shortcomings in the way Bangladesh’s national teams are being managed. They raise the fundamental question over whether key personnel decisions are being made primarily on merit and suitability for the role, or whether outside influences are having a say in appointments. For teams preparing for international competitions, such uncertainty does little to create the professional and cohesive environment needed for proper preparation.