BFF president apologises after ‘miscommunication’ leaves women’s wing chief absent

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal has apologised after a “miscommunication” inside the organisation led to women’s wing chair Mahfuza Akter Kiron being absent from a press conference on Sunday.

The briefing, held at the BFF House, was arranged to announce the sponsor of the upcoming women’s tri-nation tournament and outline ‘Mission Australia’ ahead of Bangladesh’s maiden appearance at the Women’s Asian Cup next March.

‘All blame is on my shoulders’

Questions quickly arose when Kiron the official responsible for overseeing women’s football was nowhere to be seen.
Tabith addressed it directly: “Due to internal miscommunication within BFF, not everyone was informed. That is why our women’s wing chair, Mahfuza Akter, could not arrive on time.

I am apologising for this miscommunication. As president, I am taking all the blame on my shoulders.”

He assured reporters that she would be present at the next press conference held with the national team.

BFF confident SAFF winners will finally receive prize money

Last year, BFF had announced a prize of Tk 1.5 crore for the SAFF-winning women’s team — money the players have yet to receive.
Tabith said the payment would finally be made by 31 December, adding: “I can say with confidence that we will fulfil this promise by this 31 December.”

Push for more matches before the Asian Cup

With Bangladesh set to play in the Women’s Asian Cup for the first time, BFF is emphasising match preparation.
The federation aims to arrange five friendly matches before March, including three outside the FIFA window.

Tabith said: “The more quality friendly matches our national team can play, the more we will benefit at the Asian level. Before going, we are trying to organise a few more matches. Outside the FIFA window, we would want to play three behind-closed-doors matches.”

Bangladesh played two matches against Thailand in October as part of their build-up.