A new beginning

For the first time in history, the Bangladesh Premier League is to begin outside the capital.

The ninth edition of the top-tier professional football league will kick off at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong today as the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) look to spread the game beyond the centre and into the far corners of the country.

While the new format is a step back from the home-and-away system prevalent in professional leagues across the world, the fact that the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka has previously hosted a majority of the matches for the leagues has failed to do any justice to the home-and-away format.

This time however, Dhaka will not get the lion's share of fixtures as the league matches are spread between Chittagong, Mymensingh, Sylhet as well -- making it the first time that the league is held across as many as four venues -- in order to tap into the enthusiasm of the people outside the capital and encourage them to attend the matches in greater numbers, something which rarely occurs when games are held in the capital.

The BFF believes that through a larger audience, higher attendance revenues as well as positive portrayal of the league can be achieved.

The fixtures have pit defending champions Sheikh Jamal DC against Arambagh Krira Sangha and runners-up Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra against promoted Uttar Baridhara Club in the opening day's fixtures.

While the two fixtures may seem like mismatches on paper, the recent performances of some of the lesser teams suggest that this league could be the tightest in years. A case in point is the rise of Arambagh KS, who stormed into the final of the Federation Cup before losing out to Abahani. The Motijheel outfit, coached by Saiful Bari Titu, flourished on talents of their young guns, so much so that the two-time defending champions Sheikh Jamal fell prey to them in the quarterfinal stage.

That performance as well as Sheikh Jamal's troubles, is a source of inspiration and hope to Titu ahead of the league opener.

“We beat Sheikh Jamal in the Fed Cup. We will try to secure our defence first and play on the counter. Jafar Iqbal and Mohammad Abdullah are skillful players, and if they get the ball in the right areas, they are hard to stop," opined the former national team coach.

On the other hand, Sheikh Jamal still have quite a few issues to sort out. They are waiting for the arrival of former coach Joseph Afusi after having parted ways with Shafiqul Islam Manik recently. The club has a shaky midfield and will be without star striker Wedson Anselme for at least the first few matches.

Last season's runners-up Sheikh Russel KC, who will take on minnows Uttar Baridhara in the second match today, are grappling with injuries.

The players set to miss the opening game due to injuries are: proven forwards Zahid Hasan Emily and Shakhawat Hosain Rony, winger Abdul Baten Kamol and foreign recruit Fikru Teffera. However Coach Maruful Haque believes the players at his disposal should be good enough to win even though he is worried about the prospect of rain.

“It didn't rain today and i hope tomorrow will be the same. If it rains, it will be difficult for us as rain always works as an advantage for smaller teams. However, I believe that we can beat Baridhara even without our main players,” opined the veteran coach.