Young blood at BFF

Newly elected BFF vice-presidents Tabith M Awal (L) and Arif Khan Joy (R) flash the victory sign after the elections at the BFF House yesterday. Photo: STAR

Abdus Salam Murshedy retained his senior vice-president's post while two out of the four incumbent vice-presidents also retained their posts in the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) elections yesterday.
Murshedy got 60 votes out of the 121 cast to be re-elected while his nearest competitor former footballer Golam Rabbani Helal got 28. Sheikh Russel KC president Nurul Alam Chowdhury got 23 votes, Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu got 6 and Mostakur Rahman got 3 votes.
In his instant reaction, Murshedy said, "This was the toughest election I have ever won. Now my target would be to take the game to the district and upazila levels and I would seek everyone's assistance to get the job done."
Although the president and senior-vice president remained the same, there were expected changes in the vice-presidents' posts as two incumbents were forced to make way for new faces.
Abahani director Kazi Nabil Ahmed was re-elected after getting highest 76 votes while Badal Roy also made it with 61 votes. The other two incumbents, Shawkat Ali Khan Jahangir and Manjur Hossain Malu, lost as they got only 54 and 46 votes respectively.
They will be replaced by football organiser Tabith M Awaal and former national captain Arif Khan Joy, both of whom contested from the Save Football Panel, who got 74 and 70 votes respectively. Another strong candidate, Brothers Union general secretary Mohiuddin Ahmed Mohi lost by two votes as he received 59. Former footballers Rumman Bin Wali Shabbir and Khurshid Alam Babul got 22 votes each.
After victory Joy said he would stick to the promises his panel made before the election.
"My commitment is to start football at the grassroots level. I will start district level football first then take it to the divisional level," said Joy after being declared the vice-president elect.
The hardest fight took place for the 15 posts of members, where Amirul Islam Babu got highest 93 votes, followed by Harunur Rashid's 85. Six members were elected for the first time. They are -- Iliyas Hossain, Sheikh Maruf Hasan, Iqbal Hossain, Bijon Barua and Alamgir Khan Alo. After the first 12 memberships were won outright, four of the candidates -- Arif Hossain Moon, Towfiqul Islam Tofa, Anwarul Haq Helal, Ajmal Ahmed Tapan -- were tied at 56 votes each. The four will have to go for another bout of election during the EGM, informed chief election commissioner Mesbah Uddin.
According to many observers the wealthier candidates found their way too easy in the elections while those who could not splash the cash, found themselves in the cold. There are allegations that a huge amount of money has been spent by the candidates, including even on the morning of the election.
NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President: Kazi Salahuddin
Senior vice-president: Abdus Salam Murshedy
Vice-presidents: Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Badal Roy, Tabith M Awaal, Arif Khan Joy.
Members: Amirul Islam Babu, Harunur Rashid, Shamsul Haq Chowdhury MP, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, Iliyas Hossain, Sheikh Maruf Hasan, Fazlur Rahman Babul, Iqbal Hossain, Bijon Barua, Serajul Islam Bacchu, Satyajit Das Rupu, Alamgir Khan Alo.
*Three of the remaining seats for membership will be filled after a re-election in the EGM.