The Bangladesh Football Federation held a press conference on Sunday at BFF House to reflect on a significant few weeks for the nation’s youth football. Despite falling short in two finals, the national U-17 team and the BFF Academy both earned praise for their performances, while the federation itself received recognition with two AFC award nominations.
The national U-17 side finished runners-up in the 2025 SAFF U-17 Championship after losing to India on penalties in Colombo. Earlier, the BFF Academy team had reached the final of the Tianyu Liufang Cup in China, eventually losing 3-0 against Wuhan U-17. To add to the positives, the federation has been nominated in two categories at the upcoming AFC Awards, recognising their contribution to Asian football.
BFF Vice Presidents Md Nasser Shahrear Zahedee and Sabbir Ahmed Arif, U-17 head coach Golam Robbani Choton, U-17 captain Nazmul Huda Faysal and goalkeeper Md Alif Rahman were present at the BFF House. Zahedee highlighted the statistics that underlined the team’s progress, noting that Bangladesh scored 12 goals and conceded only two across the tournament. He pointed out that four different players won man of the match awards Manik, Rifat Kazi, Faysal and Riduan. Goalkeeper Alif was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament, while captain Faysal claimed the MVP award.
Zahedee said the federation was proud of the discipline and teamwork displayed and promised to give feedback to both SAFF and AFC on officiating standards to help the game improve. He also revealed that BFF President Tabith Awal, though currently abroad, has been closely following the team’s progress and was delighted with the style of football on show.
Captain Faysal, meanwhile, thanked supporters back home and admitted that the penalty shoot-out defeat was painful but would serve as a learning experience.
Attention then turned to the BFF Academy’s performance in China. Although they were beaten by a strong Wuhan U-17 side in the final, Zahedee emphasised the positives. He pointed out that striker Tahsan Khan finished as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and that the Academy side had netted 19 goals while conceding only five. Teams from South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka also took part, underlining the standard of competition. He added that the Academy’s structure allowed players to be split between the SAFF squad and the China tour, ensuring both groups were competitive.
Zahedee confirmed that all U-17 and Academy players will now take a week’s rest before regrouping on 3 October for the AFC Qualifiers. He also revealed that the federation plans to support the development of U-17 and U-19 players more strongly and is considering hosting inter-academy tournaments to identify talent that could represent Bangladesh abroad.
The press conference also covered BFF’s recognition at continental level. The federation has been nominated for the AFC Member Association of the Year (Ruby) award alongside Guam and Laos, and for the AFC President’s Recognition for Grassroots Football (Bronze) award alongside the Northern Mariana Islands and Vietnam.
Zahedee admitted the repeated penalty shoot-out defeats were a concern and confirmed that the federation’s technical committee will review the matter. Leadership workshops for captains and educational programmes on rules and regulations are being planned to ensure players are better prepared to make the right decisions under pressure and to express their concerns effectively when required.
