De Kruif not coming?

National football team coach Lodewijk de Kruif has threatened not to come back to Bangladesh and reportedly taken up the issue of his unpaid wages with the game's world governing body FIFA.

The Dutchman disclosed these to a few local reporters while chatting on facebook yesterday.

"The BFF [Bangladesh Football Federation] cannot keep promises. I don't want to work with them. Let's see what happens. I spoke with FIFA yesterday [Tuesday] and they will take it up soon," de Kruif was quoted as saying by reporters who are friends on the social media network. "I came with several good ideas to help [Bangladesh] but they didn't provide me apartment, car and driver. It was all in my contract. I don't want to fight over it, but now my family is suffering."

While contacted, BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag yesterday informed that they did not receive any notification from the FIFA about de Kruif's complaints.

"Today [Wednesday] I talked to de Kruif and he told me that they [de Kruif and assistant coach Rene Koster] would not come unless the wages until October are cleared. I have already informed the matter to the BFF president [Kazi Salahuddin], who is scheduled to return home tomorrow [Thursday] from Singapore. I can let you know everything tomorrow after having a meeting with the BFF chief," said Shohag.

De Kruif, who is now in the Netherlands after completing his assignment in the Asian Games last month, was supposed to join the national camp, which began at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan on October 10, on the first day and it is now being supervised by assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu. The camp has been arranged to prepare for a two-match FIFA friendly against Sri Lanka in the last week of this month.

BFF recently informed that the Dutch coach would not join the camp before October 14 as they had been arranging fund to pay the current month's salary by October 12, but the BFF ultimately failed to keep their words once again, forcing de Kruif to take this action.

It has been learnt that the BFF has now funds for only 50 per cent of the amount they need to pay de Kruif and Koster and thus could not transfer the money to their respective bank accounts. De Kruif and Koster have also another two months' salary unpaid and the BFF is supposed to clear the payments by November 15.

It is mentionable that de Kruif is in constant contact with Saiful Bari and following up on the progress of his training schedules and possible joining dates of captain Mamunul Islam, who is in Kolkata to play the Indian Super League, and Jamal Bhuiyan, who is in Denmark for his club commitments.

Saiful Bari has been conducting the training camp with 17 out of a total of 28 players as 10 players from Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club have yet to join the camp though they were supposed to report by Tuesday night.