Salahuddin elected BFF president for third term

Sports Correspondent: Kazi Salahuddin has been re-elected as Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president for the third consecutive term in the BFF executive committee elections.

Elections were held at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in the city on Saturday.

In the election, Salahuddin beat Kamrul Ashraf Khan Poton by a margin of 33 votes.

Out of possible 134 votes, Salahuddin, who has been in the helm since 2008, bagged 83 votes while his competitor Poton got 50 votes.

One vote among the 134 votes was cancelled.

Renowned as a veteran administrator of the sport, Salahuddin was the vice-chairman of BFF in 2003 before becoming the chairman of the National Team Management Committee.

He also served as a president of the South Asian Football Federation for the two consecutive terms. This 61-year old is also a member of FIFA’s marketing committee.

Salahuddin-led Sammilita Parishad had released a 25-point manifesto to take the "Bangladesh football forward".

In the manifesto, he promised to provide funds to clubs, form under-14, under-16, and under-18 teams, revive the defunct football academy, and build an international-standard fitness centre among other things.

Salahuddin, however, struggled to maintain the schedule for domestic fixtures while the transfer process of players, too, was controversial during his last two terms.

He faces a steep task in his third term considering the recent failure of the national team in home and away matches.

risingbd/Dhaka/Apr 30, 2016/Aminul/Amirul