League resumes with double-header
League leaders Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi will be looking to increase their lead at the top of the Bangladesh Premier League when they host Chittagong Abahani in their respective first match of the second phase at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today. Second-placed Abahani will however have the chance to reduce the arrears as they will take on Brothers Union in the second match of the day.
Sheikh Jamal lead the table with 21 points from nine outings while Abahani are just two points behind. Chittagong Abahani and Brothers Union are at the opposite end of the spectrum with the port city club lying in ninth position with five points and Brothers in seventh with 10 points.
The league resumes after two days' break due to the inspection of three venues outside Dhaka by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) team on Wednesday. The inspection team led by BFF's senior vice president Salam Murshedy decided to give a few weeks' time to the clubs outside of Dhaka to improve their respective home venues, it was announced in a press conference yesterday.
The committee found few problems in all the three venues -- Muktijoddha Sangsad's home ground of Gopalgonj Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium, Chittagong Abahani's home venue of M A Aziz Stadium and Feni Soccer's home venue of Bhasha Shaheed Salam Stadium -- and they are of the opinion that the host clubs will be able to resolve the problems within two to three weeks.
“I want to make one thing clear; the rest of the league will be on a home-and-away basis and no venue will be withdrawn in the ongoing season,” said Murshedy, who explained the committee's findings in the press conference.
“The Gopalgonj Stadium underwent notable development where the only problem is the size of the pitch, while the MA Aziz Stadium has only one problem which is that there is a cricket pitch in the middle of the field. It's an international football venue and we want to utilise this stadium on a regular basis. The dressing room and other facilities in the Feni stadium are not up to the mark,” observed Murshedy.
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