Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC), Brothers Union (BU) and newcomers Fortis FC are looking for home venues to participate in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL),country’s first division football league. According to Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), clubs must have their own home grounds, as this is the basic rule that the club administration must follow.
These clubs do not have its own ground or stadium except Basshundhar Kings. There are stadiums in districts belonging to the National Sports Council (NSC). These clubs rent from the NSC and operate under the BPL. The new football season starts on October 27 after the 13th Independence Cup football tournament.
BPL clubs should have their own ground and this should be communicated to the BFF. The 16th season of the BPL will begin in December, although the fixture list is yet to be finalized.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the BPL, of which 7 clubs have already found their home grounds. MSC, BU and Fortis FC still cannot guarantee venues at this time. Meanwhile, MSC has used the Bhasha Shoinik Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium, Cumilla for many years as their home ground. But the district sports council will organize the cricket tournament this year so MSC cannot use this ground. Therefore, blacks and whites had to search for new terrain.
MSC Club Football Federation Committee General Secretary Abu Hasan Chowdhury Prince said, “We will visit Shahid Bhulu Stadium, Noakhali on Friday and will make a final decision later.”
Shahid Bhulu Stadium was the venue for the BPL a few years ago. However, the stadium is currently being used for cricket, so running the BPL will be difficult, sources said. If MSC cannot secure this location, they need to come up with another solution.Meanwhile, BU returned to the most prestigious tournament after two years. The traditional club wants Sheikh Jamal Stadium as its home ground this season.
Club director Amer Khan said, “We are discussing the pitch with the Faridpur district sports council. We hope that the sports council will be give us a positive outcome.” MSC and BU must finalize their lands by next Sunday and inform BFF.
Fortis FC is yet to officially write to BFF for a pitch, although they are interested in using the Shaheed Qamaruzzaman Stadium, Rajshahi.