Salahuddin wants to stay at SAFF helm

South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) president Kazi Salahuddin yesterday expressed his desire to stay at the helm of the regional football body for another term so that he can make his dream
of introducing the SAFF Clubs Championship come true.
The SAFF president's four-year stint will come to an end on October 2 and the next president is supposed to be decided at the SAFF annual general meeting on September 10 in Kathmandu, the day before the final of the SAFF Championship.
“I have made up my mind, in principle, to stay at the SAFF office for another term so that I can make my dream of introducing the SAFF Clubs Championship come true,” Salahuddin told Daily Star yesterday.
The activities of the South Asian football body was mainly confined to holding the SAFF men's championship before Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin was elected unopposed as the SAFF president in 2009.
Since taking office, Salahuddin introduced SAFF Women's Championship and SAFF U-16 Championship, two biennial competitions apart from holding the flagship event of SAFF Championship twice, which is going to be held for the third time in September.
“We had a plan of holding the SAFF club championship but we could not do so due to lack of sponsors as well as not being able to manage a uniform schedule from all eight countries,” said Salahuddin. “If I am elected again, I will be trying to introduce uniformity in the SAFF members' calendars, which is most the important thing for holding the Club Championship.”
Salahuddin also informed that he has a plan to turn the U-16 championship into U-18 Championship so that the member nations can take enough preparation and nurse their respective squads ahead of the AFC U-19 Championship.