Super Cup a new brand

While football has generally seen dwindling attendances over the course of the last few years, one tournament that has at least caught the attention of spectators has been the Super Cup, ever since it's inception amid much fanfare in 2009.
The 'taka one-crore' tournament, as it became colloquially known, was supposed to be held once every calendar year since 2009. However, the game's governing body has failed to live up to that promise, with the tournament now virtually becoming a once every two year assignment.
That, however, has seemingly done little to dampen the modest enthusiasm among spectators, players and club officials, despite the curtailing of the prize money to more humble standards.
With this sort of interest sorely lacking in other forms of the game, can the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) cash in on its success by branding the Super Cup successfully across the country, in an attempt to restore football's former heady status?
“After holding three meets, it seems that the Super Cup has turned into a popular tournament and we will work with our consultants on how to cash in on the Super Cup,” said BFF president Kazi Salahuddin. “We have no plans to reduce the foreign players in the coming season because we cannot reduce the standard of the football we have built up in five years but we may hold the next Super Cup without foreign players again.”
The decision to cull foreign players from this meet was by circumstance rather than design, but it helped the local players, often restricted to bench roles during the league, to showcase their talents. And previously unherald names like Mohammedan's forward Wahed Ahmed, winger Mobarak Hossain, defender Tapu Barman, Brothers Union's striker Jewel Rana, Yousuf Sifat, Sheikh Russel KC's Nahidul Islam and Team BJMC's Omar Faruque Babu stepped forward to grab the chance with both hands.
Compared to other tournaments, the Super Cup proved to be highly competitive with unpredictable results. Top performers in the league did not make the semifinals while eventual winners Mohammedan only finished fifth in the league.
“I think the absence of foreign players had inspired the local players to shine in the Super Cup, which also may be considered a stage for hiking the price for the players ahead of the next season's players' transfer,” said Mohammedan coach Saiful Bari Titu, who believed the Super Cup had turned into a brand for the country's football.