Mohammedan Sporting Club have asked the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) to release their nine national-team players from the training camp by September 15, citing a clash between national commitments and the upcoming Bangladesh Football League (BFL).
The club have also requested the BFF to reconsider their BFL and Federation Cup fixtures scheduled for September 25 and 29 respectively.
The requests came a day after the BFF announced the schedules for the professional league and Federation Cup. The BFL is due to begin on September 18, with five matches on the opening day and another on September 19. Mohammedan do not have a fixture in the opening round.
The Federation Cup will start on September 22 with three matches.
Mohammedan have yet to begin their pre-season camp, while nine of their players are currently preparing with the national team for the FIFA ASEAN Cup in Indonesia, which will run from September 24 to October 5.
The players are Anisur Rahman Zico, Sujan Hossain, Shakil Ahad Topu, Saad Uddin, Rahmat Mia, Sohel Rana Jr, Shahriar Emon, Faisal Ahmed Fahim and Sourav Dewan.
The BFF had earlier informed clubs that they would have to play domestic competitions without their national-team players when fixtures overlapped with international commitments. Mohammedan had agreed to follow FIFA regulations and release their players during designated international windows.
However, in a letter to BFF general secretary Emran Hossain on Monday, Mohammedan said the BFL schedule had not been finalised when they released the nine players.
The club said it had released the players immediately to support the national team’s preparations and as a gesture of goodwill. But with the domestic schedule now confirmed, Mohammedan said they need the players for their league campaign.
The club also reiterated its willingness to release the players during FIFA’s designated international windows.
Mohammedan said the newly announced domestic schedule had created an unavoidable conflict and urged the BFF to reconsider the September 25 BFL fixture and September 29 Federation Cup match to prevent further clashes.
